I started by making light for people at work. Then, in 1988, I made a reading light for my mum.
Over the years, Serious Lights have been chosen for lifeboats, control towers and museums.
1982 to 1986 / The industrial beginning
As a student, I noticed how much easier it was to concentrate under better light. I wanted to understand why. That interest became my work.
Our first major order was for
the Levi 501 production line.
Singer Industrial Sewing Machines came to us with a practical brief: improve productivity on that line.
We were making a tool for people doing close, detailed work. It was an industrial starting point, and it shaped the way I thought about light: begin with the job someone needs to do.
More demanding work followed.
Serious Lights went on to be used by Bentley.
They were used in forensic science too, where the work depends on seeing every detail.
1988 / A very personal reason
Macular degeneration was making it harder for my mum to read. I built her our first High Definition home reading light to help her carry on and remain independent.
I was bringing what I had learned in industrial lighting into the home. For my mum, the task was personal: being able to sit down with a book and read it for herself.
That is where Serious Lights for the home began.
Our professional pedigree
Our work has taken us from production lines to navigation desks and air traffic control.
In each of these places, the person doing the work needs to see every detail.
Serious Lights have been chosen for navigation on RNLI lifeboats. Here, one sits beside the instruments and a nautical almanac.
We went on to develop lights used by air traffic controllers in Heathrow's control tower.
2000 / Light for art
In 2000, our halogen High Definition light engines were installed in three of the world's great museums.
We built them to bring out the colour and fine detail in each work of art.
In good company
Closer to home, Serious Lights sit beside people making, writing and composing.
2009 onwards / The work continues
Our first HD LED light arrived in 2009. Today Daylight Wavelength Technology™ gives you the full spectrum of daylight and scores 98 out of 100 for colour, so you see every detail.
We brought LED technology into the range, continuing the work we had begun with halogen.
We designed it so you can add a battery and a remote, and choose how and where you use your light.
It has a beam you can narrow or widen and a thumbwheel for the brightness, so you can set it for the way you like to read.
We are now working with universities on light tailored to each person's eyes. I am still asking the question that started all of this: what can better light make possible for the person using it?
From our story to your home
All of that experience now goes into a light for your home, so you can see every detail of what you love doing.
Read by one at home for up to 90 days, with your own book. I would like you to judge the difference for yourself.
Explore Serious Lights