Why Is Lighting Still Undervalued?
Jasper Sanders invited to participate in the [d]arc thoughts lecture programme during Clerkenwell Design Week 2026, joining a panel discussion exploring one of the industry’s most enduring questions.

Why Is Lighting Still Undervalued?

Jasper Sanders was delighted to be invited to participate in the [d]arc thoughts lecture programme during Clerkenwell Design Week 2026, joining a panel discussion exploring one of the industry’s most enduring questions: Why is lighting still undervalued?

Recognised as one of the world’s leading design festivals, Clerkenwell Design Week attracts thousands of architects, interior designers, manufacturers and specifiers from across the globe. The annual [d]arc thoughts lecture series has become one of the festival’s most respected forums for debate, bringing together leading voices from the lighting profession to challenge convention and share new perspectives on design.

Moderated by Matt Waring, Editor of arc magazine, the panel featured Jasper Sanders, Founder of Jasper Sanders + Partners, alongside Eoin Billings, Founding Partner at Billings Jackson, and Stefan Isherwood, Associate Lighting Designer at Nulty. Speaking before an audience of around one hundred delegates, the discussion explored why lighting continues to be viewed as a cost rather than an investment, despite its profound influence on how architecture is experienced.The conversation centred on a number of recurring themes. Great lighting should be considered from the earliest stages of design rather than as a finishing touch or value engineering exercise. Whilst poor lighting is immediately noticeable, successful lighting often works quietly, enriching atmosphere, supporting wellbeing and allowing architecture, materials and interiors to perform at their very best. The panel also challenged the notion that compliance alone defines quality, arguing instead that memorable environments are created through emotion, experience and human connection, qualities that cannot always be measured by technical standards alone.

For Jasper Sanders + Partners, the discussion reinforced a philosophy that has long underpinned the studio’s work: lighting is not an accessory to good design, it is one of its defining ingredients. The full panel discussion is available to watch on [d]arc magazine TV on YouTube.