Dubai Mall is the world’s 2nd largest mall, boasting an extraordinary 1200 shops. In 2018, MK Illumination Türkiye & Middle East won a major tender to provide Dubai Mall with an atmosphere lighting solution during this year’s Ramadan period, seeing off competing concepts from a large number of international participants.
Dubai Mall wanted to generate an innovative and creative concept that would avoid the clichés of the usual Ramadan decorations – crescents and stars – whilst respecting the holy month’s traditions. They wanted to give customers a memorable experience, one that celebrated the importance of Ramadan.
MK Illumination suggested a modern take on the traditional Fanous (lanterns) that are closely associated with the holy month of Ramadan.
“The main objective was to generate creative and innovative designs for the decorations while making sure customers get the feeling of Ramadan when they look at them. We also wanted to propose decorations that would engage and have a positive an impact on the mall visitors,” said Oktay Süreka, Vice President of MK Illumination Türkiye & Middle East.
The end result was a one-of-a-kind visual experience that celebrated Ramadan through a novel approach to festive decorations. The concept created a consistent festive look and feel, and the combination of modernized versions of the traditional lanterns in different shapes and sizes increased the mall’s profile on social media presence, thanks to the many photos and selfies taken and shared by visitors.