UC Davis Lighting Design Courses

Two professors and eight students inside a classroom, standing in between eight different student-designed luminaires

DES 136A: Lighting Technology and Design

Students interested in interior design will build a lighting vocabulary and a fundamental understanding of lighting technologies. Students will take a hands-on approach in the course which includes lectures, demonstrations, and site visits.

Topics will include:

Lighting & vision fundamentals
Color & vision
Lighting sources & the production of light
Fixture technologies for creating & controlling light
Special projects & fixture design
Prototyping of fixture design

DES 136B: Designing with Light—Industrial Design

This course introduces students to LEDs, next-generation lighting sources, and fixture design. The class includes an annual competition where students design, develop, and create prototypes of fully working LED-based luminaires. A panel including Professor Suk, design professionals, and representatives of the competition's sponsors will evaluate the designs and select the top three.

The course involves a laboratory exploration with the goal of developing a fully working LED-based fixture design prototype. Students are given a LED source and are required to design a fixture for it. Students explore multiple solutions and are evaluated based on objective indicators, aesthetic considerations, manufacturability, and cost. The hands-on project allows students to work with a technology poised to change how homes and businesses will be lighted in the near future.

Students are directed to explore and develop distribution and fixture ideas based on the LED's unique attributes of small size, color and luminance distribution.