The Design of the Visual Field

Abstract

This report was prepared for the National Illumination Committee of Great Britain by its Sub-Committee on the Principles of Lighting. It reviews the aims, the mechanism and the calculation of interior lighting. Recently the conception of interior lighting has progressed beyond the provision of illumination on a working plane to include decoration, brightness distributions, discomfort, emphasis, modelling and other matters. There has, however, not been hitherto a statement of the problem as a whole, so that the several aspects can be reviewed in their proper relationship; the Lighting Principles Sub-Committee therefore undertook the task of preparing such a statement, which is published by the authority of the National Illumination Committee.

The report is in three parts. Part I reviews the aims of good lighting, and indicates the considerations which should weigh with the designer in specifying a brightness distribution. Part II discusses the mechanism of interior lighting, reviewing the phenomena of adaptation, the necessary amount of light, questions of emphasis, contrast, comfort, modelling, and colour and decoration. Part III discusses the formation of the brightness pattern and the methods of predetermining it. The state of knowledge in the various sections and the possible direction of future work is indicated.