Words and values
Core values, a motto, a creed, a single word that defines a place.
Home / What is a Luminary
What is a Luminary?
A Luminary is a commissioned stainless-steel sculpture with your words, logo, emblem, names, or artwork cut through its walls, and a professional projection light built inside. By day it stands as a work of public art. After dark it casts the whole design in a circle of light on the ground around it, up to 75 feet across.
The sculpture
By day: a work of art in steel
The Plainfield Core Values Lantern in afternoon light. Before it is ever switched on, a Luminary is a striking piece of sculpture: an abstract surface of cut letters and shapes that invites a closer look.
Sealed top cap
Closes the sculpture against rain and snow and hides the light inside.
Your design, cut through
Words, a logo, an emblem, names, or artwork, cut through the steel. Letters are cut upside down so they read right way up on the ground.
Heavy stainless steel
7-gauge, 316-grade stainless steel, the most corrosion-resistant grade in common use.
Your emblem or logo
A seal, crest, mascot, or brand mark can sit anywhere on the form.
Finish of your choice
Satin stainless that can be restored on site, or powder coated in a color. This one is black.
Anchored for good
Set on a reinforced concrete foundation with engineered anchor bolts.
The light
By night: a world of light
At dusk the light inside comes on with the site lighting. The steel glows, and the design spreads across the ground, turning the space around it into something new.
Glows from within
A 1500-watt projection light by Infinity Projectors, aimed with internal mirrors, lights every cut.
Cast onto the ground
The design lands sharp on grass, concrete, pavers, or stone, readable from every side.
Corrected for the curve
Light passing through a curved wall stretches shapes. Each design is corrected so it lands crisp.
On with the site lights
Wired into the pole or street lighting, so it switches on and off with them.
What it can carry
Not just words
If it can be drawn, it can be cut and cast in light. Most Luminaries combine several of these.
Logos and crests
Your seal, crest, or company logo, cut clean and cast large on the ground.
Mascots and emblems
Ball State's cardinal lands on the lawn every night, wings and all.
Names and dedications
Donors, honorees, a graduating class, the fallen, a founder.
Songs, verses, and poems
A fight song, a line of scripture, a poem, written in a circle.
Dates and milestones
A founding year, a centennial, an anniversary, a championship season.
How it works
Light, steel, and a little geometry
A Luminary works like a lantern turned into a projector. The light sits inside, aimed with mirrors. It shines out through every cut in the steel wall and travels down and outward, so each shape lands on the ground around the base.
The hard part is the geometry. A curved wall stretches anything that shines through it, and the ground is farther from some cuts than others. Every design is redrawn for that trip, which is why the letters look upside down on the steel and read perfectly on the ground.
By the numbers
The Ball State Luminary
Each Luminary is sized for its site. Here is the one on the Ball State University campus.
16Feet tall
54Inches in diameter
3,800Pounds
75Foot circle of light
Who it's for
A perfect fit for places with meaning
A Luminary suits any place that has something to say and people who gather after dark. These are the places it serves best.
Universities and colleges
Spirit monuments with a mascot and fight song, values for a new quad, a centennial or homecoming landmark. A photo spot students use from orientation to graduation, and a reason alumni come back.
Learn moreSchools and academies
An honor code, core values, or a senior-class legacy gift that every student walks through on the way in. Funded by families, alumni, or a graduating class.
Learn moreDonor recognition
A naming gift people walk through instead of past. Donor names, a dedication, or the values the gift stands for, written on the ground every night for decades.
Learn moreCorporate campuses
Company values, mission, or logo at the front door of a headquarters. Marks an opening, an anniversary, or a founder, and keeps doing its job every night after.
Learn moreMemorials
Veterans, first responders, fallen officers, and community remembrance. Names and emblems that never go dark, from a studio founded by a former paramedic.
Learn moreHospitals and health systems
A calm landmark for a healing garden, a mission statement at the entrance, or foundation donor honors. Light that welcomes visitors and night-shift staff alike.
Athletics
Championship seasons, retired numbers, a fight song, or a hall of fame, written on the plaza outside the stadium or arena. A gathering point on game night.
Cities and public art
Civic values on a town green, a downtown plaza with a reason to visit after dinner, or a signature piece for a percent-for-art program or new development.
Learn more
Where it works best
Choosing the site
| Surfaces | Grass, concrete, pavers, and stone. On grass the white light glows green. |
|---|---|
| Reach | About 20 to 35 feet out on current pieces. Up to 50 to 60 feet depending on height. |
| Setting | Quads, plazas, entrances, town greens, and memorial grounds with evening foot traffic. |
| Power | Wired into the site's pole or street lighting circuit. |
| Foundation | Reinforced concrete, about 7 × 7 feet and 32 inches deep, from the studio's engineered drawings. |
Questions
Good to know
Is it a projector or a sculpture?
It is a sculpture. The light inside is one part of it, sealed in the steel body. What you buy is a permanent, custom monument: the steel form, the cut design, the light, and the projection it makes on the ground.
Why do the letters on the steel look upside down?
It is the question everyone asks first. The letters are cut so they read correctly where it matters, on the ground. On the steel they read as an abstract pattern by day, and come together the moment the light switches on.
How far does the projection reach?
At Ball State the words reach about 35 feet out from the base, a circle roughly 75 feet across. The Plainfield piece casts about 20 feet out. Depending on the height of the sculpture, the design can be pushed 50 to 60 feet out.
What color is the light?
The light is white. On a lawn the projected words glow green, which is why the Ball State and Plainfield projections look green on the grass.
What if it gets scratched or vandalized?
The satin finish was chosen for exactly this. It is a random scratch pattern rather than a straight brushed grain, so a damaged area can be sanded back on site and blended in until it looks the same as the rest.
Can we see it before it is built?
Yes. After rounds of design meetings and 3D renderings, the studio builds a full-size mock-up and lights it outdoors. Within about 150 miles of Delaware County, Indiana, it can be set up and lit on your own site. Farther away, it is lit at the studio and you receive drone footage, photos, and measurements. Three or four rounds of changes are included.
