Lighting Lessons

If the name Jim Boyd seems even vaguely familiar, it stands to reason.  Boyd cleaned up at the Association of Outdoor Lighting Professionals (AOLP) awards ceremony during the 2010 Annual Meeting & Expo.

His company, Boyd Lighting Designs, won two AOLP peer Merit Awards (Best Residential Lighting Application and Best of Show Lighting), an Award of Excellence for Best Lighting Project from AOLP’s awards committee and it won the coveted Janet Lennox Moyer Award.

With more than 30 years in the landscape lighting industry – delivering both distinctive and thrilling lighting scenes for residents of San Antonio and adjacent Texas Hill Country area – it seemed the perfect time to debrief with Boyd on the state of the industry and what he sees ahead for outdoor lighting.


How’d you get into the lighting business?
Lighting goes back three generations in my family. I began learning about lighting from working in a lighting showroom business which specialized in residential lighting applications and design. When I began designing and installing landscape lighting, I was already familiar with many of the lamps used because they were the same lamps we had been using in recessed and track applications inside homes. 


What are some of your biggest challenges as a lighting professional?
My biggest challenge – which I really enjoy – is to try and keep up with the continual evolution of the light bulb itself.  When the term “lifelong learning” was coined, they had to be talking about the lighting industry.

You will never get bored in this business, because there is always something new, or new to you, to learn about and find ways to use to enhance your clients’ experience with light.