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Window Display Lighting Tips to Give Your Project a Kick

By Jyppe Alqui on September 21, 2012 — Updated on February 21, 2016

When I was young and my mother comes home from the wet market then say that the prices of the fish in the market is getting expensive, she would immediately add more line saying that it is because the fishermen could hardly catch fishes because full moon is coming.

Do you know the relationship between fishing and full moon?

According to the story of my parents, which I have proven to be scientifically true when I was in school, the schools of fish are free to swim anywhere in the ocean during night time when the moon shines bright, that is why the fishermen could hardly catch them.

Fish are attracted to light from the fishing boats when the surrounding is dark, no moonlight, so they can be easily caught by the net. This means lot of fish in the market. This means cheaper prices. Remember the law of supply and demand?

Not only fishes are attracted to light,

insects and bugs are also attracted to light.

People are also attracted to light.

People would be happy to see beam of light in the midst of the dark.

People says, “Wow!” to a display with beautiful lights.

That is how lights attract.

Men’s Underwear Window Display | Photo by James D via Flickr.

On my post about the elements of an effective window display, I referred light as the make-up of window display. Without lights, your window display is like as a woman’s face without make up; the random and wrong application of window display lighting is like a woman whose face is like a clown.

Your product display would become more attractive with the help of proper lighting.

Lighting can be ‘over-all’ like fluorescent lamps, ‘accent’ like spot lights and ‘atmosphere’ like colored lights.

According to Levy and Weitz (1995), good lighting in a store involves more than simply illuminating space. Lighting is used to highlight merchandise, sculpt space, and capture a mood or feeling that enhances store’s image. Lighting can also be used to downplay less attractive features that can’t be changed.

Window Display Lighting Tips

These tips are not only intended to window display but also to visual merchandising as whole.

1. Only Show Light Beams – Rather than showing your fluorescent lamp or incandescent bulb, hide them in a way that only the beams of light will be seen. In some ways, you can put a Christmas light behind the dropped cloths or wrap the cloth cylindrically around the fluorescent lamps or bulbs. Spotlights and tracking lighting are also the best for this purpose. Having soft projected light will let your display to glow evenly.

As much as possible, avoid using high intensity discharge lamps as part of your window display lighting because HID lamps produces hard shadows.

2. Use Chandeliers – If you have available chandeliers, it is good to use to show elegance and luxury. Modern chandeliers are also better but they are quite expensive, however, you can find alternatives.

3. Use Different Colors – Lights of different colors are indeed more attractive than that white fluorescent lamp alone that is why colored lights are recommended for window display and in some areas of the store.

Photo by Mcal C via Flickr.

4. Modern Lighting – Add a little contemporary look to your store and display by using modern lighting. Some that you can use are modern-designed floor lamps and ceiling lights, colored spotlights, LED light strips, neon lights, transitional lights, colored fluorescent lamps and wall-mounted lights with shadow.

Esprit Window Display | Photo by James D via Flickr.

5. Alternative Lights – Instead of using incandescent bulbs and old-type Christmas lights, you better use compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) and LED (light-emitting diode) decoration lights. CFLs and LED lights are energy-saver and are less hot thus they cost-effective and safer to use.

Remember. Make use of light to catch more fishes.

Thank you for reading. Godspeed!