The Client
Launceston City Council via City Prom
Summary
We were commissioned to design and install a new decoration theme for a 10m outdoor Christmas tree to be placed in the mall as the centrepiece of Christmas celebrations for the City. The design solution needed to substantially enhance the day and
Project Challenges
The most common challenges facing owners of large Christmas trees are:
- The high quantity of decorations needed to achieve a reasonable level of decorative cover
- The traditional styles of decorating Christmas trees with large baubles lack
night time impact and most lighting solutions do not have a daytime impact - Exposure to UV and adverse weather can result in high annual replacement costs if the decorations are not durable enough
We needed to find a decorative solution that would address all of the above challenges
CDS Solution
Custom Christmas decorations using the German made Masson range, a highly flexible, incredibly durable open weave fiberglass. The large 1m stars from this range was chosen, with only 40 needed to decorate the whole tree. The Masson product range is ideal for large outdoor Christmas decorations because it has limited wind resistance due to its open weave format. Whilst the Masson product can easily be finished in any colour, the see-through open weave of the product, by itself, can lose impact against the dark green foliage of the tree. However, by mounting a silver holographic panel to the back of each Masson star, it resulted in each star reflecting the full-colour spectrum in the shape of a star. To address the need to have night time impact, the stars were fitted with colour changing IP65 rated RGB strip lighting which would reflect off the holographic backing. All 40 stars were networked with a programmed lighting routine installed to create an
The Result
The end result has been striking large outdoor Christmas decorations, that have resolved both the
Contact us to discuss your project 1300 88 60 44
Client
Vicinity – Eastlands Shopping Centre
Summary
We were asked to consider large commercial Christmas decorations for the large atrium space in the shopping centre. Taking into careful consideration the target demographic and brand positioning of the centre, CDS recommended a unique display that would appeal to children and families with the purpose to act as a drawcard for the centre over the Christmas period.
Project Challenges
The atrium presented unique access and installation challenges that would need to be considered as part of the design solution.
CDS Solution
The existing traditional colour scheme of red, green and gold informed the concept to ensure an integrated look throughout the centre. The creative concept developed was a completely bespoke solution featuring a giant waving Santa with his Elves distributing presents from the baskets of their ‘hot-air’ balloons floating in the atrium. The concept required the construction of two large fibreglass ‘hot air’ balloons, large steel framed welded baskets and the making of an animated life-sized Santa and various other props
The Result
The end result has been a great success with the unique installation creating a
Contact us to discuss your project 1300 88 60 44
“I just want to say a massive THANK YOU for all the hard work you put into organising our Christmas decorations. I walked in this morning & was blown away! They look fantastic “
Emily Grass | Sanctuary Lakes Shopping Centre
Client
Dexus Property Group – Gateway Building Sydney
Summary The brief was to design a contemporary Christmas display for the foyer of a landmark Sydney property, in keeping with the contemporary design of the building.
Project Challenges
The project budget was relatively low yet the expectations for quality and design were high for commercial Christmas decor. In addition, the dark interior surfaces of the Gateway building, combined with the heavily patterned glass partitioning would present unique design challenges with reflections.
CDS Solution
One strong sculptural grouping was the only option to achieve the combination of budget constraint and desired quality. After much consideration, our Masson range of German made
The Result
The Christmas display was highly successful judging by the level of positive public feedback – a simple but highly effective display.
Contact us to discuss your project 1300 88 60 44
Client
Launceston City Airport
Summary
A significant upgrade and extension of the Launceston Airport created the need to redesign new commercial Christmas decorations that were more in keeping with the new contemporary fit-out and rebranding
Project Challenges
The challenge was to design and create a bespoke solution that would strongly reflect the unique branding of the Launceston Airport being ‘in the heart of Tasmania’. The Christmas decorations would hang at the peak tourist season with
CDS Solution
Inspiration was taken from the branding statement ‘in the heart of Tasmania’, where we designed large stylized apples covered in silver and gold holographic vinyl. This design reflected both the shape of Tasmania and one of its major export crops. In the centre of apple
The Result
The Christmas decorations became a visual statement of the brand. It reinforced the airport’s messaging with the tens of thousands of visitors over the festive season while enhancing the wider branding of Tasmania as a place of innovation and creativity.
Contact us to discuss your project 1300 88 60 44
“Christmas Display Solutions are true professionals,
it was a seamless process dealing with them”
Zee Taylor | Cat & Fiddle Centre
Client
Summary
A newly developed McDonalds fit-out inspired the Franchisee, with seven separate sites, to seek a custom designed Christmas retail display in keeping with the new colours and contemporary fit-outs.
Project Challenges
This project needed to take into account the tight spaces, lack of available floor space, relatively low ceilings, extensive internal signage and numerous line of sight issues for security cameras.
Solution
We custom designed hanging decorations made of different sized clear acrylic spheres filled with Christmas baubles in colours to reflect the site’s fit-out. Each sphere could be positioned to avoid signage or security cameras and could be hung at different heights to suit their location. The spheres were a hygienic solution, able to be cleaned in between installations, unlike Christmas foliage that has limited serviceability in food preparation environments.
Result
This easy to install, clean and crisp look was the perfect cost-effective commercial Christmas display.
Contact us to discuss your project 1300 88 60 44
Client
Summary
We were commissioned to create a large external Santa House that would accommodate a Santa Set big enough for Santa, Mrs Claus, several elves, and visiting families. It had to have
Project Challenges
The design constraints were complex
- The Santa House was to take over a large section of the partially undercover forecourt facing the car park. It needed to be weather tight and secured at the end of each day.
- It had to be built in a modular form to be transported, assembled and disassembled each year. Preferably it would pack down to fit inside a 20ft container.
- The summer weather conditions and storms needed to be considered in the design to be structurally sound and pass all the required engineering certification for a temporary structure.
- As the Santa House would fully enclose Santa and his helpers, it also needed to provide external viewing options as well as a level of interest for the children who would be queuing for their turn to see Santa.
- The structure needed to be free standing without attachment to an existing structure and would also need to deal with the slope of the site.
CDS Solution
An Elizabethan Village inspired Santa House was fully constructed in our workshop. The Santa House structure was an innovative use of modern materials – using click together insulated wall panels, light-weight carved trims held in place with strong magnets and light-weight structural materials for the flooring and other components. Two external facing animated Christmas puppetry windows were included in the design and these roll in and roll out units can be changed every couple of years as required.
The Result
The design challenges were met and the Santa house project was managed to budget with the final structure achieving engineering certification to Australian Standards. At the unveiling of the Santa House on its first night, over 4000 people attended with families delighted by the whole Santa experience.
Contact us to discuss your project 1300 88 60 44
“Christmas Display Solutions innovative approach & design expertise
have been instrumental in providing a unique Christmas experience in the City“
Vanessa Cahoon | CityProm
Client
Summary
The brief was to create a substantial addition to the existing Christmas display on the mezzanine level of a mixed retail and office development. The design needed to blend well with existing decorations and add a ‘wow’ factor to the Centre to enhance the shopping experience.
Project Challenges
The major project challenge involved the need to design a commercial Christmas decor that would take account of the dominant architectural features of the building, and still integrate with the existing decorations.
CDS Solution
We focused on the delivery of one major and impressive feature to complement the existing decorations. The design concept involved the creation of a large bespoke white branch tree that would be positioned on the mezzanine level, arching out over the stairs and lower levels. This created a sense of a white Christmas forest enveloping the Centre users and through a range of decorating techniques created a level of intrigue and interest.
Result
The end result proved to be a major
Contact us to discuss your project 1300 88 60 44
Client
Sanctuary Lakes Shopping Centre
Summary
We were asked to design a completely new Christmas retail display for the shopping centre. The spaces are large with an impressive light-filled atrium as its main contemporary architectural feature.
Project Challenges
The scale of the atrium in terms of length and height created a substantial challenge to find an affordable high impact solution, traditional ceiling mounted garlands would get completely lost in the vast spaces.
CDS Solution
It was determined that a vertically orientated design (rather than a horizontal design) would suit the high spaces and allow for repetition over a long distance. Our solution was to design custom Christmas decorations in the form of vertical hangings of large colourful stars, using two primary designs, one incorporating a banner and one without. Each design was produced in left and right justified formats allowing alternate placements down the length of the atrium to add visual variety. The vivid colour scheme contrasted well
The Result An integrated, centre wide solution making it a festive destination for all the family. “I just wanted to say a massive THANK YOU for all your hard work organizing our Christmas decorations – I walked in this morning and was blown away. They look fantastic. Your guidance and advice
Contact us to discuss your project 1300 88 60 44
“Christmas Display Solutions were a pleasure to deal with,
they provided new ideas & concepts for us to consider. Once we
confirmed the scope they delivered the project on time & within budget“
Devonport City Council
Client
City of Boroondara – Camberwell Fresh Food Market
Summary
As a major Christmas food shopping venue in Melbourne, the City of Boroondara requested we design new festive decorations in keeping with the fresh food branding of the market.
Project Challenges
The main challenges related to the venue’s architecture and purpose of the building, which excluded the use of floor space or walls for decorations. Added to this was the complex roof structure with its lack of uniformity, creating challenges for traditional hanging decorations.
CDS Solution
Large 3D stars were hung throughout the centre to great effect. The lime green stars reflected the ‘fresh’ aspect of the venue’s brand while the silver colour was inspired by the industrial nature of the exposed air-conditioning ducts throughout the venue. Due to the ceiling heights and structures being different in every part of the building we created specially welded hanging frames, powder coated in black so they would disappear from view. The frames had uniform fixing points for the stars and could then be suspended at whatever height was required to achieve the required sense of symmetry. These frames were devised in such a way as to allow for multiple hanging methods and could be easily adapted on site to fit around particular obstacles.
The Result
This large commercial Christmas decorations proved to be highly effective, achieving a uniform design in a rather random space, while greatly reducing the installation and dismantlement time.
Contact us to discuss your project 1300 88 60 44
Client
Hobart International Airport
Summary
We were approached to design commercial Christmas decorations for the new departures area as part of a major redevelopment, being mindful of the need to possibly extend the concept to other areas of the terminal, once upgrades have been completed. The design had to be on brand and find broad public appeal through design and artistic integrity.
Project Challenge
The main challenge related to the need to create an artistic expression of Christmas for the southern gateway to the exceptional arts venues in Hobart such as MONA. The solution would be restricted to hanging Christmas
CDS Solution
We commissioned a local craftsman to create Tasmanian timber-framed stars. Made of solid black heart Sassafras, each had 2 inserted clear acrylic panels creating a cavity to be filled with Christmas baubles of different sizes and colours. The colour theme of lime green and silver baubles reflected elements of the Airport’s brand logo. The construction method allowed for the acrylic panels to be removed to enable the baubles to be replaced should a fresh look be desired in the future. The stars were suspended from the ceiling and equally offset from major structural columns along the length of the terminal. The placement of the decorations and the see-through nature of the decorations, enabled two-way visibility, achieving the maximum visual impact with limited product.
The Result
This relatively simple and low budget project achieved everything the Hobart International Airport was intending to achieve and resulted in highly positive feedback from a diverse range of visitors to the Airport and State.
Contact us to discuss your project 1300 88 60 44
“The communication & organisation has been great! The install & dismantle schedule & compliance work was supplied so early I didn’t have to chase for anything“
Kimberley Hogg | Vicinity Property Group
Client
Salamanca Fresh
Summary
The brief was to design traditional Christmas décor in keeping with the brand and deli context.
Project Challenges
The biggest challenge was that floor space was not available and hanging points were limited – other than the suspended light boxes. Ease of installation was essential due to the heavy foot traffic at all hours.
CDS Solution
The solution was to use a fresh lime colour theme to match the deli context, using traditional garlands suspended at intervals down the main aisle. The garlands were decorated using traditional baubles interspersed with artificial fig branches, red berries and other appealing summer fruits.
The Result
The overall effect was classic, simple and original. It created a festive atmosphere in keeping with the brand attributes with positive feedback from both staff and customers.
Contact us to discuss your project 1300 88 60 44
Client
Cat & Fiddle Arcade
Summary
Substantial redevelopment and expansion of Hobart’s premier shopping destination necessitated a complete upgrade of the Christmas decorations for the Shopping Centre. The brief was to create a ‘must see’ festive season shopping destination with decorations that would reflect the brand as the ‘ style capital’ of Tasmania.
Project Challenges
The main design challenge was that the two floors of the centre have different target markets requiring us to find a design concept which could be translated to suit each part of the venue.
CDS Solution
We created a fully customised colour theme, ‘Classic Vogue’, a mixture of golds, champagnes and black to use throughout the entire centre. The atrium spaces involved the construction of two large hanging Christmas trees (7m and 4m) made of fabric in black and gold, with a range of large-scale gold and champagne decorations suspended around the trees. The use of the fabric was carried through to other decorations including Swag Garlands on gold rods and small entrance style potted Christmas trees down the main shopping boulevard. A Christmas design concept never seen before in Australia. The lower level of the Arcade, with its younger target market, got an ‘on trend’ treatment decorated in black and gold laser cut acrylic silhouettes of Christmas trees and reindeers, fitted over the front of light boxes. We also designed a large-scale Santa Set backdrop with features including wallpaper, a fireplace, windows, drapes, artwork and the famous Cat and Fiddle clock. This design was printed onto aluminium composite panels that were then attached to walls in the Arcade. For the Santa Set display to appeal to children, the colour pallet was extended to include various reds, but with key elements relating back to the overall ‘Classic Vogue’ colour theme. With red carpet, Santa throne and large-scale Christmas display pieces the Santa Set was designed to be a wonderful family photo opportunity.
The Result
The commercial Christmas decor installed received outstanding public and tenant reaction, with extensive television and print media coverage adding to the overall excitement created. Over the Christmas period, Cat and Fiddle’s strong marketing activity further leveraged the investment in the installation and reinforced the ‘must see’ nature of the Christmas display.
Contact us to discuss your project 1300 88 60 44
Client
Devonport City Council
Summary
Following a competitive tender and submission of design concepts, we were commissioned to provide new large outdoor Christmas decorations for the Devonport CBD.
Project Challenges
The main challenges related to the need to find appropriate solutions for very different exterior infrastructure, while at the same time achieving a suitable level of design integration across the City.
CDS Solution
We recommended a consistent colour theme to achieve the desired level of integration. A red, white and silver theme was chosen to reflect Devonport as both the City of Spirit and the home to the Spirit of Tasmania – the large red and white passenger ship that dominates the cityscape. Key aspects of the project involved the design and manufacture of holographic cross street decorations in the City Mall and street pole decorations down the main street. Large-scale RGB floodlighting of a significant tree in a public park used for Carols by Candlelight and New Years Eve celebrations.
Result
The integrated look supported by complementary street banners gave a significant lift to the quality of Christmas ambience in the City and has been met with wide public support.
Contact us to discuss your project 1300 88 60 44
Not sure what you want? Don’t worry, talk to an expert about your festive options 1300 88 60 44
