COMPOSE WITH LIGHT
FROM DESIGN VISION TO LIGHTING PLAN
FROM DESIGN VISION TO LIGHTING PLAN
An architectural lighting programme by Jo Calver. Learn to design lighting with clarity and confidence, for a home with depth, warmth and character.
THE SHIFT IN THINKING
THE BEST LIGHTING IS EXPERIENCED, NOT NOTICED
Too often, rooms are fully illuminated rather than designed using light. Uniform brightness and fittings selected for appearance rather than their purpose result in rooms that feel flat and lifeless.
Considered lighting takes a different approach. It uses contrast, shadow and carefully placed light to reveal architecture, create depth, guide the eye and shape the way a space is experienced.
The most successful schemes do not light everything. They decide what deserves attention.
The fitting is the tool. The effect is the design.
bathroom
living room
kitchen
bathroom
living room
kitchen
YOUR LEARNING JOURNEY
Inside The Programme
A clear progression from understanding light to creating your own considered lighting plan.
01
The Lighting Programme
Ten hours of flexible online learning that take you from reading your space to creating your own lighting plan.
02
The Lighting Toolkit
A practical library of templates, guides and references to support you as you work through your own project.
03
The Lighting Clinic
Join a community of like-minded people. Take part in live group calls, share your projects and learn alongside others.
YOUR LEARNING JOURNEY
Inside The Programme
A clear progression from understanding light to creating your own considered lighting plan.
01
The Lighting Programme
Ten hours of flexible online learning that take you from reading your space to creating your own lighting plan.
02
The Lighting Toolkit
A practical library of templates, guides and references to support you as you work through your own project.
03
The Lighting Clinic
Join a community of like-minded people. Take part in live group calls, share your projects and learn alongside others.
DESIGNED TO GUIDE
CREATED FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO SEE LIGHT DIFFERENTLY
Whether you are shaping your own home or designing for others, this programme is for anyone who wants to use light with greater confidence, purpose and imagination.
FOR YOUR OWN HOME
If you are renovating, extending or building, this programme will help you understand the decisions that shape how your home will ultimately feel.
Learn how to read your space, choose lighting with purpose and create a considered plan before first-fix electricals – for a home with greater depth, warmth and character.
FOR YOUR DESIGN PRACTICE
If you are an interior designer, architect or emerging professional, this programme gives you a clear framework for integrating lighting into the design process with greater confidence.
It helps you develop considered lighting plans and communicate your decisions with clarity to clients, contractors and the wider project team.
The Curriculum
Master the light. Elevate the space.
Seven carefully considered modules guide you from understanding how to see and interpret a space, to confidently shaping depth, focus and feeling before bringing everything together in your own complete, considered lighting plan.
Module 01
SEE
A New Way of Looking at Light
Learn to look beyond the fitting and begin to read a space through light, recognising what deserves attention, where focus should fall and how light can reveal architecture, create depth and change the way a room is experienced.
By the end of this module
You'll begin to see rooms differently, noticing where light can reveal, guide, emphasise or simply allow a space to remain quiet.
Module 02
UNDERSTAND
The Practical Science of Light
Learn to understand how light behaves and why different lighting decisions create different effects within a space.
By the end of this module
You’ll understand the principles behind the light, giving you greater confidence in the decisions you make.
Module 03
SELECT
Selecting the Tools for the Effect
Learn how to choose lighting tools in response to the effect you want to create, understanding the role each fitting plays within a layered and considered scheme.
By the end of this module
You'll be able to select the right type of light with greater confidence, building a balanced palette of fittings that work together with purpose.
Module 04
COMPOSE
Composing With Light
At the heart of Composing With Light is a clear design philosophy that turns lighting knowledge into a practical way of working. The Silent Hero Method is our signature step-by-step process, showing you how to read a space, prioritise what matters and compose light with the same thinking used by an Isla James designer.
By the end of this module
You'll understand how to bring individual lighting decisions together into one balanced, intentional scheme using the Silent Hero Method.
Module 05
APPLY
From Intention to Position
Learn to apply your lighting ideas to a real space, turning design intention into purposeful decisions about which fitting to use and where the light source belongs.
By the end of this module
You'll be able to translate your lighting ideas into considered spatial decisions about what to light, where the light should come from and how it should be positioned.
Module 06
PLAN
The Complete Lighting Plan
Bringing together everything you have learned, this module shows you how to translate your lighting decisions into a clear, coordinated drawing.
By the end of this module
You'll bring every lighting decision together into a complete scheme, ready to move confidently into the final stage of communication and delivery.
Module 07
DELIVER
From Plan to Site
Learn how to bring your plans together into a clear, coordinated package that can be understood, specified and carried through accurately on site.
By the end of this module
You'll understand how to communicate the design clearly, coordinate the key information and help ensure the lighting design is delivered as you intended.
The Curriculum
Master the light. Elevate the space.
Seven carefully considered modules guide you from understanding how to see and interpret a space, to confidently shaping depth, focus and feeling before bringing everything together in your own complete, considered lighting plan.
Module 01
SEE
A New Way of Looking at Light
Learn to look beyond the fitting and begin to read a space through light, recognising what deserves attention, where focus should fall and how light can reveal architecture, create depth and change the way a room is experienced.
By the end of this module
You'll begin to see rooms differently, noticing where light can reveal, guide, emphasise or simply allow a space to remain quiet.
Module 02
UNDERSTAND
The Practical Science of Light
Learn to understand how light behaves and why different lighting decisions create different effects within a space.
By the end of this module
You’ll understand the principles behind the light, giving you greater confidence in the decisions you make.
Module 03
SELECT
Selecting the Tools for the Effect
Learn how to choose lighting tools in response to the effect you want to create, understanding the role each fitting plays within a layered and considered scheme.
By the end of this module
You'll be able to select the right type of light with greater confidence, building a balanced palette of fittings that work together with purpose.
Module 04
COMPOSE
Composing With Light
At the heart of Composing With Light is a clear design philosophy that turns lighting knowledge into a practical way of working. The Silent Hero Method is our signature step-by-step process, showing you how to read a space, prioritise what matters and compose light with the same thinking used by an Isla James designer.
By the end of this module
You'll understand how to bring individual lighting decisions together into one balanced, intentional scheme using the Silent Hero Method.
Module 05
APPLY
From Intention to Position
Learn to apply your lighting ideas to a real space, turning design intention into purposeful decisions about which fitting to use and where the light source belongs.
By the end of this module
You'll be able to translate your lighting ideas into considered spatial decisions about what to light, where the light should come from and how it should be positioned.
Module 06
PLAN
The Complete Lighting Plan
Bringing together everything you have learned, this module shows you how to translate your lighting decisions into a clear, coordinated drawing.
By the end of this module
You'll bring every lighting decision together into a complete scheme, ready to move confidently into the final stage of communication and delivery.
Module 07
DELIVER
From Plan to Site
Learn how to bring your plans together into a clear, coordinated package that can be understood, specified and carried through accurately on site.
By the end of this module
You'll understand how to communicate the design clearly, coordinate the key information and help ensure the lighting design is delivered as you intended.
The Curriculum
Master the light. Elevate the space.
Seven carefully considered modules guide you from understanding how to see and interpret a space, to confidently shaping depth, focus and feeling before bringing everything together in your own complete, considered lighting plan.
Module 01
SEE
A New Way of Looking at Light
Learn to look beyond the fitting and begin to read a space through light, recognising what deserves attention, where focus should fall and how light can reveal architecture, create depth and change the way a room is experienced.
By the end of this module
You'll begin to see rooms differently, noticing where light can reveal, guide, emphasise or simply allow a space to remain quiet.
Module 02
UNDERSTAND
The Practical Science of Light
Learn to understand how light behaves and why different lighting decisions create different effects within a space.
By the end of this module
You’ll understand the principles behind the light, giving you greater confidence in the decisions you make.
Module 03
SELECT
Selecting the Tools for the Effect
Learn how to choose lighting tools in response to the effect you want to create, understanding the role each fitting plays within a layered and considered scheme.
By the end of this module
You'll be able to select the right type of light with greater confidence, building a balanced palette of fittings that work together with purpose.
Module 04
COMPOSE
Composing With Light
At the heart of Composing With Light is a clear design philosophy that turns lighting knowledge into a practical way of working. The Silent Hero Method is our signature step-by-step process, showing you how to read a space, prioritise what matters and compose light with the same thinking used by an Isla James designer.
By the end of this module
You'll understand how to bring individual lighting decisions together into one balanced, intentional scheme using the Silent Hero Method.
Module 05
APPLY
From Intention to Position
Learn to apply your lighting ideas to a real space, turning design intention into purposeful decisions about which fitting to use and where the light source belongs.
By the end of this module
You'll be able to translate your lighting ideas into considered spatial decisions about what to light, where the light should come from and how it should be positioned.
Module 06
PLAN
The Complete Lighting Plan
Bringing together everything you have learned, this module shows you how to translate your lighting decisions into a clear, coordinated drawing.
By the end of this module
You'll bring every lighting decision together into a complete scheme, ready to move confidently into the final stage of communication and delivery.
Module 07
DELIVER
From Plan to Site
Learn how to bring your plans together into a clear, coordinated package that can be understood, specified and carried through accurately on site.
By the end of this module
You'll understand how to communicate the design clearly, coordinate the key information and help ensure the lighting design is delivered as you intended.
The Isla James approach
The Silent Hero Method
The Silent Hero Method is our signature step-by-step approach to lighting design, developed from the way we design every Isla James project.
For the first time, we are opening up that process and sharing the methodology behind it, showing you how we read a space, decide what deserves light, build the lighting palette, compose the layers and refine the scheme with restraint.
It gives you a clear framework to follow, so you are not simply choosing fittings. You are learning to think through a space in the same considered way an Isla James lighting designer would.
The Isla James approach
The Silent Hero Method
The Silent Hero Method is our signature step-by-step approach to lighting design, developed from the way we design every Isla James project.
For the first time, we are opening up that process and sharing the methodology behind it, showing you how we read a space, decide what deserves light, build the lighting palette, compose the layers and refine the scheme with restraint.
It gives you a clear framework to follow, so you are not simply choosing fittings. You are learning to think through a space in the same considered way an Isla James lighting designer would.
YOU'LL BE ABLE TO
DESIGN, PLAN AND DELIVER A LIGHTING SCHEME WITH INTENTION
You won't just learn lighting in theory - you'll know how to apply it to a real space, from the first plan to the finished room. Here's how that looks in a real project.
Understand what the space needs
You'll know how to assess a room before choosing fittings - understanding how it functions, where light is needed and what the scheme needs to achieve.
TURN DECISIONS INTO A LIGHTING PLAN
Bring everything together into a considered scheme. You'll know how to select, layer and position light with purpose, and translate those decisions into a clear lighting plan.
Take it from plan to site
You'll know how to communicate the scheme clearly to the people implementing it, so the design intent carries through from the drawing to the finished room.
YOU'LL BE ABLE TO
DESIGN, PLAN AND DELIVER A LIGHTING SCHEME WITH INTENTION
You won't just learn lighting in theory - you'll know how to apply it to a real space, from the first plan to the finished room. Here's how that looks in a real project.
Understand what the space needs
You'll know how to assess a room before choosing fittings - understanding how it functions, where light is needed and what the scheme needs to achieve.
TURN DECISIONS INTO A LIGHTING PLAN
Bring everything together into a considered scheme. You'll know how to select, layer and position light with purpose, and translate those decisions into a clear lighting plan.
Take it from plan to site
You'll know how to communicate the scheme clearly to the people implementing it, so the design intent carries through from the drawing to the finished room.
YOU'LL BE ABLE TO
DESIGN, PLAN AND DELIVER A LIGHTING SCHEME WITH INTENTION
You won't just learn lighting in theory - you'll know how to apply it to a real space, from the first plan to the finished room. Here's how that looks in a real project.
Understand what the space needs
You'll know how to assess a room before choosing fittings - understanding how it functions, where light is needed and what the scheme needs to achieve.
TURN DECISIONS INTO A LIGHTING PLAN
Bring everything together into a considered scheme. You'll know how to select, layer and position light with purpose, and translate those decisions into a clear lighting plan.
Take it from plan to site
You'll know how to communicate the scheme clearly to the people implementing it, so the design intent carries through from the drawing to the finished room.
Jo Calver
Founder of Isla James & Isla James Academy
Recognised for her specialist expertise in Architectural Lighting Design, Jo has spent more than two decades refining a methodology that places light at the very heart of the design process.
Working collaboratively with architects, interior designers and private clients, she believes the most successful lighting is conceived from the very first sketch, allowing every discipline to evolve as part of a single, integrated vision.
Her work is defined by technical precision, meticulous attention to detail and an unwavering belief that the very best lighting is never noticed for its presence, only for the atmosphere it creates and the experience it shapes.
Recognised for her specialist expertise in Architectural Lighting Design, Jo has spent more than two decades refining a methodology that places light at the very heart of the design process.
Working collaboratively with architects, interior designers and private clients, she believes the most successful lighting is conceived from the very first sketch, allowing every discipline to evolve as part of a single, integrated vision.
Her work is defined by technical precision, meticulous attention to detail and an unwavering belief that the very best lighting is never noticed for its presence, only for the atmosphere it creates and the experience it shapes.
Recognised for her specialist expertise in Architectural Lighting Design, Jo has spent more than two decades refining a methodology that places light at the very heart of the design process.
Working collaboratively with architects, interior designers and private clients, she believes the most successful lighting is conceived from the very first sketch, allowing every discipline to evolve as part of a single, integrated vision.
Her work is defined by technical precision, meticulous attention to detail and an unwavering belief that the very best lighting is never noticed for its presence, only for the atmosphere it creates and the experience it shapes.
Compose the light. Transform the space.
Compose the light. Transform the space.
Join the waitlist and be first to access Compose With Light.
Join the waitlist and be first to access Compose With Light.
Join the waitlist and be first to access Compose With Light.
Frequently asked questions
When will the programme be launching?
Compose With Light launches on 31 October 2026.
Compose With Light launches on 31 October 2026.
When will the programme be launching?
Compose With Light launches on 31 October 2026.
When will the programme be launching?
Compose With Light launches on 31 October 2026.
When and where will the programme take place?
The programme is delivered entirely online through our learning platform, so you can work through it from anywhere, at any time. It’s fully self-paced, allowing you to move through the programme and apply what you learn at a pace that suits you.
The programme is delivered entirely online through our learning platform, so you can work through it from anywhere, at any time. It’s fully self-paced, allowing you to move through the programme and apply what you learn at a pace that suits you.
When and where will the programme take place?
The programme is delivered entirely online through our learning platform, so you can work through it from anywhere, at any time. It’s fully self-paced, allowing you to move through the programme and apply what you learn at a pace that suits you.
When and where will the programme take place?
The programme is delivered entirely online through our learning platform, so you can work through it from anywhere, at any time. It’s fully self-paced, allowing you to move through the programme and apply what you learn at a pace that suits you.
Who is the programme for?
The programme is designed to be accessible without previous specialist lighting experience, while taking you through a professional and considered approach to lighting design. Whether you’re a homeowner working on your own project or a design professional, you’ll learn how to develop a detailed lighting scheme with clear design intention, structure and purpose.
The programme is designed to be accessible without previous specialist lighting experience, while taking you through a professional and considered approach to lighting design. Whether you’re a homeowner working on your own project or a design professional, you’ll learn how to develop a detailed lighting scheme with clear design intention, structure and purpose.
Who is the programme for?
The programme is designed to be accessible without previous specialist lighting experience, while taking you through a professional and considered approach to lighting design. Whether you’re a homeowner working on your own project or a design professional, you’ll learn how to develop a detailed lighting scheme with clear design intention, structure and purpose.
Who is the programme for?
The programme is designed to be accessible without previous specialist lighting experience, while taking you through a professional and considered approach to lighting design. Whether you’re a homeowner working on your own project or a design professional, you’ll learn how to develop a detailed lighting scheme with clear design intention, structure and purpose.
What's included in the programme?
Alongside ten hours of video modules, you'll receive The Lighting Toolkit – a library of practical downloads including our Feature Lighting Guide, lighting schedule templates, a plan symbol key and more. You'll also get access to The Lighting Clinic, our community with live group calls.
Alongside ten hours of video modules, you'll receive The Lighting Toolkit – a library of practical downloads including our Feature Lighting Guide, lighting schedule templates, a plan symbol key and more. You'll also get access to The Lighting Clinic, our community with live group calls.
What's included in the programme?
Alongside ten hours of video modules, you'll receive The Lighting Toolkit – a library of practical downloads including our Feature Lighting Guide, lighting schedule templates, a plan symbol key and more. You'll also get access to The Lighting Clinic, our community with live group calls.
What's included in the programme?
Alongside ten hours of video modules, you'll receive The Lighting Toolkit – a library of practical downloads including our Feature Lighting Guide, lighting schedule templates, a plan symbol key and more. You'll also get access to The Lighting Clinic, our community with live group calls.
Do I need any previous lighting design experience?
No. The programme takes you through the process step by step, from learning how to see and understand light through to creating your own lighting plan.
No. The programme takes you through the process step by step, from learning how to see and understand light through to creating your own lighting plan.
Do I need any previous lighting design experience?
No. The programme takes you through the process step by step, from learning how to see and understand light through to creating your own lighting plan.
Do I need any previous lighting design experience?
No. The programme takes you through the process step by step, from learning how to see and understand light through to creating your own lighting plan.
How long will I have access to the programme?
You’ll have lifetime access to all of the programme materials, so you can work through the course at your own pace and return to the lessons whenever you need them.
You’ll have lifetime access to all of the programme materials, so you can work through the course at your own pace and return to the lessons whenever you need them.
How long will I have access to the programme?
You’ll have lifetime access to all of the programme materials, so you can work through the course at your own pace and return to the lessons whenever you need them.
How long will I have access to the programme?
You’ll have lifetime access to all of the programme materials, so you can work through the course at your own pace and return to the lessons whenever you need them.
Will I receive a certificate upon completion?
Yes. You’ll receive a certificate of completion once you have finished the programme.
Yes. You’ll receive a certificate of completion once you have finished the programme.
Will I receive a certificate upon completion?
Yes. You’ll receive a certificate of completion once you have finished the programme.
Will I receive a certificate upon completion?
Yes. You’ll receive a certificate of completion once you have finished the programme.
Do I need any specialist software to create my lighting plan?
No. Specialist software is not required to complete the programme or create your lighting plan. At Isla James, we use AutoCAD to produce professional lighting plans, but your plan can also be created manually in a number of different ways. AutoCAD is primarily relevant for design professionals, and the programme does not teach you how to use the software.
No. Specialist software is not required to complete the programme or create your lighting plan. At Isla James, we use AutoCAD to produce professional lighting plans, but your plan can also be created manually in a number of different ways. AutoCAD is primarily relevant for design professionals, and the programme does not teach you how to use the software.
Do I need any specialist software to create my lighting plan?
No. Specialist software is not required to complete the programme or create your lighting plan. At Isla James, we use AutoCAD to produce professional lighting plans, but your plan can also be created manually in a number of different ways. AutoCAD is primarily relevant for design professionals, and the programme does not teach you how to use the software.
Do I need any specialist software to create my lighting plan?
No. Specialist software is not required to complete the programme or create your lighting plan. At Isla James, we use AutoCAD to produce professional lighting plans, but your plan can also be created manually in a number of different ways. AutoCAD is primarily relevant for design professionals, and the programme does not teach you how to use the software.