I Didn’t Plan to Become a Global Lighting Designer - Here’s What I Learned Along the Way

Paul Nulty, Alumni & Founder of Nulty, a world leading lighting design agency: “Follow your passion.”

Follow your passion. That's one of my biggest pieces of advice. The money will come later.

I studied a BTEC in Performing Arts at East Sussex College, which became a stepping stone to a BA in Performance Design at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts.

At college, I learned to have a ‘can do’ attitude and that everything we do in life relies on teamwork. It’s a bit of a cliché, but it was the people who made the experience so memorable. There was a real sense of community, and some of the friendships and connections I made there have stayed with me ever since. Those early relationships taught me that creativity thrives when you are motivated by the people around you.

While training as a set designer, I discovered my passion for architectural lighting design. I loved the world of the theatre and the way that you can create atmosphere and drama using nothing but light. These principles have informed my career as a lighting designer, where creativity and an eye for detail give you a unique understanding of the relationship between space and light.

Photo Credit: DIFC Gate Village, Dubai and the photographer credit is Alex Jeffries.

My proudest achievement as the founder of a lighting design practice is the culture that we’ve built across our eight studios. When you go out on your own, everybody looks to you as the leader and that can be difficult because no one teaches you how to manage and inspire people.

Leadership isn’t something that you’re taught at design school; it’s something you learn on the job and one of the trickiest parts of building a business. Nurturing a sense of team spirit and keeping our designers inspired remains my number one focus, because happy and engaged designers are the key to great work.

I surround myself with amazing people and work in an industry that I genuinely love. At Nulty, our energy and passion set us apart as a lighting design consultancy, along with the fact that everything we do is rooted in storytelling. When you tell a story, whether it’s for yourself or a project you’re working on, a level of authenticity will always come through in your work. Drive, passion and authenticity are infectious, and people naturally want to work with you as a result.

The stories that we tell through light at Nulty are a constant source of inspiration for me. We take our clients on a journey and this willingness to create a narrative is what makes us unique. There are a finite number of hours in the day - and in our industry, we probably work too many of those hours – so it’s vital you enjoy what you do.

You can’t put a value on good people skills. Learning how to listen to others and integrate with people from different backgrounds is important in every career, but especially in the architect and design industry where collaboration is everything.

It’s also crucial to learn how to ask difficult questions and defend your perspective when you need to. In the early days of my career, many people didn’t know the role of a lighting designer existed – and when they did, the role was often unvalued. Learning how to articulate and justify the value my team could bring to an architectural project meant becoming very comfortable with being uncomfortable. That lesson has stayed with me ever since.

I wish I had been better at managing money! Aside from that, I’d tell my younger self to never be scared to seek advice or share ideas. The design industry can sometimes be competitive, which means we don’t always feel comfortable sharing information for fear of losing out. But sharing knowledge is powerful.

We should always be bouncing ideas off each other and testing new ways of working. Sometimes they work, and sometimes they don’t. No one should be afraid to fail as it’s always more important to try. After all, none of us start out with everything mapped out - and that’s okay. Building skills, surrounding yourself with inspiring people and embracing opportunities that stretch you is far more important than having a fixed plan.

My biggest piece of advice, after over 25 years in the industry, is to just follow your passion. The money will come later. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Just make sure you learn from them and don't make the same mistake twice. And most importantly, take advice when it’s offered, but don’t blindly act on it. Listen, reflect and make your own informed decisions. Your career is yours to shape.

I started at East Sussex College studying Performing Arts. I didn’t know where it would lead - but I knew I loved creating atmosphere and telling stories. Now I’m the founder of Nulty, a world-leading lighting design agency.

So as Paul suggests, you don’t need to worry about having everything mapped out from the start. Instead, building skills, surrounding yourself with inspiring people and embracing opportunities that stretch you.