When I first joined HLB Lighting Design, I was eager to see lighting design theory come to life in real-world projects. CLO was one of my first projects with the firm, and it was as challenging as it was rewarding. The process sharpened my design instincts and deepened my understanding of how light shapes space. It was a true learning experience, made memorable by steep learning curves and the incredible mentors who guided me every step of the way. What follows is a look into how collaboration and design thinking helped us transform space with light—and three key lessons that have stayed with me since.  

Our client, CLO, is a 3D fashion design software company that enables designers to create true-to-life garment visualizations with simulation technologies for fashion. Since its launch in 2010, CLO has grown and evolved, now with 14 offices around the globe. Their New York City office, located in the iconic One World Trade Center, is the first space they’ve built post-pandemic, reflecting a new era of workplace design and return-to-office culture. HLB collaborated with NBBJ on this creative project, working in sync with the talented interior design team to bring the client’s vision to life.  

“Sophisticated, organic, soft”—these were the guiding principles shared by the interior design team as they shaped their vision for the space. The building’s unusual geometry was a direct result of One World Trade Center’s distinctive octagonal floor plan, presenting a unique design challenge with its angular form. Navigating those guiding principles and the building’s unique form was a formative experience for me as a young lighting designer. 

“The Stoop” features a recessed curvilinear luminaire winding through the space, integrated cove lighting, pendant hung cylinders, and decorative globes layered within the pop-up. In the background, the pantry is accented with channel lighting that provides vertical illumination for the wall finishes and task lighting at the countertop. (Photo Credit: Sean Airhart, NBBJ)

Lesson No. 1: Know Thy Luminaires. 

It might seem like common sense, but it’s a lesson worth repeating. During the concept phase, when pressed for time or facing multiple deadlines, it’s tempting to rely solely on the cutsheets and all the numbers—after all, that’s what they’re for. However, specifying a luminaire goes beyond what’s on the cutsheet, the lumens, and the optics. At the end of the day, lighting design is a visual practice, and it all comes down to this: we have to see it. Seeing the luminaire in person gives you a better understanding of how it’s engineered, how it’s connected, and how it will actually be installed. 

When I first saw the organic pop-ups at CLO, I wasn’t sure how to choose the right luminaire. Could a cove luminaire actually curve? I remember suggesting a flexible tape light, but HLB Senior Associate Diane Mottiqua quickly pointed out that we’d struggle to find one with the right optics and throw to light the pop-up properly—especially with the unpredictable mechanical elements and utilities with their varying sizes. Even after we found a luminaire that seemed to work and reviewed its cutsheet, I realized that seeing it in person was crucial. Diane and I made multiple trips to the showroom, checking how the luminaire performed before we finalized anything. Seeing the asymmetric optic on the cutsheet is one thing, but figuring out the details together, and watching how it shaped the space in real time, is what made the process click. 

Circulation areas showing the three layers of light: curved cove lighting, pendant with direct/indirect lighting and recessed curvilinear slot. (Photo Credit: Sean Airhart, NBBJ)

Lesson No. 2: Lighting Doesn’t Exist in a Vacuum—it Must Co-Exist with the Rest of the Space. 

Specifying luminaires doesn’t end at our desks – as designers, we must make sure it can actually work as intended, once installed on site. For the pendants in the workspaces, which hung below mechanical elements and utilities in the pop-ups, we had to ensure the indirect light didn’t create hotspots where these elements hung lower. After checking which locations required further study on site, we ran several tests using films to minimize output in certain areas, all the while keeping the overall light effect even and consistent. 

Another challenge came with the tape light used to highlight the raised platform in the stoop. When specifying the tape light, we included a flexible mounting channel to ensure the luminaire stayed consistent across the platform. When we arrived on-site, however, it became clear there was no channel, and the result was uneven light—scallops of bright and dark spots across the platform sides. In addition to this, the contractor told us that they had a hard time installing the tape light. Diane asked me to check our schedule and submittals to make sure we had specified everything clearly and correctly, which, to my immense relief, we had. We then worked closely with the contractor to make sure that everything was installed correctly, optimizing the lighting effect. Before this, I hadn’t really thought much about mounting accessories. I always saw them as installation tools, not as crucial elements that shape the lighting effect. The lighting effect isn’t just about beam spreads and optics; the right accessories and mounting elements can make or break your design. 

The elevated platform at the stoop with perimeter lighting and three light pendants to highlight the wall textures. Tape lighting outlines the elevated platform, shown here before the flexible mounting channel was installed. (Photo Credit: Sean Airhart, NBBJ)

Lesson No. 3: Every Detail Deserves Light 

Big moves matter, but in lighting design, sometimes it’s the small touches that truly shine. Diffused, globe-shaped pendants, used throughout both the stoop and the workplace, brought a whimsical, soft glow to the space. It added an atmosphere of warmth that made the environment feel more inviting. What made the system truly unique, however, was its integration of textile straps—where the lighting elements, the globes in this case, were attached to— that could be adjusted to create both taut and slack combinations, including loops and straight runs. As a highly customizable luminaire, its success hinged on precise installation, making sure the luminaires were hung at the right height and configured just so. 

Together with the interior designer and contractor, we meticulously planned the length of each loop and the height of every slack in the system. While there were straight runs as well, the real standout in the stoop was the globes suspended on four separate rods in the pop-up. These rods held both the globes and the textile straps, and it became a labor-intensive process to ensure that every loop was perfectly shaped. Starting from one end to the other, it was crucial to use just the right amount of strap for each loop, leaving enough length for the final adjustment. If the balance was off, we had to undo all the locks on the globes and start from scratch—a process we repeated more than once. The strap itself, which served both as support and conduit, was the key element that allowed us to achieve the precise, adjustable tension needed for the system to function as intended. 

Top: Close-up of the globe, focusing on the textile strap and locking mechanism. (Photo credit: HLB Lighting Design)
Bottom: Me on site, checking loop lengths and globe heights for the workplace installation. (Photo credit: HLB Lighting Design)

The Never-Ending Learning Process 

I started the project not really knowing anything about lighting beyond the calculations and cutsheets, and what I’ve come to realize is that learning is a never-ending process – and that’s what makes it so exciting. In the end, every project, CLO included, reinforces the idea that lighting is not just about illuminating a space, but about bringing it to life. The details, the collaboration, the constant adjustments—these are what make a space whole. While the projects that followed have each brought new challenges, CLO gave me the foundation, and the confidence, to keep learning, ask questions, and find light in the details.