Aging

Martin 2003-2017 – From  Light Talk 2

This is potentially a contentious subject, not often touched upon by my peers in any form of discussion or communication. But I want to lift a little lid on this to see if it resonates with some of you, the younger or older generation. When I say aging there are obviously a few interpretations that can be brought up, but in this particular case I don’t want to talk about technology, systems or methods, but about the human side of things. 

As you grow older (note I say grow and not get, as in my opinion you still grow!) you might encounter several “age” related issues as a lighting designer. We have a tendency to rust in our habits, meaning that the longer we have been around, the more you tend to fall back on what works for you. But the world around you is changing, moving forward (think AI) being able to adapt is more challenging for the older generation.

But growing older might also mean the diminished capacity of our senses, our body functions, and I refer here to sight, hearing, touch, smell, muscular “flexibility” and so on. You might even include emotional stability and mental health into the equation. Key to lighting designers will obviously be our sight. It is hard to imagine a blind lighting designer being able to deliver a lighting design without being able to fully appreciate the visual impact. So, maintaining a good sight would be elementary. 

What about hearing? I just got fitted an hearing aid, because I was starting to struggle in meetings and noisy environments where I needed to communicate. Not dramatic, but enough that it started to bother me. A big part of a good designer is also being a good listener, so when that faculty diminishes, it becomes a bit of an obstacle. Luckily technology is there to help! 

Then there is the whole mix of health in general, managing stress, (mental) fitness, sleep, all components that need to be in a reasonably good state to be able to continue functioning within the scope of expected “deliverables” as a lighting designer. And I don’t mean producing a design, I mean everything that comes around it, the preparations, the travel, the meetings, the managing of all things that ultimately result in the final lighting design installations and the success of your company in general…

Yes, I am growing older and that’s why I am speaking about it, I am confronted by it. But I am blessed still feeling fit, healthy and energetic with heaps of things to achieve, no stopping me 😊

…love to hear from young and old….