Design philosophy
Our grocery lighting philosophy is simple:
Make your products steal the show.
How We Approach Every Project
Lighting a grocery store well requires more than placing fixtures on a plan. It requires understanding how light interacts with product, how contrast draws the customer's eye, and how the overall environment reflects the identity the store owner wants to project. Every decision we make, from fixture selection to beam angles to color temperature, is made in service of those goals.
Color quality is the foundation. We start with a minimum of 90 CRI and high R9 on the sales floor, but those numbers are just the beginning. There are many additional light quality variables that determine whether a fixture truly makes food look exceptional or simply illuminates it. We handle that research so you don't have to.
Consistency across displays matters just as much as quality. Hotspots, uneven light distribution, and glare all undermine the presentation you've worked hard to create. We specify fixtures with superior optical performance to ensure your products are shown in the best possible light, from the center of the display to the edges.
And throughout all of it, the feel of the store stays front and center. The ambiance you want your customers to experience from the moment they walk through the door shapes every element of the lighting plan we develop for you.
The Design Process
Every JLH Lighting design engagement starts with your store drawings. From there we develop a complete lighting plan that specifies the right fixture for every application, delivers the look and feel you're after, and produces a specification package ready for your project team and engineer.
For clients who can provide a compatible Revit file, we can take the process further with an advanced photometric rendering, giving you and your team a detailed visual representation of how the finished lighting will perform in the actual space before a single fixture is installed (see below photo).
All design work is complimentary, it is simply part of how we work. Whether you are building a new store from the ground up, remodeling an existing location, or evaluating a specific department, the process starts the same way: with a conversation about what you want your store to feel like.
