5 minute read
Illuminating the Process
from Aug 2025
Boris Duhamel's New Book Sheds Light on Luxury Design
By Randy Reid
Lighting design often inspires admiration for its beauty, but how the magic actually happens remains shrouded in mystery.
Boris Duhamel, an award-winning designer and founder of Baseline Lighting Design Studio, aims to change that. In a forthcoming book titled Beyond Brightness: The Layered Language of Lights, Boris sets out to demystify how lighting concepts are developed, integrated, and executed for some of the world’s most prestigious brands and destinations.
More Than a Coffee Table Book
While many lighting monographs simply showcase striking photography, Beyond Brightness has a dual mission: to inspire and to educate. The book will be filled with vivid images of retail, hospitality, and dining environments, but Boris is determined that it also serve as a clear guide for clients and decision-makers.
“There are two things,” Boris explained. “On one hand, it is inspiration on key factors of success when designing and integrating lighting into a project. In other words, how do we arrive at the design concept with the client? And the second part of the book is how to achieve this intent that we design.”
He believes that bridging this gap is essential to improving the outcome of complex projects and building trust between designers and clients.
A Resource for Decision-Makers
Unlike technical manuals aimed exclusively at lighting professionals, Beyond Brightness is crafted for a broader audience: luxury brand executives, hotel owners, developers, restaurateurs, and anyone who needs to understand how lighting can transform an experience. The book includes background comments from Baseline clients reflecting on their partnerships and how lighting contributed to each project’s success.
“Our book will give insight in how the client’s objectives for their operation and the financial structure are integrated into establishing a positive image for the project,” Boris said. “It will offer insight to corporate decision-makers on the framework to create a significant addition to their holdings.”
A Global Portfolio
Boris founded Baseline Lighting Design Studio in 2012 and has steadily expanded it into a major consultancy practice with offices and associates in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Miami, New York, Paris, Manila, Dubai, and Mumbai. The book will showcase many of the firm’s award-winning projects, including:
• Moncler, Shanghai
• Four Points by Sheraton, Ha Giang, Vietnam
• Salomon, Paris
• Maison Margiela, Hanoi
• Uma Nota Restaurant & Bar, Manila
• Commodity Fragrances, New York City
• Aqua Restaurant, Hong Kong
• Hong Kong Cricket Club
• Chinese Library, Hong Kong
• Rimowa, Osaka
These projects have earned accolades such as the IES Illumination Award, International Design & Architecture Award, and multiple LIV Hospitality Design Awards.
From Design Intent to Execution
Each chapter of Beyond Brightness will walk readers through the process of defining and realizing design intent. Boris emphasizes that successful lighting outcomes are not just about creativity. They require disciplined integration with architecture, engineering, and construction.
He shared that many projects fail to reach their full potential because critical decisions about lighting are made too late or without a clear understanding of their impact. By detailing examples of both triumphs and challenges, the book aims to help stakeholders anticipate issues and make better-informed choices.
“There is a lot of mystery in this industry,” Boris said. “For me, it’s important to share a number of things we discovered over the past 15 years in order to improve the decision process of stakeholders and enable them to realize the design intent.”
Collaboration and Craft
To bring the project to life, Boris has partnered with Vilma Barr, a respected author and editor with decades of experience in architecture and design publishing. In addition to her many books, Vilma is also a contributor to designing lighting (dl) magazine. She is helping ensure the book’s insights are accessible to readers from diverse backgrounds, not just seasoned designers.
A Broader Mission
Beyond his design practice, Boris has also dedicated energy to fostering creativity in his community. In 2021, he established the Baseline Art Gallery in Hong Kong to showcase the work of emerging artists. The gallery doubles as a showroom for Baseline’s lighting, creating opportunities for dialogue between art, design, and commerce.
“In the continuity of our mission, we offer our office showroom for private exhibitions and invite our networks to discover new artists, and for the artists to make contacts with the Hong Kong design community,” Boris stated. This effort reflects his belief that supporting the arts can enrich cultural life and the creative spirit that drives innovation in lighting.
Looking Ahead
Beyond Brightness: The Layered Language of Lights is expected to publish in the last quarter of this year, likely in November. It will be available on Amazon and other channels internationally. For those who want to stay informed, Baseline also publishes an online blog that covers advancements in lighting theory, sustainability, and their evolving design philosophy.
When the book launches, designing lighting (dl) will take a deeper look inside its pages. In the meantime, Boris’s work reminds us that lighting design is not just about brightness. It’s about vision, process, and the people who bring spaces to life.
