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ELLI Awards Program

The Experiential Landscape Lighting Initiative (ELLI) has established an official Awards Program dedicated to the recognition of professional Landscape Lighting Designers.
The ELLI Awards program serves the landscape lighting community by recognizing and encouraging professional design work. Its format is meant to encourage educational growth through the study and learning of these recognized photos.
The ELLI Awards program has three primary goals:
  • To better define Landscape Lighting Design and its elements
  • To raise-the-bar for the profession and to recognize excellent works
  • To establish a set of rules and principles that are meaningful to measure ‘good’ landscape lighting design

Why is this Awards Program better?

The reason why this is considered a better awards program is because it does two things: 1) it uses principles & rules as a form of measure, and 2) it provides critique and learning. Most all other awards programs do NOT provide critique or feedback, therefore little learning or understanding can be had through these experiences. This is a distinct and competitive advantage.

The ELLI Awards program serves as a measured initiative to recognize successful achievement through a two-stage process. Each stage encounters a different form of measure. The following awards are recognition of the passage of a particular stage:

  • “Award of Achievement”

    Is awarded for the successful passing of Stage 1 and utilizes the Rules of Composition and the Principles of Art as a form of measure against the landscape lighting design.

  • “Award of Merit”

    Is awarded for the successful passage of both Stage 1 and Stage 2.  It considers photo entries against three (3) aspects:  1) its ‘affect’ (the experience or ‘feeling’ of the space), 2) the skill required to develop the scene, and 3) the contributory value of the scene as it might fit within the ELLI Educational Gallery—for all to study.

In addition to these initial awards of recognition, the ELLI Awards program wishes to recognize those with outstanding skills and ability within two (2) specific categories:  1) Landscape Lighting Design, and 2) Affective Lighting Design.  Each of these awards types is more challenging to achieve, and they should be a mark of excellent accomplishment.  Of the two award types, the Award of Commendation is the hardest to achieve, because it identifies those who have identified their work against the measure of stimulating emotion:

  • “Award of Distinction”

    Is awarded to those lighting designers with exceptional or distinct ability within the identified Landscape Lighting Design category.

  • “Award of Commendation”

    Is awarded to those lighting designers with exceptional or distinct ability within the identified Affective Lighting Design category.

    There are five (5) emotional states that are most desired by the public, as they best apply to landscape lighting design.  These include:  Joy, Intrigue, Awe, Contentment, and Fear.  Although, these emotional categories haven’t yet been identified in the standard mix of awards programs, ELLI believes they are extremely important in the advancement of this profession and art-form.  Therefore, ELLI recognizes them.

Award Winners