Every lumen, on purpose.
A full lighting design service — reflected ceiling plans, CAD drawings, photometric layouts, fixture and finish specification, and warm-dim and circadian tuning. Delivered as a coordinated package with the architect and interior designer, not as a field call.
Matrix Digital Systems offers a complete residential lighting design service — CAD reflected ceiling plans, photometric layouts, fixture and finish specification, warm-dim and circadian color-temperature strategy — featuring HK Lighting Group for landscape, WAC Aispire for tunable-white and specification-grade fixtures, with Lutron Lumaris and Ketra coming soon for full-spectrum circadian projects.
A lighting plan is architecture.
Great lighting design begins before the drywall — in the reflected ceiling plan, in the fixture schedule, in the beam-angle study for the art wall. It's an architectural discipline, not a shopping list of decorative pendants.
We deliver a complete design package: every downlight callout, every cove dimension, every driver, dimming protocol, and Kelvin temperature specified on paper before the electrician pulls a single home run.
Drawings, schedules, specifications.
Every project is delivered with a full CAD reflected ceiling plan, fixture schedule with cut sheets, photometric layout for every critical room, and a finish and Kelvin-temperature booklet coordinated with the interior designer's palette.
The electrical contractor builds from our drawings without rework. The architect and interior designer see exactly where every fixture, driver, and keypad lands. Nothing is decided on-site by improvisation.
Layers, not a ceiling grid.
Good interior lighting isn't a matrix of downlights on the reflected ceiling plan. It's a layer of ambient light, a layer of task light, a layer of accent, and a warm-dim wash that lets the room shift from morning to dinner to movie without changing a fixture.
We specify trimless recessed for the ambient layer, cove tape for indirect fill, adjustable accent for art and focal points, and warm-dim decorative for the mood. Each layer runs on its own dimmer channel so scenes recall each room's exact tuning.
The house at night.
Landscape lighting is where most lighting design ends up looking amateur — the wrong fixture, the wrong beam angle, and everything glares. Our landscape work is specified with HK Lighting Group: dark-sky-compliant, warm 2400–2700K, and integrated with the interior lighting system so path lights, tree uplights, and hardscape washes follow the same schedule as the rest of the house.
Fixtures are hidden. Transformers are hidden. Wiring is buried, dressed, and documented. The house looks like it does in daylight — but at night, quieter and more intentional.
What's included
- 01Reflected ceiling plans in CADAutoCAD, DWG, and PDF — coordinated with architect's floor plan.
- 02Fixture schedule & cut-sheet packageManufacturer, model, finish, Kelvin, driver, dimming protocol per fixture.
- 03Photometric & beam-angle studiesEvery art wall, focal point, and task area calculated before order.
- 04Fixture count & finish selectionCoordinated with interior designer's finish schedule.
- 05Warm-dim & tunable-white strategyRoom-by-room Kelvin decisions and dimming curves.
- 06Circadian scene designFull-spectrum tuning with Ketra, WAC Aispire, or Lutron Lumaris.
- 07Landscape & exterior designHK Lighting Group specification, path, wash, tree, hardscape.
- 08Commissioning & 30/90-day tuningEvery dimmer calibrated, every scene tuned on-site.
The vocabulary of this service.
The design service is fixture-agnostic — we specify what the room needs. But four brands anchor the offer, and they're worth calling out on their own.
HK Lighting Group
Dark-sky-compliant landscape and hardscape fixtures — warm-dim by default, integrated with Lutron and Crestron so exterior scenes follow interior schedules. Path, tree uplight, wall-wash, step, bench, and fountain fixtures.
WAC Aispire
WAC Lighting's specification-grade line — tunable-white recessed, adjustable accents, decorative pendants, and cove — with tight color consistency batch to batch. Our default for architectural interior lighting where the fixture matters as much as the plan.
Lutron Lumaris
Lutron's engineered luminaire line — designed alongside Lutron Homeworks and Palladiom for tight photometric performance and native dimming. We're onboarding as an authorized specifier ahead of general dealer availability.
Ketra
The reference for full-spectrum circadian lighting — every fixture tunes independently across the entire visible spectrum, not just the CCT axis. Where the design brief is circadian, Ketra is the platform.
From brief to tuned.
- 01Design brief & walk-throughOn-site with architect, interior designer, homeowner. Purpose, mood, activity per room.
- 02Reflected ceiling plan & scheduleEvery fixture placed in CAD with callout, driver, dimming protocol, and finish.
- 03Photometric & beam-angle studiesCritical rooms modeled — art walls, kitchens, theaters, primary suites, landscape.
- 04Scene design & control integrationScenes built with Lutron, Crestron, or Savant control designer.
- 05Commissioning & 30/90-day tuneEvery dimmer calibrated on-site, every scene tuned to the space and family.
Lighting design across our service areas.
Matrix Digital Systems operates from two studios: Fountain Valley, California and Austin, Texas. Lighting design is delivered to luxury residences across four primary markets and adjacent regions.
Newport Beach · Laguna Beach · Newport Coast · Corona del Mar · Coto de Caza
Orange County overview →Beverly Hills · Bel Air · Malibu · Pacific Palisades · Hollywood Hills
Los Angeles overview →West Lake Hills · Rollingwood · Lakeway · Barton Creek · Tarrytown
Austin overview →Preston Hollow · Highland Park · University Park · Southlake · Westlake
Dallas – Fort Worth overview →Frequently asked.
What does a Matrix Digital Systems lighting design package include?
A complete package: reflected ceiling plan with fixture callouts, fixture schedule and cut-sheet booklet, photometric layouts showing beam angles and footcandle levels, finish selection coordinated with the interior designer, warm-dim and tunable-white color-temperature strategy per room, and circadian scene commissioning. Drawings are delivered in AutoCAD, PDF, and DWG so the architect and electrical contractor can build from them without rework.
When in the project should the lighting designer be brought in?
Design development, before framing is closed and before the electrical plan is finalized. Bringing us in at DD gives us time to coordinate junction-box locations, ceiling detailing, cove and slot dimensions, and dimming protocol per circuit. After drywall closes, most of the design freedom is gone.
Which lighting brands do you specify?
Interior architectural: DMF Lighting for trimless downlights, Diode LED for cove and millwork tape, WAC Aispire for tunable-white and specification-grade decorative, Lutron Lumaris for premium engineered fixtures, and Ketra for full-spectrum circadian. Exterior and landscape: HK Lighting Group for landscape, path, wall-wash, and hardscape.
What is warm-dim and how is it different from tunable-white?
Warm-dim fixtures shift from 2700K down to about 1800K as they dim — mimicking the natural glow of incandescent as it dims down. Tunable-white fixtures let you shift color temperature independently of brightness, from 2200K candlelight through 5000K daylight, on a schedule. We use both: warm-dim for entertainment and evening scenes, tunable-white for kitchens, primary suites, and offices where color-temperature control is a health and productivity feature.
What is circadian lighting?
Circadian lighting uses tunable-white or full-spectrum fixtures on a schedule that mirrors the sun — cooler and brighter in the morning, warmer and dimmer in the evening — to support natural sleep and wake cycles. Ketra and WAC Aispire are our two go-to platforms. Lutron Lumaris, launching soon, is designed for the same use case with tighter photometric control.
Do you produce photometric studies?
Yes. For any room with critical lighting requirements — kitchens, art walls, home theaters, dining rooms, primary suites, and landscape — we generate photometric layouts showing beam angles, footcandle levels, and lumen distribution. This is how we know a design will actually perform before a single fixture is ordered.
Do you coordinate finishes with the interior designer?
Every fixture, keypad, and trim finish is coordinated with the interior designer's finish schedule. Brass, bronze, satin nickel, matte black, aged brass, blackened steel — we specify each piece so the visible hardware reads as part of the millwork and hardware program, not as a separate lighting layer.
Is HK Lighting Group only for landscape and exterior?
HK Lighting Group is our primary specification for landscape, path lighting, wall-wash, and hardscape — dark-sky compliant and warm-dim by default. Their fixtures integrate with Lutron and Crestron so landscape scenes follow the same schedule as interior scenes.
When will Lutron Lumaris and Ketra be available through Matrix Digital Systems?
Ketra is available today for projects where full-spectrum circadian is the primary design goal. Lutron Lumaris is coming soon — we're onboarding as an authorized specifier ahead of general dealer availability. If your project timeline is 6+ months out, either platform can be designed in.
How is a lighting design service priced?
Design is priced as a fixed fee based on the home's square footage, scene complexity, and whether landscape is included. Fixture and control-system purchase is separate and quoted as a full bill of materials once the design is approved.
Lighting control & motorized shades.
The keypad, scene, and motorized-shade layer that runs on top of the lighting design. Lutron HomeWorks, Palladiom keypads, tunable-white scenes.
Smart home control.
Crestron, Savant, and Josh.ai — the automation platform that recalls every lighting scene, shade position, and audio zone.