Festive lighting and decoration that tells an interactive story in Dublin

Every space has a story to tell and here at MK Illumination, we combine local insights, global experience, festive light and decoration expertise and storytelling to create unique, interactive experiences that attract visitors.

A great example of this is a project designed and implemented by the MK illumination Ireland team in Dublin’s Dundrum Town Centre.

What the client wanted:

Dundrum Town Centre wanted to create an immersive festive experience for visitors that would not only be a talking point that would attract visitors and media alike, but that would also encourage visitors to explore different parts of the center on each visit. They also wanted the experience to be a local experience, one that wasn’t simply another “generic Christmas scene” that visitors could enjoy anywhere in the world.

Following initial briefing sessions, it became clear that they liked the idea of combining traditional festive lighting, decoration and analogue (or “real”) elements with technology.

Tailor-made by MK Illumination Ireland:
MK Illumination Ireland proposed a one-of-a-kind solution to meet the needs and expectations of the different people Dundrum Town Centre wanted to attract:

Traditional elements:
Fun, vibrant Christmas lighting lit up the center, immediately transforming it into a welcoming place to visit, shop and relax.

Unique to Dundrum, the local touch:
Oisín McGann, an award-winning Irish writer and illustrator, was commissioned to write an original story about a family of snow people called “The Drift Family at Dundrum”.

Family-friendly:
The Drift Family appeared not only in the form of a story, but in “real life”, thanks to the custom-designed characters that were created based on the illustrations in the book. The family was very much one of the highlights for children and an ideal photo opportunity for parents and children alike.

A mix of analogue and new tech elements:
In order to appeal to young and old and traditionalists and technology-fans alike, visitors could read about the Drift Family’s adventures at four locations. The locations were carefully chosen to ensure that visitors moved around the center instead of congregating at one point, and at each location, visitors could not only enjoy the life-size animated representations of the characters, but could also read the relevant part of the story, or download the Zappar app in order to experience the story as augmented reality.

The result:

An immersive, 360◦ festive experience for all ages that garnered lots of media attention and traffic over the holiday season!

That was then, this is now:

Technology moves at lightning speed and in 2018, Dundrum Town Centre will be moving away from augmented reality. If you want to know what they’re moving towards… well, you’ll have to visit the center in November to find out!

If you want to create a unique festive lighting experience for your shopping center, city, or public place, one that tells a story and that resonates with the people you want to attract, get in touch with us. We have lots of exciting ideas to help you transform your space!