The mission and vision of International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD)

-By Dr. Amardeep M. Dugar (IALD)

Architectural lighting designers are a tremendous resource for innovative, practical, and economically viable lighting solutions in the built environment. They understand the role of lighting in architecture and interior design, and rely on their extensive experience and knowledge of lighting equipment and systems to enhance and strengthen design. An architectural lighting designer creates a design as a way of achieving the clients’ lighting needs and desires for a given project. The finished project is the physical realization of the design. The International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD, www.iald. org) is the only global association of architectural lighting designers in the world based in Chicago, IL, USA. It started as a small group of passionate and dedicated architectural lighting designers with the goal of elevating the profession in 1969, and has today grown into a global association representing members in over 60 countries. The IALD has gained international recognition as an organization dedicated to supporting a growing network of over 1,500 architectural lighting design professionals around the world who satisfy its rigorous qualification process. It strives to set the global standard for architectural lighting design excellence by promoting the advancement and recognition of architectural lighting designers. The IALD is committed to supporting its members who are passionate about lighting in the built environment. The IALD’s mission is to advance the global profession of architectural lighting design through leadership and advocacy, and serve its members by promoting education, community and engagement. It has over 35 Regions and Chapters to support the interests of its local lighting, design and architecture communities. As a not-for-profit corporation, the IALD relies on members to volunteer their time and knowledge to guide the association. Committee and leadership positions are filled 100% by its volunteer members. The IALD’s governing body is comprised of an 11-member Board of Directors. The board meets quarterly to provide strategic and financial oversight and direction to the CEO who manages the organization on behalf of the board. In 2019, the IALD celebrated a momentous milestone marking 50 years of serving its membership and the entire profession of architectural lighting design. While the IALD is involved in several advocacy and outreach programs, its primary programs include the lighting tradeshow LightFair, the IALD International Lighting Design Awards and the IALD Enlighten Conferences. LightFair (www. lightfair.com) is the premier, annual architectural and commercial lighting trade show and conference, and the preferred marketplace, networking and learning destination for over 500 exhibitors and 25,000 professionals. The LightFair Conference has been setting the standard in continuing lighting education for over 30 years. LightFair is co-owned by the IALD and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES, www.iesna.org) and produced and managed by International Market Centers (IMC, www. imcenters.com), the world’s largest network of premium showroom and exhibition space. The IALD International Lighting Design Awards program is the longest running award program recognizing architectural lighting design excellence. Receiving an IALD award is universally heralded as the top honor in the architectural lighting design industry. The awards program was initiated in 1983 and honors architectural lighting design that reaches new heights, moves beyond the ordinary, and represents excellence in aesthetic and technical design achievement. The IALD Enlighten Conferences are a series of boutique educational and networking events in the Americas, Asia and Europe that were created exclusively by and for architectural lighting design professionals. The entire architectural lighting community comes together at these conferences to learn, share ideas and explore solutions with likeminded people who are passionate about light. The intimate design of these conferences caps registration to fewer than 500 attendees. This allows for meaningful close connections and thought-provoking discussions with the profession’s foremost experts who inspire and motivate, moving architectural lighting design into the future. The IALD Education Trust was established in 1998 as a not-for-profit charitable educational organization to directly support educators

and students for the purpose of promoting the study of architectural lighting design. The Trust’s mission is to grow the available pool of entry-level lighting designers by fostering connections between prepractitioners and practitioners of the lighting design profession. The IALD Education Trust renders two different types of programs namely the Scholarship Program and Travel Stipend Program. The IALD Education Trust Scholarship Program aims to encourage students to pursue a career in architectural lighting design. The program offers multiple scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students involved in the study of architectural lighting design from an accredited school. The IALD Education Trust Travel Stipend Program enables architectural lighting educators and students from across the world to attend key industry events, seminars and conferences, such as the IALD Enlighten conferences, LightFair and a variety of international lighting events as an ongoing effort to ensure the future of the architectural lighting design profession. Educators and students may also propose their own international or domestic lighting-related activity for support consideration. The Lighting Industry Resource Council (LIRC) was formed in 1996 to provide a framework within the IALD for enhanced communication between architectural lighting designers and manufacturers and to create an environment conducive to the collaborative improvement of products, services, business practices and architectural lighting design education. Membership in the LIRC is currently open to companies engaged in the manufacture of luminaires, lighting components, light sources, lighting control equipment, lighting software, and luminaire testing laboratories. All educators, professionals and students in the architectural lighting or allied fields can apply to become an IALD member under different grades of membership. For more information about membership or about the organization, please visit the official IALD website or write to: iald@iald.org Disclaimer: Text and graphics presented in this article have been obtained from the official website of the IALD