Cory Mortimer - Post 1 - Outside of Ruby's

A group of friends and I went out to Ruby's in Newport Beach for dinner one night and the restaurant's "lighting design" was interesting. From the outside, it looks like they are using a low pressure light: a neon light. It may be obvious, but the neon light did not illuminate anything. It only added a red accent to the red painted area on the wall. Moving down the wall, between the window and the wall, there are lights tucked up in a little crevice. These lights helped to create a pretty interesting (and in my opinion, pretty cool) effect. With the help of the indoor lights, these lights illuminated the area right outside the window and the ledge. If you look closely, there is a distinct change in lighting once you reach the end of the edge. The sidewalk and the side of the ledge is only illuminated by streetlamps. The lighting design basically marks the boundaries of Ruby's, which I find pretty cool.

It is a little difficult to see the full effect of the inside lighting but it worked a little like full stage lighting, not an ambient restaurant lighting. Every place in the restaurant was fully lit from above, so there were many shadows forming closely around objects. Everything was easily seen in the restaurant.