Northern Lighting Awards

Open for Project Submissions

closes may 1, 2024

2020 IES Northern Ltg Award - Interior.jpg

The Northern Lighting Awards recognises exemplary lighting and controls as designed and integrated by all those within IES Edmonton’s Northern Alberta area, raising awareness and improving local standards & practices.  Projects may range from simple to complex, including creative solutions to both new and traditional challenges.

The award categories are:

  • Interior

  • Exterior

  • Specialty Lighting

    • The Specialty Lighting award is provided for an innovative application of lighting design for visual effect and does not necessarily relate strictly to traditional interior or exterior applications. This category is provided to include specialty lighting controls, custom craft-built luminaires, dynamic colour changing feature lighting, or other similar applications. Your imagination, innovation, and ingenuity is the driving factor for this award.

Submissions are open to designers, suppliers, agents and installers – no project is too big or too small!  You may submit multiple projects in as many categories as you wish.

Each submission will be presented through an online voting portal. Voting will open soon after the submission deadline (to be announced).

All submissions will be reviewed and the winners announced at an in-person Northern Lighting Awards Night.

Judging:  Submissions will be showcased on an online voting form where everyone will be able to review and vote for their favourites. Winners will be announced at our Annual General Meeting later in the year.

Trophy:  Winners will receive the Northern Lighting Award Trophy with their company name forever engraved upon the list of winners to display proudly & hold for the year as well as a framed certificate to keep.

Draw Prize For Submitting:   We will hold a special prize draw for a light meter for all those who submit projects!  You will receive one entry per submission in either category.  For example if you submit two (2) Interior projects and one (1) Exterior project, you will receive three (3) entries into the draw!  Only the person submitting will be eligible for the draw. 

SUBMITTAL PROCEDURES

Eligibility and Entry Rules

  1. Anyone (except manufacturers); IES members or non-members may enter a project. Agents may also submit.

  2. The installation must have been completed during the 24 months preceding the current year of submittal.

  3. The projects may be geographically located anywhere in the world, however, design credit must belong to those in our local section.

  4. Different areas of the same project may be submitted as separate lighting entries (i.e., Exterior, Interior and/or Specialty). Each of these entries must have its own distinguishable title. Each of these entries will be judged separately.

Prepare your submittal(s). Each project entry must include:

  • Project Summary
    Up to a three hundred (300) word maximum narrative is allowed to present a project.  PLEASE NOTE: The names of equipment manufacturers or specific brands is not allowed anywhere in the narrative. Any reference or endorsement of a commercial product is not allowed. However, proper names of places (i.e., Doubletree by Hilton, University of Alberta, etc.) in each photograph narrative is admissible. 

    TIP    –it’s beneficial to address particular design details. For example, address Energy and Budget if this was a significant challenge or accomplishment. Renovation or new build? Codes or certifications met (LEED, etc.). Types of lighting used and its characteristics (CCT, etc.). Controls used. Commenting on these and other factors can help you present a compelling project.
     

  • Images
    Up to 10 high-resolution images (photos, sketches or renderings) per entry will be accepted. Multiple images per slide are allowed, but each image will count towards the maximum allotment of 10. Digital renderings that are identified as such are acceptable—if they are accompanied by a photograph of the actual installation, to demonstrate the actual design and installed results. Each rendering and accompanying photographs will be counted individually. Images must be in JPEG or PNG format and at least 1024px wide and 768px high.
    PLEASE NOTE:     Fill light is prohibited. Digitally enhanced images are prohibited.

    TIP    –Don’t include 10 images if they don’t help tell a compelling project story; sometimes less is more.
    TIP    –Photos taken during daylight hours may not adequately present the lighting design.
     

  • Image Narratives
    Each image can be described in a 25-word narrative that explains that particular image. This narrative is in addition to the introductory summary for each project.
    TIP    –Use this to tell the judges what they are seeing. An image without a narrative is difficult to judge.
     

  • OPTIONAL: Video Submission
    Video submission must NOT contain any narrative (written, spoken or music). Total video length allowed is a maximum of one (1) minute. Video must be a mov, m4v or mp4 format. Still images as a slide show are not accepted as a video and will be disqualified. You may describe the video in up to 25 words in the video narrative.