A gestural control dimmer switch for controlling the illumination level of a light using hand movements comprises a dimmer panel in operative communication with a light, the dimmer panel having a plurality of hand position sensors corresponding to a spectrum of illumination levels of the light, wherein when a hand is detected by the hand position sensors the illumination level of the light is set until the hand reaches a dimmer trigger position when the switch enters a dimming mode during which the illumination level is adjusted to the illumination level corresponding to the hand position sensor the presence of the hand is detected until a release condition is satisfied.