This paper presents a method for designing the illumination in an environment using optimization techniques applied to a radiosity based image synthesis system. An optimization of lighting parameters is performed based on user specified constraints and objectives for the illumination of the environment. The system solves for the "best" possible settings for: light source emissivities, element reflectivities, and spot light directionality parameters so that the design goals, suchastominimize energy or to give the the room an impression of privacy, are met. The system absorbs much of the burden for searching the design space allowing the user to focus on the goals of the illumination design rather than the intricate details of a complete lighting specification. A software implementation is described and some results of using the system are reported.