Landmarks around the world were bathed in the South African colors last week to mourn the passing of Nelson Mandela. Countries lit up major buildings to pay tribute to this inspirational figure.

The innovative lamp series “Orbit” from Philips Co. has recently won the Bronze Award of Design for Asia Award (DFA) 2013. Designed with the oriental idea of the sky being circular, the endless round shape of the Orbit Series was created through use of new LED technology. When installed, the lamps look like luminous rings which provide pure lighting impressions by soft, bright light and dimmable luminance.

Can light travel at the speed of ambition? “Instantly!” is the answer at Mercedes-Benz of Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, where Collection Auto Group, with help from GE, is realizing its dream of the ultimate automotive dealership—an all-LED lighting facility inside and out that drives the client experience beyond expectations.

Philips Lighting blogger Monique Cousineau publishes an interesting Christmas lights trivia article on the lighting giant’s website. How many questions can you get right? Below is the full blog entry:

For Walking Dead series fans, Larson Electronics lists down ten products that can help boost your chances of survival in case of a zombie apocalypse. 

Osram’s study proves positive effects of lighting on cognitive performance of students ZNL TransferZentrum für Neurowissenschaften und Lernen (Transfer Centre for Neuroscience and Learning) have conducted an investigation with lighting manufacturer Osram on students’ performances under different lighting conditions at two schools in Ulm, Germany between November 2011 and Feburary 2012. The aim of this investigation was to figure out whether lighting that simulates daylight could increase students’ concentration and cognitive performances. This anticipation has been positively proven. Students who had taken courses and tests in biologically optimised lighting classrooms performed better than students who were in ordinary lighting classrooms.

LED fixtures at Rio de Janeiro site will save half a million dollars in energy costs compared to fluorescent technology The modular headquarters of the Organizing Committee for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic and Paralympic Games is the first commercial building in Brazil to adopt GE Lighting’s Lumination™ ET Series Recessed LED Troffer, an ultra-thin fixture as thin as the width of a finger that brings modern styling to traditionally uninspired commercial ceiling spaces.

For those who want to make an original Christmas ornament this year, blogger craftycounterpart on Instructables website has unveiled the steps in making an awesome LED Death Star from Star Wars.

Xicato announced that it has expanded its Vibrant Series offerings to include both a 1300 lumen and 2000 lumen option alongside its 3000 lumen module. Introduced in July, the Vibrant Series has been quickly adopted by designers, merchandisers and brand managers to support their efforts to differentiate and create compelling experiences for customers.

Ledzworld announced a new LED lamp that makes traditional ceramic metal halide (CMH) bulbs a thing of the past. The perfect choice to replace outdated and inefficient CMH bulbs, Ledzworld’s Platinum LED PAR38 lamp is the industry’s first 2000 lumen, single source LED lamp without active cooling.

Checkers Industrial Safety Products announced the immediate availability of their new AID LIGHTS™ LED2250 Class I Beacons. With an ultra efficient power supply, these high intensity beacons produce more flashes per minute with less power draw, which minimizes maintenance and replacement costs. AID LIGHTS™ LED2250 Beacons quickly alert people of upcoming hazards to create a safer work environment for traffic safety, construction, mining, utilities, or in other hazardous or emergency areas.

The first downlight of GE’s Lumination™ LED Luminaires, the DI Series offers easy customization through an ideal ambient lighting solution for high-end retail, commercial office, and hospitality applications. Featuring the breakthrough design of GE Lighting’s Infusion™ technology, users can easily select their preferred lumen output and color temperature to illuminate key products or focal points with the simple switch of an LED module.

Xeleum Lighting announced the availability of its Cobalt Series high efficiency LED light fixtures. These fixtures provide more evenly distributed light and years of maintenance-free operation at less than half the energy cost of the fluorescent fixtures they are designed to replace. As with all Xeleum troffers, they meet the performance requirements the DesignLights Consortium (DLC) and are now included on the DLC Qualified Products List (QPL).

On December 5th, Philips Lighting gave a futuristic home lighting show titled “Light, Creating and Witnessing Touching Residences” at 800 Show in Shanghai, China. By working with three famous interior designers, Zhang Yi, Bill Yen and Ouyang Hui, Philips expressed how innovative lighting can change residential surroundings through multiple lighting designs. At the show, these designers shared their creation concepts with attendees through three show rooms that displayed minimal, fashionable and neoclassical styles respectively.

An ideal gift for skateboarders this Christmas might be additional LED light equipment from Third Kind. The lights come in a package with all the hardware into a kit that can be mounted in minutes, according to a Gizmag article. The package comes with a rechargeable battery pack mounts via the truck hardware, indicating skateboarders will not have to modify the board or worry about the pack from falling off. The skateboard light strips comes in a size of 51 cm (20-inches) and is stuck on the board like a sticker.

Inspired by a classic holiday poem, “Twas the Night Before Christmas,” this year’s National Christmas Tree on display in front of the White House will feature GE’s new, energy smart® Sugar Plum light-emitting diode (LED) holiday lighting.

With 4Q coming to a close, this week has seen a substantial number of companies releasing their financial reports. Financial firms, such as UBS, have also released market forecasts for 2014.

A daily household object has taken on a new twist thanks to designers Idan Noyberg and Gal Bulka. They have designed a solar powered clothespin called Lightly which includes a small colored LEDs.

Finnish photographer has been creating spooky images with light for four years, ever since he accidently discovered the medium. Janne Parviainen uses only a camera and a child’s LED torch to create his uniquely creepy photographs.

Plessey announced today availability of its next generation GaN-on-Silicon mid-power LEDs. The product family doubles the efficacy of Plessey’s first generation MAGIC™ (Manufactured on GaN-on-Si I/C) products released in February 2013. Using standard silicon semiconductor production techniques, Plessey is able to achieve high flux output LED products at substantially lower cost. The PLW114050 is the first in a family of entry level LED lighting products that will be released. 

The Rainforest of Canada's pacific coast lights up for the holidays with the illuminated Capilano Suspended Bridge Park.

The First Prize Winner of city.people.light Award 2013 is Rietburg, Germany; there are some excellent cities which also did great lighting masterplans and were rewarded prizes. In the second article of the city.people.light award series, we are offering you a glance on these exceptional cities.

GE’s Immersion™ RV60 LED lighting system offers grocery and convenience store owners the next generation of energy-efficient refrigerated display lighting to help lower energy costs while enhancing the visual appeal of merchandise.

Created in 2003 by Philips and LUCI (Lighting Urban Community International), the city.people.light is an annual award that is attempting to rehumanize the urban environment through light. It also rewarding cities that are exploring ways to maximize energy efficiency, improve sustainability and livability. The 2013 Awards has been conferred to the following cities: Rietberg, Germany, Seoul, South Korea, Geneva, Switzerland, Zhengzhou, China, and Wuppertal, Germany.

Philips Lighting blogger Monique Cosineau talks to Canadian designer David Sasaki about his Light Fall design, which clinched second place at the 2013 CLU Foundation Contest. Below is the interview posted on Philips Lighting blog:

Toshiba Corporation flipped the switch on the new "Centennial Holiday Light Show" in New York City's Grand Central Terminal on November 21. The colorful animated display can be seen on the monumental windows above the Terminal's west balcony through December 26, 2013. Click here for the full press release.

With continual falls in large sized backlight LED TV prices, penetration rates for direct-view type LED TV (aka Chubby TV) is expected to grow in 2014. EMC lead frame drivers have advantages in 1-3W power range, and is expected to lead the mid to high power market. It is also the most commonly used LED chip in direct-view type LED TV. However, with improvements in PCT lead frame driver power output to 1-1.2W, manufacturers are also launching PCT products for direct-view type LED backlight TV. 

Goldee today revealed the Goldee Light Controller – a reinvention of the light switch that redefines how people interact with light. Goldee translates information from your surroundings into smart functions that respond to your lighting needs. Today starts the crowd- funding campaign during which customers can pre-order Goldee for an exclusive price of US$ 249 directly at getgoldee.com.

FZLED is pleased to release the latest collection in T8 series LED Tube: T8-05L LED Tube Lights. It uses SMD LED and offers 10, 18 and 20 watt in two feet (58 and 60cm) and four feet long (120cm). It is direct replacement for traditional T8 tubes and fits standard G13 sockets with an AC voltage range of 100-240V. 

Direct-view type LED TV aka chubby TV with its cost advantages and has been a market highlight in 2013. Chubby TV has been using secondary optic lens to continually improve its features. By increasing beam angle, the LED TV has successfully met the challenge of shortening OD to 15 mm without adding LEDs. The chubby TV not only has cost advantages, it has also shed off its thick appearance and now holds the same advantages as the thin edge-view type LED TV. The industry predicts 15 mm OD TV model will become the next major industry spec in 2014.