This article forms part of the Decorative and Applied Arts Encyclopedia, a master reference hub providing a structured overview of design history, materials, movements, and practitioners.
Signify N.V., formerly Philips Lighting, is a Dutch lighting company that develops LED products, connected systems and lighting services. Its products serve homes, workplaces, shops, cities and industrial sites. The business combines more than a century of lighting expertise with newer fields such as smart controls, sensor networks and circular product design.
The company also operates Pioneers of Light, a professional resource for architects, lighting designers and engineers. This initiative illustrates Signify’s wider role in design. It supplies lamps and luminaires, but it also supports the people who determine how light shapes buildings, streets and public spaces.
What Is Signify N.V.?
Signify N.V. is a publicly listed lighting company based in Eindhoven in the Netherlands. Its shares trade on Euronext Amsterdam under the ticker LIGHT. The company works across professional lighting, consumer products and connected lighting systems.
Its best-known brands include Philips, Philips Hue and WiZ. Philips Hue focuses on connected home lighting, while WiZ offers app-controlled products designed for broad consumer use. Signify also develops systems that allow professional lighting installations to work with software, sensors and building controls.
According to the company’s current corporate profile, Signify recorded sales of approximately €5.8 billion in 2025. It employs about 27,000 people and operates in more than 70 countries. These figures make it one of the largest international businesses devoted specifically to lighting.
From Philips Lighting to Signify
The company traces its history to 1891, when Gerard Philips and his father Frederik established Philips & Co. in Eindhoven. The original business manufactured carbon-filament lamps. It later expanded into electrical products, electronics and medical technology.
Philips separated its lighting division as an independent company in 2016. Philips Lighting then listed on Euronext Amsterdam on 27 May that year. In May 2018, shareholders approved the name Signify N.V.
The new name refers to light as a means of communication and connection. Nevertheless, the company continues to use the Philips brand for many lighting products under a licensing agreement. As a result, consumers may encounter the Philips name even though Signify operates the underlying lighting business.
Signify N.V. and Signify Netherlands B.V.
Signify N.V. is the publicly listed parent company. Signify Netherlands B.V. is a Dutch operating entity associated with the group’s activities in the Netherlands.
The official Dutch contact page lists Signify Netherlands B.V. at High Tech Campus 48 in Eindhoven. Therefore, references to “Signify Netherlands B.V.” generally identify the local legal entity rather than a separate lighting brand.
This distinction helps clarify company records, product documents and contact information. In editorial writing, Signify N.V. remains the appropriate name when discussing the international group.
Pioneers of Light by Signify
Pioneers of Light is Signify’s professional platform for architects, lighting designers and engineers. It brings together design projects, events, training material and specification resources.
The platform treats lighting as an architectural and cultural discipline rather than simply a technical service. Its material explores how illumination can support comfort, orientation, identity and atmosphere. It also addresses practical issues such as energy use, controls and environmental impact.
For specifiers, the value of Pioneers of Light lies in its connection between creative ideas and available lighting technology. Case studies show how designers apply light to façades, interiors, landscapes and public spaces. Educational resources also help professionals evaluate new products and connected systems.
LED and Connected Lighting
LED technology transformed the lighting industry by reducing energy use and extending lamp life. It also gave designers more control over colour, intensity and distribution.
Signify has expanded this capability through connected lighting. In a connected system, luminaires can communicate with sensors, software and control platforms. Users can adjust lighting according to occupancy, daylight levels, schedules or individual preferences.
In homes, products such as Philips Hue and WiZ allow people to control lighting through apps, switches and compatible smart-home systems. In professional settings, connected installations can help facilities teams monitor energy use and maintain large lighting networks.
However, connected lighting has significance beyond convenience. When designers integrate controls carefully, a building can respond more effectively to changing activities and available daylight. The result can reduce waste while improving the experience of a space.
Design Philosophy: Light Beyond Illumination
Signify presents light as both a practical service and a design material. Lighting provides visibility, yet it also affects atmosphere, visual hierarchy and the perception of colour and texture.
This approach matters in architecture because the same room can feel very different under changing light levels and colour temperatures. Designers must therefore consider luminaires, controls, surfaces and daylight as parts of a single system.
Connected products add another dimension. Instead of creating one fixed lighting scene, designers can develop settings for different times, activities or users. This flexibility can support homes, workplaces, hospitality interiors and public environments.
Explore more lighting designers and lighting design history on Encyclopedia.Design.
Sustainability and Circular Lighting
Signify places energy efficiency and circular design at the centre of its stated sustainability strategy. Its Brighter Lives, Better World 2030 programme addresses climate action, circularity and access to light.
Efficient LEDs can reduce electricity demand when they replace older lighting technologies. Controls can deliver further savings by dimming or switching off lights when spaces are empty or when daylight is sufficient.
Circular design also considers what happens after installation. Products designed for maintenance, repair, upgrades or disassembly may remain useful for longer. Signify describes these principles through its circular-lighting programmes and its Signify Circle framework.
The company has also published a climate transition plan supporting its ambition to reach net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions across its value chain by 2040. As with any corporate programme, progress should be assessed through reported outcomes as well as stated targets.
Acquisitions and Portfolio Growth
Acquisitions have extended Signify’s reach into several connected-lighting markets. The company acquired WiZ Connected in 2019, adding a Wi-Fi-based consumer lighting platform to its portfolio.
It also acquired Cooper Lighting Solutions, which strengthened its position in the North American professional market. In 2022, Signify completed its acquisition of Fluence, a specialist in horticultural lighting systems.
These businesses broaden Signify’s work beyond conventional lamps. Its portfolio now covers residential systems, architectural products, professional controls and lighting designed for plant cultivation.
Why Signify Matters to Lighting Design
Signify occupies an unusual position in modern design history. It continues the lighting heritage of Philips while developing products for an era of software, sensors and environmental constraints.
Its significance therefore rests on more than scale. The company demonstrates how lighting has shifted from an isolated electrical product towards a responsive system. Contemporary lighting can now combine luminaires, controls, data and services within a larger architectural strategy.
At the same time, initiatives such as Pioneers of Light connect technology with professional design culture. They encourage architects and lighting specialists to consider energy, atmosphere and human experience together.
Signify N.V. consequently represents both continuity and change. Its history reaches back to the early manufacture of electric lamps, while its current work addresses connected buildings, smart homes and more circular forms of production.
Authoritative Sources
- Signify company overview
- Philips Lighting becomes Signify
- Signify IPO information
- Signify acquisitions
- Signify sustainability strategy
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