Designer Q&A: Lighting Trends with James Bassant, Astro
The lighting in a space is so important. It can be used to create ambience and mood withing a space but also to highlight it’s surroundings.
Astro Lighting one of the leading names in lighting design will be exhibiting at BDNY this month from November 12th -13th in booth 1211. Before they cross the Atlantic and hit the big apple we were able to grab their Design Director and Co-Founder, James Bassant and tap into his expertise on the subject of lighting. We discuss the trends that are present now and whats in store for the future of lighting…
What do you consider to be the most important current, global trends in the world of lighting?
Identifying trends can sometimes be complicated, as many styles can exist concurrently. For example, the fashion for products that use retro filament lamps co-exists happily with our very popular trimless products that are plastered into the fabric of the building. Similarly, contrast architectural lighting which is more about light than the light itself, with products designed specifically for a hospitality setting where the product is a critical part of the interior design. At Astro, new trends that we are responding to include finishes such as matt gold, natural brass, bronze and black.
What are your thoughts on LED lighting being the future of lighting design?
LEDs are now firmly the present as well as the future of lighting, whether integral or replaceable. An exciting development for LEDs is now the greater controllability of colours they can offer; dim to warm and tuneable white. This will be an interesting new area over the coming years.
What are the ways you are staying at the forefront of innovative lighting design?
The product development process of our products is a crucial element of what we do, as we are passionate about high quality and well-engineered lighting designs. To support this process we have recently taken on a new product designer to introduce a new way of thinking to our products. We have also recently taken on a Technical Manager tasked with ensuring that we are working with the best technology for any given purpose.
How important is hospitality as a sector for you and why?
The Hospitality market has been a real growth area for Astro and drives a lot of our current product development. The success of our core hospitality products pushes us to ensure that we design products that the ever changing hospitality market needs in the future.
Can you tell us about your future plans/visions and exciting upcoming projects?
Obviously the new and exciting projects we have in the pipeline we try to keep secret for as long as possible. An interesting effect of designing successful products is that they can quickly appear “on the radar” of competitors. All we can say is that, more than ever, we are ensuring we invest in great new product designs.
Don’t forget to head over to booth 1211 at BDNY to see Astro’s innovative products or for more information now visit www.astrolighting.com