CONCEPT
THE FORM OF LIGHT
There are many ways light fixtures can distribute light. The distribution of light can occur as a strong, weak, narrow, or wide beam. Beams of light can also be symmetric or asymmetric.
We call these intangible shape of beams as 'the Form of light.'
FUNNEL is a digital tool that enables to search for and compare light fixtures based on the form of light instead of the Shape of light fixtures.
PERFORMANCE
VS
APPEARANCE
For lighting designers, light fixtures are tools rather than decorations. Light fi xtures should be selected based on performance rather than appearance. And the most crucial performance is light distribution.
What are your criteria when buying speakers? Sound quality? Or how products look like? We could say sound quality would be more important.
In case of speakers, audio performance and visual appearance would not be confused. However, in case of light fixtures, performance and appearance are often confused. This is probably because both of them related to vision.
WHAT IS
LIGHT
DISTRIBUTION?
Light Distribution is information about the direction and intensity of light emitted by light fixtures. For example, a light bulb emits light in every direction. However, with a reflector, light can be directed in one direction. The graph plotting the light distribution is called a Light Distribution Diagram. The file recording the numerical data of the light distribution is called a Light Distribution File. A file is used for lux calculation and CG rendering and downloadable from lighting manufacturers' websites for free mostly. There are two different formats: IES & LDT.
ANALOG
TO
DIGITAL
Currently, we need to compare diagrams to diagrams with human eyes. Reading diagrams is difficult for non-technical people. It is not easy even for professional lighting designers as different lighting manufacturers have differnet formats. The sizes, scales, directions and even measuring units are not standardized.
FUNNEL's original algorithm can calculate the similarity between light distribution files. Now you can compare data to data directly.