The christmas concept
The central idea behind the festive graphic applications was inspired by Christmas wrapping paper and the colourful, decorative pattern repeats often seen on wrapped gifts. We loved the idea that “the decorations” were Croydon BID’s gift to the town, expressed through a key typographic device where the gift tag carries the message: “From Croydon Business Improvement District.”
A bright green and red palette reinforced the Christmas atmosphere, while soft pastel pinks and blues helped further evoke the wrapping-paper theme.
This year, BID’s investment delivered 71 decorations and lighting motifs across the town centre, illuminating 10 streets in total. The scheme incorporated up to 110,000 LED lights, including approximately 1,500 metres of tree lighting, bringing festive cheer to everyone who lives in, works in, or visits Croydon.
The christmas tree and lighting installation graphics
In addition to the street lighting, major roads featured a variety of installations, including the town centre Christmas tree, two interactive “selfie installations” for capturing festive memories, and Christmas lighting gobos projecting seasonal motifs onto buildings and streets.
Signage graphics
To further enhance the town centre, we created vibrant and colourful signage graphics installed throughout the main shopping areas. These spread festive messages and highlighted Croydon BID’s role in delivering the seasonal displays. The BID hopes these features will encourage visitors to explore the town centre, soak up the festive atmosphere, and support local businesses.
Matthew Sims, Chief Executive at Croydon BID had this to say:
“Now more than ever, destinations, town centres and high streets must do everything they can to bring colour, creativity, and vibrancy to their environments. Croydon is no exception. Our new town-centre signage, developed in partnership with tothepoint, has enabled us to introduce much-needed colour and refinement while ensuring a clear connection between our festive activations, such as the Christmas lights, and Croydon BID as the delivery partner. Tothepoint produced an engaging design that is playful, clean, fresh and welcoming, while still promoting our brand as part of the concept. The signage has created a positive visual impact that enhances both our installations and the overall look and feel of the town centre”