David Shiller

  Electrical distributor consolidation is gradually redrawing the lighting market, and the effects are showing up in pricing, service, and channel strategy. With at least 125 U.S. electrical distributor acquisitions in the last five years, the lighting industry is operating in a channel that is larger, more concentrated, and more competitive than it was at [...]

  Digital marketing firm, Unframed Digital, has published a 2026 report, Transparency Wins The Spec: How Product Brands Build Designer Trust Online. The report is based on a survey of 783 U.S. design professionals. Key survey findings include: 98 to 99% of design professionals shop for products online. 54% discover products through organic search. 59% [...]

  Color Kinetics (a Signify brand) has published a new application guide Illuminating Bridges. The Guide emphasizes that bridges are more than transport links, they are civic symbols, visual landmarks, and increasingly, experiential spaces. Thoughtful lighting plays a critical role in defining how these structures are perceived after dark. Done well, it enhances safety, reinforces [...]

  Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) is an engineering methodology that optimizes product design to minimize production costs and streamline assembly. By prioritizing how parts are made and put together early in the design phase, companies reduce part counts, accelerate time-to-market, and eliminate expensive downstream modifications. The methodology is divided into two complementary core disciplines: Design [...]

  The National Lighting Bureau held an AI Think Tank on April 13, 2026. It brought together a cross-section of industry leaders to examine a question rapidly shifting from theoretical to operational: how artificial intelligence will reshape the lighting sector. The consensus was unequivocal—AI is no longer a future consideration but an immediate strategic priority. [...]

  A strong trend at LEDucation in April was an emphasis on “dark light,” “dark optics,” and low-UGR performance, especially in specification-grade architectural fixtures. What began as a design preference for black finishes has evolved into a more technical conversation about visual comfort, source concealment, and controlled luminance. In these performance architectural fixtures, the finish [...]

  Motorized architectural lighting is undergoing a meaningful shift, driven by a factor that has historically constrained its adoption: fixture size. For decades, remote-controlled luminaires delivering full pan, tilt, and beam adjustment required large apertures—often exceeding 150 mm—along with substantial ceiling depth and access. As a result, the category remained largely confined to large-scale hospitality, [...]

  The phase-out of POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) copper lines matters to the lighting industry mainly where lighting depends on legacy analog communications or building-life-safety infrastructure, not for everyday general lighting. The biggest effects are on emergency lighting controls, building automation, and any older sites where lighting systems share copper POTS/landline paths with alarms, fire [...]

  Whether you’re a manufacturer, rep, distributor, specifier, or contractor, the need to generate new business is the same. You want to drive incoming leads, in quantity. An integrated sales and marketing campaign must speak directly to your target customer and identify prospects that are interested in the type of lighting solutions that you offer. [...]