MARTIN is an award winning lighting designer, design consultant, lecturer and resource speaker with more than 30 years of experience in the lighting industry. Martin has a master’s degree in industrial design and started his career of many years in creative and innovative lighting design with Philips (in Holland and overseas). He furthered his career by setting up his own lighting consultancy practice first with Lumino Design based in Singapore, later in Australia with Lighting Images. A few years ago Martin decided to apply his passion for lighting design exclusively through his own company, Klaasen Lighting Design (KLD). Martin brings to his designs a unique awareness of lighting technologies mixed with great creativity and a sense of innovation that improve and enhance the quality of lighting in professional installations. Some of his designs have received national and international lighting design awards. The list of his expertise and experiences spans all applications and projects around the globe. He has been involved with his company in several high profile projects around Asia Pacific from China to Australia and from India to the Philippines. To his credits are the lighting design of the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur and the Raffles Hotel restoration in Singapore.

　　Martin Klaasen從事照明行業超過30年，既是照明設計師、設計顧問，同時也是一位講師。他畢業于工業設計專業，在飛利浦工作成為了他的照明事業的開端。幾年后，他先后與新加坡Lumino設計公司、澳大利亞Lighting Images公司合作成立照明咨詢公司。直到幾年前，Martin成立了自己的設計公司KLD，專注于燈光設計。將他對照明技術的獨特理解和創新意識融入到設計當中，大大提高了燈具設備的質量和專業程度。他的知識和經驗在全球的項目應用中傳播，其設計作品也獲得了當地和國際上的照明獎項。從中國到澳大利亞，從印度到菲律賓，KLD在亞太地區的設計項目引起了高度關注，其中翹楚當屬吉隆坡石油雙塔和新加坡萊佛士酒店。

　　Martin is also passionate about sharing his knowledge by educating his clients and the public through his many articles in the media and more recently his daily blog, Light Talk. Martin is the author of Light Talk, a year in the life of light, the book of the same name that has been received by his peers to much acclaim. He is also a member of the International Advisory Council of the Chinese Lighting Designers Association (CLDA) who support and provide their international expertise in developing sustainable lighting design in China and Asia Pacific. Martin is also a professional member of the IALD (International Association of Lighting Designers) and IES WA (Illuminating and Engineering Society; Western Australia) and a sought after resource speaker at lighting related events, conferences, conventions and seminars.

　　同時，Martin也通過文章、個人博客“Light Talk”與顧客和大眾分享自己的設計心得。Light Talk記載了一年365天關于燈光的故事，其同名書籍獲得業內的盛贊。Martin是IALD國際照明設計師協會的專業會員、澳大利亞IES照明工程學會會員，也被CLDA華人照明設計師聯合會聘為國際顧問委員，為中國乃至亞太地區的可持續照明設計提供幫助和支持。此外，他還是一位致力于知識交流和傳播的講師，積極參加國際上照明相關學術會議、論壇、研討會等活動。

　　Alighting Design: How did you get into the lighting industry?

　　《阿拉丁·設計》：您是怎樣進入照明行業的?

　　MK: Quite by accident, actually. When I freshly graduated from my masters degree in Industrial Design, I applied for some jobs on offer at Philips in Eindhoven, a big Dutch multi-national company active in professional and consumer products. Out of the blue they offered me a position lighting designer at their Lighting Design and Application Centre. I had no idea what lighting design was at the time (my first thought was that of designing light bulbs), but after visiting their offices I discovered the exciting lighting projects they were doing all over the world including the Olympic Games. I was immediately hooked and took the job. I never looked back. That was in 1979!

　　MK：事實上真的純屬偶然。當時我初出茅廬，獲得工業設計學士學位之后就向埃因霍溫的飛利浦公司提交了工作申請。這是一個專注于專業產品和消費品的荷蘭跨國公司，出乎我的意料，他們提供給我的職位是照明設計與應用中心的燈光設計師。當時我也不知道燈光設計是什么，甚至以為就是設計燈泡的。但在參觀了他們的工作室之后，我發現這個團隊正做著令人驚嘆的事情，其中還包括了奧運會的燈光設計項目，我簡直為之傾倒。我很少回顧過去，那是1979年的事了。

　　Alighting Design: What is your design philosophy?

　　《阿拉丁·設計》：您的設計理念是什么?

　　MK: My design philosophy is really to let the lighting do the talking, in other words lighting has to emphasize the task it is supposed to perform, has to create the moods and ambiance. I don’t really want to see the lights themselves but its resulting lighting effect. As such I never start my design with the products but rather with the lighting effects that I want to achieve and then work backwards to my product selection. Of course this requires an in-depth knowledge and understanding of what can be achieved with light and lighting products, but after more than 30 years in the business I can confidently say that I do, though continuous updating yourself of what is available and possible is imperative. Hence I always have an open door policy towards the lighting manufacturers.

　　MK：我認為必須讓燈光“說話”。換句話說，燈光必須做好創造情緒氛圍的角色。我想看到的不是一個個的燈，而是它們營造出來的燈光效果。因此我從來不在設計開始的時候選擇燈具，我會先設計好自己想要的效果，再倒推回去選擇適合的產品。當然，前提是你得擁有豐富的知識，并且清楚知道不同的燈具和燈光可以達到什么樣的效果。經過超過30年的工作實踐，我可以自豪地說，我可以。但是，不斷提升自己的能力和可能性是必須的。所以，對于燈具制造廠家，我一直抱著開放的心態。

　　Alighting Design: What do you think is the most important factor in lighting design?

　　《阿拉丁·設計》：您認為燈光設計最重要的因素是什么?

　　MK: Without doubt the human factor! We design lighting for people not for lux meters. We design for people with emotions, with feelings, with desires, with specific needs whether it is work, relaxation or other. We don’t see lux levels, we see the light reflected from its surrounding spaces, hence understanding of materials, colours and how it interacts with lighting is crucial for a good lighting design! Too many lighting designers unfortunately focus on lighting levels without understanding the human and spatial implications. Light has volume and as such every good lighting designer also has to anticipate how light will be absorbed by that space, specifically the vertical elements!

　　MK：毫無疑問是“人”!照明設計是為人而做，而不是為了應付照度計!人擁有情感、情緒、欲望，以及各種特殊的需求，比如工作、休息或其他。我們看到的不是照度水平，而是整個燈光環境，所以材料、顏色以及它們怎樣與照明產生作用是一個好的燈光設計的關鍵。很多燈光設計師都把焦點放在照度水平上，忽略了人的直觀感受和空間的內在需求。燈光是有量可循的，一個好的燈光設計師應該提前預估燈光怎樣被空間特別是直線元素吸收或反射。