RDG Welcomes Experienced Lighting Designer

RDG Planning & Design announces that David Raver, IESNA, IALD, LC has joined the firm in its Des Moines, Iowa office and will lead RDG’s Lighting Design team. Raver brings more than 20 years of experience leading award-winning lighting design for projects across multiple markets, from intimate religious spaces to theatrical productions at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. to some of Iowa’s most iconic sites.

“We are thrilled to augment our lighting design group with the talent, experience, insight and enthusiasm that David brings,” said RDG Managing Principal Justin Platts, PLA, ASLA, LEED AP. “I’ve had the great pleasure of working closely with him on past projects and am so happy to again have the opportunity. It was David who first opened my eyes to the power that light has to shape space and inform an experience, and the impact effect it has on how we feel. I’m eager for him to share how he sees the world with our colleagues and clients alike.”

Raver’s attention to aesthetics and the perceived visual environment is a driving force in his design process. As a lighting designer, his strength lies in taking what begins as an artist’s or architect’s vision and realizing it creatively through integrated lighting solutions. With every project, he seeks to strike a careful balance between realizing the vision and providing equipment and technology that is easy to maintain, dependable, within the project’s budget and aesthetically pleasing to the natural or architectural environment. Raver’s work is further enhanced through his deep knowledge and research into how lighting design can impact healing, learning and therapeutic environments.

“I am so pleased to return to a firm that believes and practices collaborative, integrated design,” said Raver. “I can’t wait to see what incredible projects we can create with fantastic, integrated lighting.”

In his role, Raver will be responsible for all phases of lighting design at RDG including client communications, design development and presentations, project design, field observations, project commissioning and aiming, as well as completion of drawings, details, calculations, documentation, computer renderings, specifications and assisting with lighting marketing materials and presentations.