Lighting Matters®

8% of award-winning projects had a lighting designer. Only 2% got credit. Why is this profession still invisible?     Recorded live at Illuminate@NeoCon 2026 in Chicago, this episode features Rebecca Keehner, Senior Interior Designer at Stantec Architecture — a global architecture and engineering firm with all major design disciplines under one roof. Hosts Avi Mor of Morlights and Lisa Reed of Ree...

Of 100 award-winning architecture projects, how many listed a lighting designer in the credits? The answer should embarrass the entire industry. Jen Park, principal at Chicago's Park Fowler, joins hosts Avi Mor of Morlights and Lisa Reed of Reed Burkett Lighting Design to examine what architects genuinely understand about lighting—and where the gaps are. Park describes lighting as the critical thr...

Why does the profession that shapes how humans experience every built space they occupy still have no regulatory recognition — anywhere in the world? Dawn Brown, CLD, Design IALD, Lighting Designer at Ontario Aesthetic Lighting Design (OALD), joins Avi and Lisa for a direct look at the future of the profession. The conversation covers the persistent divide between interior designers and lighting d...

Lighting's go-to-market model is one of the most complex in any product category. Does anyone outside the industry actually understand that—and does it matter if they don't? Amy Bonder came to Luminii from the Fortune 500—Black & Decker, Advance Auto Parts, Bridgestone—and found that nothing prepares you for lighting's go-to-market complexity. In this episode, hosts Avi Mor (Morlights) and Lis...

What if the fastest way to bring a project in under budget was just to pay people on time? Ron Unterreiner—retired design-build executive, founder of the People networking initiative and WBEDC, and advisor to the Rise CDFI—joins hosts Avi Mor of Morlights and Lisa Reed of Reed Burkett Lighting Design for a direct conversation about what's quietly breaking the AEC payment chain. The discussion is a...

Structural engineers are licensed. Architects are licensed. Why isn't lighting? Hosts Avi Mor of Morlights and Lisa Reed of Reed Burkett Lighting Design go unscripted. It starts with a hotel ballroom running 20 footcandles at a dinner event, broken dimmers, and no one who knew how to operate them. From that comes a pointed question: why is proper lighting still treated as a luxury? The specificati...

Ten experienced lighting designers walk into a conference. Can they agree on what they actually do for a living? "What do you do?" For lighting designers, it's a deceptively hard question to answer well. At the IALD Enlighten Americas 2025 conference in Tucson, hosts Avraham Mor (Morlights) and Lisa Reed (Reed Burkett Lighting Design) posed three pointed questions to ten industry veterans — Chip I...

How does lighting affect how we tell stories? Avraham Mor of Morlights and Lisa Reed of Reed Burkett Lighting Design interview David Woody of the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry? They look at how storytelling is affected by lighting. How can we improve lighting and storytelling to have them intersect? The conversation reveals how much lighting can leave the imprint of a story on us, and how...

Can you quantify why lighting matters—or does defining it ruin everything?    Avi Mor of Mor Lighting and Lisa Reed of Reed Burkett Lighting Design record live from ArchLight Summit 2025, exploring a fundamental question: does lighting matter? They tackle the industry's most pressing challenge—proving the value of professional lighting design in every project type. Why do affordable housing develo...

What's the connection between lighting control systems, circadian rhythm, and designing for neurodivergent building occupants?     David Euscher, national board chair for the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) and interior designer based in Houston, discusses the critical relationship between interior design and lighting with hosts Lisa Reed of Reed Burkett Lighting Design and Avi Mor o...

What if value engineering meant distilling to essentials instead of cutting corners?     Joel Fuoss, Principal at Trivers in St. Louis, joins hosts Lisa Reed of Reed Burkett Lighting Design and Avi Mor of Mor Lights to discuss adaptive reuse, historic tax credits, and collaborative design. How do you convince clients that lighting isn't optional? Fuoss explains how historic tax credits reduce cost...

Why does museum lighting deliver 10x ROI compared to other exhibit elements?     AJ Goehle, CEO of Luci, and Kevin Snow, lighting and set designer, discuss the critical role of theatrical lighting in museum exhibit design. The Chicago-based firm has grown from 2 to 52 team members since 2011, creating immersive visitor experiences across history museums, science centers, and cultural institutions....

Hosts Avi Mor and Lisa Reed take the Lighting Matters podcast on location to the IES conference in Anaheim, conducting rapid-fire interviews with five leading lighting professionals. The episode explores how lighting designers advocate for their profession across different practice models - from integration firms to nonprofits to global studios. Violet Estes of Cantara Design discusses bridging th...

Why are expensive light fixtures often the wrong choice for better spaces?     Margaret Cavenagh, Managing Director at Perkins & Will Chicago, discusses her evolution from residential lighting basics to managing complex architectural lighting at a global firm. Drawing from 20 years at Studio Gang and recent transition to Perkins & Will's 2,500-person practice, she explores budget-conscious...

  "If someone would say we have $1 million for finishes but no lighting designer, or $600,000 with a lighting designer - I choose that second one every day of the week." - Karen Herold     Interior designer Karen Herold of Studio K joins hosts Lisa and Avi for an in-depth discussion about the critical relationship between interior design and lighting. With 25 years in hospitality design, Herold sh...

"No amount of photometric studies is gonna tell you how it's actually gonna perform until you actually see it at 10 o'clock at night." - Rob Reuland     Avi Mor of Mor Lights and Lisa Reed of Reed Burket Lighting Design reflect on their first year hosting Lighting Matters, outlining their evolved mission to advocate for lighting design as the fourth essential visual profession alongside architects...

  "No amount of photometric studies is gonna tell you how it's actually gonna perform until you actually see it at 10 o'clock at night." - Rob Reuland     What happens when someone starts taking out trash at 17 and becomes a principal at one of Chicago's leading landscape architecture firms? Rob Reuland from Site Design Group joins hosts Lisa Reed and Avi Mor for a fascinating exploration of how l...

"A 50,000-hour fixture, if it's on 24/7, like in many municipal buildings or hospitals…it won't even last six years." - Anne Kustner-Haser     Anne Kustner Haser, President of AKLD Lighting Design joins hosts Lisa Reed and Avi Mor to tackle the urgent challenge of lighting maintainability in an industry where "lifetime" LEDs often fail within years. Drawing from three decades of experience designi...

Why are architects who collaborate with lighting designers winning more ambitious clients?     Architect Michael Byrd of Core10 Architecture in St. Louis shares his journey from skeptic to advocate for professional lighting design. "We bought an existing firm and thought we knew everything," he admits. Yet as projects grew more ambitious, his team discovered critical blind spots. A high-end restau...

Why are 90% of lighting designers making a critical mistake by not designing the control systems for their projects?     Tune in as Avi Mor and Lisa Reed speak with Brett Andersen and Kenny Schutz of Focus Lighting. What sets them apart? Their innovative business model combining design with procurement expertise. Both Brett and Kenny trace their paths from theatrical lighting to architectural desi...

How did the Smithsonian cut lighting energy usage by 80% while actually improving visibility and preservation?     Tune in as Avi Mor and Lisa Reed speak with Scott Rosenfeld, lighting designer at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery. Scott shares his 30-year journey from theater lighting to museum environments, revealing how he "handcrafts" light for 5,000 luminaires across 125...

What makes lighting designers "psychotically passionate" about their work when they're constantly battling value engineering?     In this episode, Avi Mor and Lisa Reed speak with Katherine Stekr, CLD, IALD, MIES, EDAC, LEED AP BD+C, Founder + Principal, STEK Design. Their conversation explores the unique position of lighting designers as visual professionals alongside architects, interior designe...

Have you ever wondered how the vibrant and competitive architectural landscape of Dubai influences global lighting design trends? Discover the secrets from Lisa Reed's experience at the Light Middle East Conference!     In this episode, Avi Mor and Lisa Reed dive deep into the world of lighting design, sparked by Lisa's recent trip to the Light Middle East Conference in Dubai. Lisa shares her obse...

How does the lighting industry foster a unique sense of community, and what lessons can we learn from its collaborative environment despite competition?     In this episode, Avi Mor and Lisa Reed welcome lighting designer and podcast host Rachel Fitzgerald CLD, LC, IALD, IES, LEED AP BD+C. Rachel shares her 21-year journey through the lighting design world - from childhood curiosity about architec...

In this episode, Avi Mor and Lisa Reed chat with Giulio Pedota, IALD, LC, LEED AP,  and Principal at Schuler Shook. Giulio shares his fascinating journey from computer programming in Venezuela to becoming a renowned figure in architectural lighting design. Giulio, Avi and Lisa discuss the unique blend of art and technology required in lighting design. From the irreplaceable expertise of skilled de...