diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index db24cfc..c65ce39 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,2 +1,3 @@
 build/
 *.ppm
+*.zip
diff --git a/src/Light.cc b/src/Light.cc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dddb575
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Light.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+#include "Light.h"
+
+void Light::setTransform(const Matrix4f &transform) {
+  this->transform = transform;
+}
+
+void Light::setGridSize(unsigned int gridSize) { this->gridSize = gridSize; }
+
+void Light::setUseCenter(bool useCenter) { this->useCenter = useCenter; }
diff --git a/src/Light.h b/src/Light.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..31ec15a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Light.h
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+#ifndef LIGHT_H_
+#define LIGHT_H_
+
+#include <Eigen/Core>
+
+using Eigen::Matrix;
+using Eigen::Matrix4f;
+using Eigen::Vector3f;
+
+// Abstract base class for Lights
+class Light {
+public:
+  enum class Type { Point, Area };
+
+  virtual ~Light() = default;
+  // a pure virtual function for derived class implementation
+  virtual void illumination() const = 0;
+
+protected:
+  Light(Type type, const Vector3f &id, const Vector3f &is)
+      : type(type), diffuse(id), specular(is) {}
+
+  Type type;
+  Vector3f diffuse;                          // mandatory member `id`
+  Vector3f specular;                         // mandatory member `is`
+  Matrix4f transform = Matrix4f::Identity(); // optional member `transform`
+  unsigned int gridSize = 0;                 // optional member `n`
+  bool useCenter = false;                    // optional member `usecenter`
+
+public:
+  // setters for optional members
+  void setTransform(const Matrix4f &);
+  void setGridSize(unsigned int);
+  void setUseCenter(bool);
+};
+
+class PointLight : public Light {
+public:
+  PointLight(const Vector3f &id, const Vector3f &is, Vector3f &center)
+      : Light(Type::Point, id, is), center(center) {}
+
+  virtual void illumination() const override;
+
+private:
+  Vector3f center;
+};
+
+class AreaLight : public Light {
+public:
+  AreaLight(const Vector3f &id, const Vector3f &is,
+            const Matrix<float, 3, 4> &corners)
+      : Light(Type::Area, id, is), corners(corners) {}
+
+  virtual void illumination() const override;
+
+private:
+  Matrix<float, 3, 4> corners; // stores `p1`, `p2`, `p3` and `p4`
+};
+
+#endif // !LIGHT_H_
diff --git a/src/RayTracer.h b/src/RayTracer.h
index 8300f13..91dbcb3 100644
--- a/src/RayTracer.h
+++ b/src/RayTracer.h
@@ -7,12 +7,12 @@
 class RayTracer {
 public:
   RayTracer(const nlohmann::json &);
-  void render();
   void run();
 
 private:
   Scene scene;
   nlohmann::json json;
+  void render();
 };
 
 #endif // !RAY_TRACER_H_