A sip of summer, served through AR.
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A sip of summer, served through AR. |
CLIENT:
Grosvenor
Creative Direction, Concept & Design, UX/UI Oversight, 3D Design, Client Relations, 360 Photography.
ROLE:
Immersive AR public activation across high-footfall retail and cultural sites in London’s Belgravia district. Delivered over two consecutive years as part of the "Belgravia in Bloom" event series.
CONTEXT:
PlATFORM:
Mobile WebAR + Geolocation-based campaign
Grosvenor approached our team to design and deliver an interactive digital experience to complement their annual "Belgravia in Bloom" festival - an established London event celebrating spring through floral-themed art installations and retail engagement. The brief: create a location-based activation that invites the public to explore the neighbourhood, increases footfall, and enhances dwell time across key destinations.
GOALS
4. LOWER BARRIERS, INCREASE ACCESS
Use real-time location and WebAR to create memorable, low-friction user journeys
1. GROW FOOTFALL & DISCOVERY
Encourage exploration and increase footfall across Belgravia’s key retail and cultural locations.
2. Enhance Commercial Performance
Support tenant turnover and customer satisfaction through high-quality experiential design.
3. emonstrate Innovation in Placemaking
Showcase Grosvenor’s commitment to creative, future-facing public experiences.
Creative Approach
How do you bring immersive storytelling into the physical environment—without an app, without friction, and with innovative technology aimed at those unfamiliar with such things?
Over two consecutive years, I led the design and development of a suite of WebAR experiences for the annual Belgravia in Bloom event houses within a navigation map tool for visitors to the bustling area during the summer months. Each year introduced new creative themes and technical parameters, offering a chance to explore user-led interaction design in real-world environments.
The campaigns brought digital storytelling to the streets of Belgravia through accessible, app-free mobile AR experiences. I was involved end-to-end, from concept and prototyping to final build and deployment.
Project Toolkit:
Blossoming IDEas
IMMERSION INTO CONTEXT
This phase was about shaping the project’s narrative and structure, building from both the year’s event theme and spatial context. I started by mapping a logic flow that established how visitors would encounter, trigger, and interact with the augmented content as they moved through Belgravia. This early system-level thinking ensured the final experience felt intuitive, continuous, and connected to the environment.
Alongside this, I storyboarded specific moments in the journey, like animated floral elements and whimsical transitions, to guide motion design and tone. These previsualisations helped communicate intent across design, technical, and client teams, creating alignment before production began.
Digital Germination
FROM SKETCH TO SCREEN
Once the interaction model was clear, I translated the narrative into visuals. I designed a set of bespoke icons that responded to both the festival branding and mobile UX considerations, ensuring visibility and legibility in outdoor environments.
The UI design evolved in parallel, focusing on clarity, consistency, and responsiveness across devices. I created prototypes and mockups to define how users would engage with content, receive instructions, and explore additional layers of the experience. These assets allowed for quick iteration and effective design-to-dev handoff.
pixel Petals in the wild
BUILT FOR THE STREET
Designing for unpredictable, real-world conditions meant planning for distraction, weather, and moments of fleeting attention. I trialled onboarding flows, interface cues, and spatial logic on location to optimise for legibility in sunlight and ease of use while walking. The experience had to work instantly, without explanation.
Off the trail
Extending the experience
Beyond the on-site AR activations, I designed two supplementary digital experiences—each tailored to different audience needs. In 2021, I created a playful AR filter for social media that served as a teaser campaign ahead of launch. This gave audiences a portable slice of the event’s visual identity and helped build awareness through user-generated content.
In 2022, I designed a desktop WebAR viewer for international audiences and those unable to attend in person. Using 360° photography and interactive hotspots, users could explore the installations virtually—preserving the story-led experience across devices and locations.
These extras extended the life and reach of the campaign, helping to engage new users, build brand affinity, and share Belgravia in Bloom beyond the streets of London.
Project Toolkit:
Green Fingered Growth 🌼
Some LEARNINGS
Designing for busy outdoor environments requires immediate clarity and frictionless onboarding.
WebAR imposes strict constraints on performance and interaction, demanding early and continuous testing.
Clear visual communication, simplified UI, and responsive asset design are key to maintaining user engagement in uncontrolled, real-world settings.
Outcomes
🧑🏼🤝🧑🏼
33,513 unique visitors in 2021, with an average dwell time of 2.42 minutes.
📈
500 user engagements per day in 2022, with an average dwell time increasing to 6 minutes
🤝
Secured repeat partnership with the client, citing the AR activation as a key driver of increased tenant turnover and visitor satisfaction.
🛳️
Streamlined onboarding through app-free access, boosting engagement across age groups.
🌐
Delivered a fully scalable WebAR framework, re-usable and adaptable to changing themes.
Rachel McCulloch | Head of Marketing, Grosvenor
