USS Midway Museum: Bringing steel to life
InPark magazine
When the USS Midway Museum set out to turn the engineering spaces into an exhibit, the goal was not simply to restore machinery or add another technical exhibit. Instead, the team wanted to take visitors on an emotional journey that honors the engineers whose work kept the carrier alive for nearly half a century.
> read moreWhere Creativity Meets The Road - How Lightswitch's Pragmatic Design Empowers Musicians
Pollstar
For many music artists, touring is the main revenue engine. The pressure to deliver jaw-dropping experiences that are also profitable has never been higher, and every decision quickly becomes a balancing act between spectacle and sustainability. One wrong move and margins evaporate.
> read more"Enlighten" at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
PLSN
A wonderfully unique stroll was had, walking through Enlighten, a holiday light spectacle that brightened the winterscape of the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, MI. The immersive 1-mile experience featured the lighting work of the design collective, Lightswitch. The beloved Meijer Gardens were created by Fred and Lena Meijer, of the Meijer grocery chain to give back to the community where they started.
> read moreLightswitch Illuminates Hans Zimmer Live
TPI
Catching up with design collective, Lightswitch, at the end of the music maestro’s US 2024 tour, TPi discovers the intricacies behind lighting the epic production of a legend in music and film.
> read moreHans Zimmer Live
PLSN
Hans Zimmer Live paired iconic musical compositions with a transporting show design by Derek McLane and John Featherstone, working with Peter Nigrini’s engaging video designs and dynamic lighting supported by Associate Designers Hailey Featherstone and Chris Herman.
> read moreLightswitch Illuminates Tours from Hans Zimmer to Karol G
Pollstar
Lighting and visual design for the live industry is a boiling brew of creativity and technology, but the final concoction also involves a heavy dose of listening and collaboration. After all, a designer can rarely just run roughshod in their own direction without any input from the artist who will perform in front of the photon canvas they cook up. And since every act is different with different demands and visions, success for lighting and visual teams also relies on nimbleness and flexibility.
> read moreLightswitch reflects on Karol G's Mañana Será Bonito tour
TPI
Lighting Designer, Ignacio Rosenberg of Lightswitch reflects on the trials and tribulations of staging a reggaeton spectacle with little lead time.
> read moreLightswitch at 30
PLSN
The design collective Lightswitch is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year as they were officially formed in 1993. Over those three decades, the collective has moved well beyond just lighting and now positions the firm as ‘lighting, media, and visual designers’, with six offices. PLSN spoke with the two Founding Principals—John Featherstone and Norm Schwab about hitting this impressive milestone, the culture of the collective, and why they believe clients trust Lightswitch.
> read moreFive Things You Need To Know To Successfully Run a Live Event
Medium
Put yourself in the shoes of the audience. For example, if a show is for a tech company you’re going to need stellar wifi and a lot of charging stations (located where they’re useful, so we don’t have bloggers sitting on the floor against wall in the back of the room next to a plug). Make water stations available. Think about what you’d need if you were in that audience.
> read moreDesign Consideration For The Performance Installation "Love, A State Of Grace"
Live Design
Joanna Haigood of Zaccho Dance Theater was intrigued by the idea of a site-specific dance performance in collaboration with Grace Cathedral at the pinnacle of Nob Hill in San Francisco since 2018. The result is Love, a state of grace, an aerial performance installation seen for two weeks in February 2022.
> read more'Hans Zimmer Live' Tour Announced With Odessa Opera Orchestra From Ukraine
Pollstar
Hans Zimmer, the man responsible for some of the biggest and most well-known movie soundtracks and films scores, is going back on tour in Europe, and this time, he'll be on stage himself again.
> read moredesignspace
PLSN Magazine
It’s been a long year of home stays, interspersed with all-too-brief visits to the outside world around us through two dimensional screens. The students at Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe, under the guiding hand of John Featherstone of Lightswitch Inc., have blown through those screens with a unique immersive experience called "designspace."
> read moreDrive-through Comfort Reignites a Holiday Exhibition
Exhibition
This year, with the pandemic raging, Morton Arboretum reimagined Illumination for its eighth season as a socially distanced drive-through experience: six new and five reconfigured displays along a two-mile, 35-minute driving route.
> read moreIgnite! Executive Visions Produces a Spectacular Live Experience for NuSkin
PLSN Magazine
When a company has literally millions of sales representatives, employees and customers around the world, it takes a spectacular event to engage them all. That’s the challenge faced by the team that creates the biennial NuSkin event, a conference and celebration for all of the people involved in this direct-to-consumer skin care and lifestyle products company.
> read moreAt Descanso Gardens, a different kind of winter light show
Los Angeles Times
At Descanso Gardens, a different kind of winter light show
> read moreLightswitch Illuminates NuSkin Corporate Event
Live Design
Nu Skin, a leading anti-aging-product company, held its most recent corporate event, Nu Skin Live, on October 10-13, 2017, with Lightswitch providing illumination for the sessions as well as a corporate gala and Maroon 5 concert at The Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City.
> read moreEnchanted: Forest of Light at Descanso Gardens
PLSN Magazine
Enchanted: Forest of Light is an interactive, nighttime experience unlike anything else in Southern California, featuring a one-mile walk through 10 distinct lighting displays in some of the most beloved areas of Descanso Gardens.
> read moreMorton Arboretum 'Illumination' Opens
Chicago Tribune
In its fifth anniversary season beginning Friday, November 17, there is more candlepower than ever at “Illumination,” the arboretum’s mile-long walk through festooned foliage.
> read moreBeijing in Las Vegas
LD+A Magazine
Vibrant colors bring Asia to America at the Lucky Dragon Hotel and Casino
> read moreTHE RIPPLE EFFECT – A New Paradigm for Corporate Events at CISCO LIVE
LIVEDESIGN
Cisco raised the benchmark for corporate events with a visually exciting, 360° experience with Cisco Live, held June 25 to 29 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas
> read moreLEDs Put Chicago's New Field Museum Exhibit in its Best Light
IMARK NOW
Two Chicago-area businesses played important behind-the-scenes roles in the installation of the Cyrus Tang Hall of China exhibit at Chicago’s Field Museum.
> read more‘Enchanted’ Light Show Shines at Descanso Gardens
San Marino Tribune
‘Enchanted’ Light Show Shines at Descanso Gardens
> read more2016 holiday lights guide: Morton Arboretum flips the switch early
Chicago Tribune
2016 holiday lights guide: Morton Arboretum flips the switch early
> read more6 things to see at Morton Arboretum's 'Illumination'
Daily Herald
The sprawling outdoor museum -- home to tree collections from around the globe -- long has been a must-visit in summer and fall. But now, with "Illumination" brightening what had been a stark winter landscape, the arboretum has become a holiday season destination, too.
> read moreA Titan's Lair
From Architectural Lighting
Chicago-based Boka Restaurant Group’s new steakhouse Swift & Sons, couldn’t be in a more fitting location. Housed in a cold-storage facility built in the 1920s in the city’s West Loop, it originally served as the way station for tons of raw meat from the surrounding stockyards for more than 90 years.
> read moreE3 and Lightswitch: Long Time Runnin'
PLSN
Lightswitch has had a long history designing lighting for gaming experiences at the premier conference for this multi-billion dollar industry.
> read moreInstallations to Inspire
Stage Directions
A look at four of the most innovative recent theatrical technical projects built in the United States.
> read moreWriters Theatre Opens in Chicago Area with Assist from Lightswitch
PLSN
Writers Theatre recently opened a new 36,000-square-foot performance space in Glencoe, IL Lightswitch Architectural designed the architectural lighting and controls for the entire complex.
> read moreA Starring Role
Architectural SSL
A tightly coordinated lighting plan by designers with the Chicago office of Lightswitch Architectural for the new Writers Theatre in Glencoe, Ill., gives top billing to LEDs.
> read moreThe Judds “Girls Night Out”
Mobile Production Monthly
It was girls’ night out in Las Vegas when superstar country duo The Judds took the stage at the Venetian Theater.
> read moreColor-Tunable Sources Make for Artful Illumination
Architectural SSL
Illuminating great works of art is not a task to be taken lightly,
> read more