Industry News

Registration is now open for the LightFair 2020 conference and tradeshow, May 3 – 7, 2020 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The 31st annual staging of the premier annual event in architectural and commercial lighting features more than 200 hours of accredited courses, more than 150 speakers, nearly 90 educational sessions and numerous networking opportunities plus more than 500 exhibitors presenting new advancements in lighting and technology.  

“LightFair 2020 is an investment with great returns for lighting designers, specifiers, architects and engineers,” said Dan Darby, show director. “The educational, networking and innovation discovery opportunities present an unmatched value for attendees.”

Five Days of Conference Programming New for the 2020 conference are seven educational tracks, allowing attendees to focus their learning on key lighting, technology and design themes. They are: 

-Application & Evidence-Based Design: Focuses on methodology, design trends, tools and insights used to enable project success in the field of lighting

-Design Tools: Covers the tools the industry may use to bring its designs to fruition

-Human Experience + Environment: Explores the influence of lighting on the human experience and the environment

-Innovation + Process: Explores sources of inspiration that inform the design process along with technology development

-Professional Practice: Focuses on the development and evolution of professional strategies

-Technology and Integration: Focuses on the design and specification of components and software that advance technology in the lighting industry

-Mix and Match: Samples courses from each of six niche tracks

LightFair’s two-day immersion courses include “AGi32 Basic Course,” “Basic Lighting,” “Intermediate Lighting” and “Networked Lighting Controls Hands-On.” One-day courses include “Bluetooth Mesh Primer for Lighting Professionals,” “Control Intent Narratives and Sequences of

Operation for Lighting Controls” and “LED Luminaire Design: Beyond the Basics, Tips and Tricks for a Better Product.” Additionally, eight three-hour courses cover a series of topics including lighting design, controls and new technologies. 

Headlining the conference is Keynote Speaker Sir David Adjaye, OBE of Adjaye Associates. Sir David is recognized as a leading architect of his generation. Born in Tanzania to Ghanaian parents, his broadly ranging influences, ingenious use of materials and sculptural ability have established him as an architect with an artist’s sensibility and vision. In 2000, he founded Adjaye Associates, which now has offices in London, New York and Accra with projects in the US, UK, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. His largest project to date, the $540 million Smithsonian Institution National Museum of African American History and Culture, opened on the National Mall in Washington DC in fall of 2016. The museum was named Cultural Event of the Year by the New York Times and the Beazley Design of the Year by the Design Museum.

Industrial designer Karim Rashid serves as the 2020 Opening-Day Speaker. Rashid is one of the most prolific designers of his generation with more than 4,000 designs in production, more than 300 awards and projects in more than 35 countries. His award-winning designs include the ubiquitous Garbo waste can and Oh Chair for Umbra, and interiors such as the Morimoto restaurant in Philadelphia and Semiramis hotel in Athens. Rashid collaborated with clients to create democratic designs for Method and Dirt Devil, furniture for Artemide and BoConcept, brand identities for Citibank and Hyundai, high tech products for LaCie and Samsung, and luxury goods for Veuve Clicquot and Swarovski. His work is featured in 20 permanent collections and he exhibits art in galleries worldwide. He is a perennial winner of the Red Dot award, Chicago Athenaeum Good Design award, I.D. Magazine Annual Design Review and the IDSA Industrial Design Excellence Award.

Also scheduled for the conference are a series of special events, highlighted by the LightFair Innovation Awards, which showcases the industry’s most innovative products and designs on Monday, May 4. Additionally, the “New Attendee Orientation & Tour” provides tips and tricks for first-time attendees; Acuity Brands Lighting and Cooper Lighting Solutions host lunch-andlearns; and NCQLP hosts a member luncheon.

All conference courses will offer CEU / Learning Units / Certification Maintenance Points for the American Institute of Architects (AIA), American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), Building Owners and Managers Association

International (BOMA), Independent Institute for Property and Facility Management Education (BOMI), International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD), Interior Designers of Canada (IDC), Interior Design Continuing Education Council (IDCEC), International Interior Design Association (IIDA), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and Illuminating Engineering Society (IES).    

Three Days of Tradeshow Inspiration LightFair presents more than 500 exhibitors and four product pavilions plus new design-focused programming and networking opportunities at the May 5 – 7 tradeshow. 

The Design Theater, located within the Design Pavilion, is the hub for LightFair’s new Design Synergist program, which showcases lighting design thought leaders and innovators through presentations and tours on the tradeshow floor. Also new are The Loyalty Lounge with seating, charging stations and refreshments for VIP designers, association partners and most frequent attendees; and the LightFair Innovations Award Lounge with the Innovations Bar, a coffee bar and meeting place for attendees and exhibitors. Returning in 2020 is the LightFair News Center, which will present live interviews and podcasts with top designers and notable industry leaders at the tradeshow. 

New Pricing Periods New for 2020 is three time periods for registration purchases. The early bird pricing, with the most discounts is January 7 – March 2; standard pricing is March 3 – May 2; full-priced onsite pricing is available May 3 – 7. Registrations for educational programs and special events and exhibit hall passes can be purchased in packages or a la carte at LightFair.com/Register-2020.

Full pricing, conference and tradeshow information is available on LightFair.com. 

About LightFair LightFair, the world’s largest annual architectural and commercial lighting trade show and conference, is owned by the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD), the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) and International Market Centers.  For more information, please visit LIGHTFAIR.COM.  Join the #LightFair conversation on Facebook, Twitter @lightfair, Instagram @lightfair_international, LinkedIn and YouTube.