Daylight lamps are an essential tool for artists. When you're creating in the real world rather than on-screen, having the right light to work by is essential. Poor lighting can make the creative process much harder; whether you're a designer, illustrator, crafter or artist, you require better light than a standard overhead bulb can provide, and that means something as close as possible to natural daylight as possible.
But there's more. Not only do you need ample illumination to see fine details and ensure that the colours you're working with are just right, you also need just the right spread of light for the area you're working on, and the ability to position your lighting exactly where it's needed. And of course, you'll almost certainly want all this from a lamp that'll look good in your home and studio.
In short, you need a lamp from The Daylight Company's extensive range of contemporary lighting solutions. Carry on to read why this lighting specialist matters or jump ahead and discover the best The Daylight Company lamps you can buy today.
The Daylight Company: the story so far
The Daylight Company started out in 1987, when founder Patrick Jacquelin hit upon the solution to a problem that was plaguing his artist, painter and sculptor friends: the difficulty of working with poor lighting. Blue-tinted daylight bulbs were a forgotten technology at the time, but Patrick reasoned that they could give artists the illumination that conventional lighting couldn't provide, and he was right.
His daylight lamps were an instant success, and since then The Daylight Company has been on a mission to develop quality lighting not only for artists and creators, but also for people with sight loss as well as the health and beauty and industrial markets. Guiding The Daylight Company's way since the start has been a set of three key principles that help it create lighting that meets its customers' specific needs.
Whether you're designing graphics, working with watercolours, oils, pastels or inks, there's a lamp in The Daylight Company's range that can meet your needs
First is quality of light. There's more to that than hitting the right colour temperature for good contrast and accurate colour matching. You also need optimum brightness and just the right spread of light to cover your working area.
Secondly, ergonomics. You need to be able to easily position the light so that it's exactly where it's needed. That can be harder than it seems; an artist working on an easel has very different needs to a designer at a drawing board or even an engineer inspecting circuitry.
Thirdly, design. While a daylight lamp is essentially a functional thing, aesthetic appeal matters too. A well-designed lamp gives its user a lot more pleasure, and The Daylight Company's lamps are slim and elegant, fit for a workshop, office or home.
The Daylight Company's product development team uses these principles to create high quality lamps for professionals, so that regardless of their environment they can work with precision and see all the details and true colours they require. Whether you're designing graphics, working with watercolours, oils, pastels or inks, or even sculpting, there's a lamp in The Daylight Company's range that can meet your needs. Here's a small selection of what's available.
The Daylight Company: lamps
Slimline 3 Table lamp
Perfect for seeing the most intricate work in all its detail, the Slimline 3 is ideal for fine arts, design tasks and complex crafts; indeed any creative project that requires a good spread and diffusion of light will benefit from this lamp.
This stylish and neat lamp has an aluminium shade with a full length diffuser, four brightness levels for achieving just the right amount of illumination, and it features flexible joints so that you can always get its positioning just right.
• Buy the Slimline 3 Table lamp for $234.99 / £129.99
Tricolor lamp
When great illumination really matters, the Tricolor Table Lamp delivers with an exceptional, shadow-free spread of light. Easy to operate and with subtle design, this is a lamp ideal for seeing fine details or getting accurate colour matching.
This lamp features three colour temperature settings to suit your needs: Daylight 6,000K, Cool light 4,000K and Warm light 2,700K. The Tricolor looks fantastic on your desk or table, and both the arms and shade are adjustable so that you can direct the light exactly where you need it.
• Buy the Tricolor Table lamp for $169.99 / £109.99
Electra floor lamp
For versatile and dependable lighting in your home or studio, the slim and unobtrusive Electra floor lamp fits the bill perfectly. It's narrow design and flexibility ensures this lamp looks just as good in a living room as it does above a craft or drafting desk.
Its brightness can be easily adjusted thanks to a tactile dimmer switch, there are three colour temperatures from Daylight 6,000K to warm light 2,700K, and it has an anti-glare shade to keep the light out of your eyes and focussed where you need it. The Electra comes in a gorgeous black satin finish, and its flexible arm and rotating shade make positioning simple.
• Buy the Electra floor lamp for $174.99 / £119.99
Techne Artist & Drafting lamp
Designed to be easily mounted on an easel, drafting table, drawing board or work bench, the Techne Artist & Drafting lamp provides perfect lighting for all manner of artists and designers. Coming with a universal easel clam and a drafting and drawing table G-clamp, this is a light suitable for all purposes.
The lamp's arm features 360 degree shade rotation and 320 degree swivel, so no matter what your work setup you'll be able to easily direct the light to wherever you need it, and it delivers 6,000K daylight with three brightness levels, giving you all the close-up precision you require.
• Buy a Techne Artist & Drafting for $239.99 / £109.99
Wafer Lightbox series
For accurate tracing on paper or fabric, the light and slimline Wafer lightbox series from The Daylight Company are an must-have tool. If you're an illustrator, graphic designer or crafter a bright and efficient lightbox is an essential tool.
The Wafer lightboxes come in three sizes, Wafer 1: A4, Wafer 2: A3, and Wafer 3: A2. Handy marking guides on the side in both inches and centimetres ensure accuracy. All three are super-bright, with a 6,000K daylight colour temperature, which is also dimmable so that you can get just the right amount of lighting for the paper weight or fabric thickness that you're working with.
• Buy a Wafer lightbox starting from $179.99 / £64.99
Foldi Go lamp
If you're flexible about where you work, the adorable and versatile Foldi Go can provide the light you need, wherever you are. It's a rechargeable and portable lamp that comes with its own carry case, and it's perfect for drawing, painting and even providing lighting for photography.
The Foldi Go boasts a colour rendering index (CRI) of over 95 so you can be sure of colour accuracy, and it has a fully adjustable arm, height, and rotating head. This portable lamp also has a four-step brightness dimmer, and if you're running it off the battery it'll keep on going for up eight hours on a single charge. Perfect for home, office or travel the Foldi Go is a smart choice.
• Buy the Foldi Go for $159.99 / £89.99
Aura Ring Lamp
A ring lamp is essential if you're working with video, and the Aura Ring Lamp is a cut above the rest. It features a ring of LEDs that face inward towards layers of diffusers, delivering a soft and even light that'll make you look good while being easy on the eyes.
The Aura's supremely lightweight and portable with its own carry-bag, and it even features a removable smartphone holder to make your life even easier. If you're making a living from demoing your art online, pitching to clients from home, or creating tutorials for websites, the Aura Ring Lamp is essential for a professional look.
• Buy the Aura Ring for $349.99 / £184.99
Can't see what you need here? The Daylight Company has many more lighting solutions designed to cater for all creative needs; head for the company's website to find perfect illumination for you.
