The writer ponders over the ethics v/s commerce debate in the field of architectural lighting
Paul McCartney passionately singing “Can’t buy me Love”; makes me verify the veracity of those sentiments in this present day as I attempt to contextually explore the truth in his words. The rules of engagement today differ from the past. Business landscapes and strategies are changing. Probably money can buy love today. Money has become the primary goal and is shifting the focus from design and creativity in the profession of Architectural Lighting design. A more romantic view would be a design world free of the associated commercial encumbrances.
Human greed is exploited by the industry at large to define the language of design. Businesses with a primary focus on commerce are entitled to build strategies that will support their goals. It would be naïve to assume that design practices are not a business. But is business a core value that drives design or should design define and dictate how human lives and experiences are elevated? Who drives this discourse? Do we as a design community; have a strong voice? Do we even have an identity? Do we have the numbers? Are we defining the agenda for the development of the design paradigm or are we being manipulated and bludgeoned towards adopted agendas by manufacturers and business houses?
Working in a space with fast changing technologies, one must also learn to accept the changing values and business ethics. What is acceptable today? Is the new millennium significantly shifting the goalpost? Does awareness of this phenomenon of erosion of values exist? Is it perceived as an erosion of values by most? It is important that various professional associations globally address this in the rightful manner. Are they in a position to do that in an unbiased and unprejudiced manner? It is important that some rules are laid down to ameliorate the constantly deteriorating terms of engagement.
This attempt to provide an insight into how the industry works today asks a few questions in order to hopefully clear the air about the grey areas in the professional ethics V/s professional business debate. Am I the only one seeing grey? Architectural Lighting design as a discipline is fairly new and considered important by few who have studied the subject. What is of consequence is the realisation that light has the power to influence life and dictates human health and well being. This however is a fact that is scarcely regarded by the manufacturing industry. This knowledge however, is now being promoted as a newfound elixir under the topic of “human-centric lighting”, a term exploited to extract maximum commercial benefit. Should not this basic knowledge of light be the bedrock of every lighting company and shouldn’t every design by default be human-centric?
The lighting equipment manufacturing industry by its sheer size and volume, dominates the field of lighting design. They have a far greater reach and interaction with the end users, by virtue of their market penetration as well as the budgets available to them. They can therefore be the educators of the masses for disseminating appropriate knowledge about what constitutes good lighting. They could decide to be responsible humans and look at how the whole business is run with sustainable practices. On the contrary, there is a far greater percentage of industry that focuses on cashing in on the confusion or lack of information and knowledge available to the consumers. Besides greed, the other reasons, one could argue, are lack of understanding of the subject and the disconnect between the financial and the technical goals of the company. One could safely say that the financial goals dictate the technical goals and are manipulated to convenience.
Financial pressures or unrealistic financial goals by companies and individuals tend to deviate the conduct away from the ethical. The wavering ideologies open up different business models and encourage unscrupulous practices, which serve individual and company financial goals but completely destroy the quality and consistency of the product and the integrity of the people who deal with the same. This human trait today is being exploited by most companies with a detrimental effect on the profession. A single-minded focus on money or earning with no qualms has eroded the importance of the knowledge that we all hold dear to our heart. The lure of large pecuniary benefits far outweigh the ability to provide efficient and meaningful solutions. The ignorance and incomprehension of the subject is further exploited to propagate confusion.
Glamour sells. It has become the cornerstone of influencing perception. Money is needed to fuel this perception. Therein lies the motivation to adopt nefarious means to accumulate more wealth. The influencers are financially induced to promote and sell convenient lies to the gullible public. The number of awards and magazines mushrooming are a case in point. There are very few awards constituted by recognised institutions and professional bodies with award given by peer review or due diligence. There are also awards constituted for money. The awarding agency makes money as you get your award and your spot in the limelight for a fee. This is also captured by media houses for a fee. Such media made stars then begin to dominate and dictate the professional landscape. They vitiate the professional environment and deviate the focus from the code of professional conduct with a single-minded approach towards commerce. The overshadowing of the profession and professional acumen by the perceptibly smooth businessman does indeed harm the profession and the quality of the results. This is aided by the industry as it suits their quest for numbers. They are ready to ply you with various inducements to be in your good favour. Thus begins the corruption, that today is deep rooted in the profession.
Belonging to a transition generation, we have seen a lot of change and progress. Digital technology is fast wiping out the analogue interfaces. We are also a generation of lighting designers that started with conventional lamp sources and have to now familiarize ourselves and work with LED and digital media. Besides technology, we also see a quantum leap in human greed. The focus has shifted from the quality and ethical solutions to “quick wealth” with no qualms. Sustainability, is more used as a catch phrase and ethics is a virtue which is progressively fading into oblivion. Success is measured by the net earning potential, with very scant regard to the rules of the game.
Whereas innovation and research comes with a cost, it also defines progress. This however translates into a cost to the end product. It thus becomes easy to merely copy and deliver solutions to the market at a much cheaper price. Does the cheaper price constitute value? Are you getting your worth for every unit of money spent? Is this within the framework of law?
The industry trend of working towards larger sales volumes has shifted the focus to mass consumer products. Premium companies who only offered premium products, now also offer value engineered products to tap this market segment. This can be referred to as adapting to changing business environments but is also evident of the degradation of the values.
The “value engineered” products have very less engineering and even lesser value. They are curated by people with insufficient or no qualification and understanding with a single-minded commercial motive.
As a design professional today, it has become imperative to develop skills to negotiate the commercial currents to succeed. Traversing the everchanging boundaries of ethics and acceptability one must stay true to the profession and self. Commitment is the key. What are you willing to endure? Can money really buy you love or is it “Love lost” in the process? I am looking for the answers. Perhaps they are available at a price.
The writer is B.Arch, PGDM, M.ALD, Director of Design, Light@Work Design Consultants Pvt. Ltd., India. Email: k.surlakar@lightdesignconsultants.com
