Image Credit: Legoland Shanghai
Behind the Bricks – LEGOLAND Shanghai
The World’s Biggest LEGOLAND. Our Boldest Graphics Rollout Yet.
LEGOLAND® Shanghai Resort has officially opened its gates, and it’s already made global headlines as the largest LEGOLAND in the world, spanning an epic 318,000 m².
From the moment you arrive to the moment you check out, every surface tells a story and we’re proud to have played a part in bringing the magic to life.
Working closely with Merlin Entertainments and LEGO®, we were appointed to deliver floor-to-ceiling themed graphics across the entire resort. That included everything from immersive hotel room wraps to playful wayfinding, eye-catching exterior treatments and imaginative environmental graphics throughout the park.
This wasn’t just about looking good (although it definitely does). It was about building a seamless, story-driven visitor experience that felt authentically LEGO® at every turn.
A Visual Experience from Arrival to Check-Out
With more than 75 rides, shows and attractions, a 250-room LEGO-themed hotel, and an astonishing 85 million LEGO bricks, the scale of this resort was unlike anything the team had tackled before.
We delivered:
- Hundreds of LEGO®-themed hotel rooms, each uniquely wrapped
- Bars, restaurants and retail spaces with custom-designed, location-specific creative
- Ride zones and interactive experiences, seamlessly integrating graphic elements into the wider themed environments
- Exterior façades and window vinyls that set the tone on arrival
- Reception areas, gyms, guest facilities (yes, including toilets and changing rooms!)
- Street furniture, signage, and wayfinding to keep the LEGO® story flowing throughout the entire site
“The scale and detail of this project were immense but also incredibly rewarding,” says Steve, Senior Account Manager. “Our focus was on meeting the extensive graphic requirements and ensuring every element delivered on the creative vision. The collaboration with Merlin and Lego was seamless from day one, a true team effort.”
The Dream Team Behind The Graphics
This was a true team delivery, led by Steve and brought to life by a stellar cast of designers and artworkers. Dean, Mike and Laura played a major role in delivering hundreds of assets, ensuring everything met brand standards while remaining fun, playful and perfectly pitched for the audience.
Designing at Scale: Navigating a Constantly Evolving Site
The 318,000 m² LEGOLAND® Shanghai site presented significant challenges, especially in navigating a constantly evolving set of plans. From the outset, the team was dealing with a high volume of revisions, often daily, requiring close coordination across multiple teams and disciplines.
One of the most valuable tools in managing this complexity was the AutoCAD walkthrough shared early in the process. By defining a camera path through the 3D model, the team could take a simulated tour of the resort, gaining a far clearer understanding of the spatial layout than 2D plans could provide. This immersive view was a game-changer, not just for design decisions, but also for presentations and internal reviews.
“The 3D walkthrough helped us visualise the guest journey and catch design issues early, something that wouldn’t have been possible with flat drawings alone,” says Dean Meyer, Creative Artworker.
The technical demands were equally ambitious. From rendering large volumes of themed assets to working with complex textures, including bespoke carpet designs for hotel and lobby areas, the project pushed our in-house systems to the limit.
“It really stretched my understanding of large-scale site development,” Dean adds. “And it proved just how critical the right digital tools are in bringing themed environments like this to life.”
One Resort. One Giant LEGO® Playground.
For the Attractions team, this was a huge project, one that blended creativity, craft and coordination at every level.
The result? A bold, bright, brilliantly immersive environment that delivers on fun, functionality and full-on LEGO® energy.
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Image courtesy of Alton Towers Resort
How big is Bluey?
There’s something special about Bluey. The light-hearted Australian series seems delightfully simple on the surface, but fans know all too well that it captures the emotional complexities of family life; the laughs, the tears and all the feelings in between.
That’s why we love it and why our kids love it.
So, when we were invited to work with Merlin Entertainments and Studios North to develop the first ever Bluey-themed rooms for CBeebies Land in Alton Towers, we were filled with excitement. And to be honest, we were also a little bit scared. Because we knew we were working with a very special, much-loved character.
Starting with a Vision
The brief landed on our desks in January, and we were tasked with making Bluey and her crew live larger-than-life, in the physical space of the hotel rooms. Following successful collaborations on the Nemesis rollercoaster and Cadbury World, Merlin Entertainments had confidence in our IP expertise and they knew Bluey was in safe hands.
Translating Bluey’s World to Reality
The process kicked off with detailed architectural drawings of two room types: a standard room and a suite. We worked closely with the team at Studios North, who provided us with a theme book outlining the visual intentions for the space. This theme book served as a crucial guide for quoting the scope of work and ensuring the designs were achievable.
“Creating the first-ever Bluey-themed hotel room meant that we were the first team to set the boundaries of scale” says Nikki, the Senior Designer of the Theming team at Fluro. “We had to figure out how the characters would come to life in a real-world setting and interact seamlessly within the confines of a hotel room.”
The first challenge was deciding on Bluey’s height relative to a standard bed. We used creative problem-solving to make sure we provided enough room for the characters to come to life, while maintaining their proportions in the overall aesthetics.
“We wanted to make sure all the assets and elements worked together perfectly” says Nikki, “our goal was to create a fun and inviting space for kids who love the show and for adults who appreciate its charm.”
Collaborating with Brand IP: Creativity within Boundaries
“Working with a brand’s intellectual property is a balancing act of knowing how to be creative within the strict guidelines that we’re given” says Steve, the Theme Team’s Senior Account Manager. “Bluey, was a new IP for us, and so this first project demanded very close attention to the brand guidelines approved by the licensor. Despite these constraints, we found ways to inject fun and interactivity into the room’s design. For example, we suggested dynamic poses for characters to make the space more engaging.”
The Long Dog
A particularly enjoyable element was incorporating “Long Dog,” a hidden character from the show that fans enjoy finding. By hiding the Long Dog in the design of the room, we created a layer of interactivity that delighted the first guests and enhanced their experience. In fact, we hid it so well that some guests haven’t been able to find it! We asked our Senior Designer Nikki who hid the Long Dog herself, if she could share a clue about where it’s hiding…“it’s not a flower, root or stem, can you find the hidden gem?”
We pride ourselves on our ability to take beloved characters and stories and transform them into joyful experiences. For the Fluro Theme Team, there’s no challenge too tough. We have the creative flair, the technical expertise and the IP experience to create a smooth journey from theme book to grand opening.
Let's start
something
Want to talk to us about a project?
Just get in touch, we'd love to chat.
Send an email to hello@fluroltd.com
Ring on 01628 525 449