FEATURE STORY
All about Software: AGi32, Visual, LightStanza, DIALux and Light ARchitect By RANDY REID
Compliments of Acuity Brands
M
ark Lien, IES Industry Relations Manager, recently hosted a panel discussion for four industry editors, including myself. The discussion enlightened my view on different types of media and each of their unique applications. While there are obvious redundancies, we have distinctive areas of expertise. In researching this article, it became clear that design software choices operate in a similar way. There is a place for AGi32, Visual and DIALux software, as well as newer software such as LightStanza, and Cooper Lighting. Solution’s Augmented Reality software, 8
designing lighting ISSUE NO. 3
DECEMBER 2020
titled Light ARchitect. However, unlike the lighting publications, which basically utilize identical advertising revenue models, the four leaders in the software industry have vastly different revenue models. More on that later. But how does one decide which software to use? Sometimes the things that look really sexy don’t get the job done. In 1984, David Speer and Todd Saemisch began Lighting Analysts Inc with software that today is called AGi32. The original version was MS-DOS based and
has evolved into the de facto industry standard in the U.S. The output can be as simple as a PDF, or something that merges with CAD. David discussed AGi’s success and breadth of utilization: “It can be used for literally any lighting project that you can think of: as simple as an office or restroom; as complicated as a pro sports facility that has to meet television requirements.” David described the strategic origin of the software’s name: “AGi stands for Advanced Graphical Illumination, or it could stand for Advanced Graphical Interface. It doesn’t really matter, we