Role
Lead Product Designer
Type
Campaign
Industry
Entertainment
London Eye Frostival: Winter at 135m above London
TL;DR
The London Eye team was launching a festive season of experiences and needed a standout campaign to bring it to life, including an ice rink and immersive on-site elements. I created the visual direction for Frostival, building a flexible 3D system that ran across out-of-home, digital and physical formats. The campaign ran for two consecutive years and became a recognisable part of the South Bank winter experience.
Who is London Eye?
Operated by Merlin Entertainments, the London Eye is one of the UK’s most iconic and best-loved attractions. Since opening in 2000, it has become a defining feature of the city’s skyline and a symbol of contemporary London. Rising 135 metres above the River Thames, it offers spectacular panoramic views and draws millions of visitors each year. Now a permanent fixture on the South Bank, the London Eye continues to be a key part of the capital’s cultural and visitor landscape.
My role
I set the visual direction for Frostival, from early concept through to final delivery. After establishing the creative tone with mood boards, typography and colour exploration, I developed a modular 3D visual system with our in-house Motion Designer and 3D Artist.
Alongside the core campaign design, I helped guide its application across key brand and experience touchpoints. This included working with third-party teams to bring the visual identity into physical spaces, like the Eyeskate ice rink and two transformed London Eye pods designed as immersive Frostival experience capsules.
Problem statement
The London Eye team approached us with a clear brief: create a seasonal campaign to promote their winter offer, including the ice rink and surrounding South Bank festivities. It needed to feel wintry and fun while staying true to the core brand.
The visuals had to stretch across on-site installations, digital channels and out-of-home media, all delivered quickly in time for the festive launch.
Design process
Ideation
We started by exploring three potential campaign names as a team: The Big Freeze, Icestravaganza and Frostival. Icestravaganza was dropped early. It felt overcomplicated and difficult to translate visually across formats.
I created pitch visuals for the remaining two. The Big Freeze used a knitted graphic style inspired by traditional winter patterns. It had a softer, more nostalgic feel, but was visually quite limited. For Frostival, I explored a cleaner, more contemporary direction, supported by sketches and 3D concept visuals developed with our 3D Designer.
The client chose Frostival. It felt fresher and more versatile, and the icy textures and crisp visual language gave us a strong foundation to build on. I was pleased with the decision. Visually, it aligned with the direction I had in mind, and I was looking forward to the creative and technical challenge of developing the 3D assets in full.
Big Freeze banner and poster concept.
Frostival banner and 3D proof of concept poster.
Typography experiments.
Results
Final design
The initial 3D assets created for the pitch weren’t discarded. Instead, they were refined and developed into a modular, high-resolution set that could be adapted easily across formats.
Out-of-home placements included press ads in London newspapers, six-sheet posters across the Underground, animated escalator panels and digital displays on taxi roofs. The campaign also ran across digital channels, including a homepage takeover and campaign page on the London Eye website.
Alongside the Motion Designer’s animated formats, I created all static campaign assets, including the Underground posters, press ads, digital banners, homepage takeover and social media content.
The visuals also informed the physical builds. Two of the London Eye pods were transformed into Frostival capsules, using the artwork as a reference for colour, texture and lighting. Sound effects and a minty scent were added to create a more immersive experience. Branded signage and panels wrapped the Eyeskate rink, tying everything together on site.
Impact
The Frostival campaign ran for two consecutive winters, with only minimal updates to the creative. Its flexibility made it easy to adapt while still feeling visually distinctive across both seasons. One update included a two-by-six metre ice sculpture to round things off in style.
Despite tight timelines and a wide range of formats, the campaign held together as one coherent visual system, helping the London Eye stand out during a crowded festive period. It was seen widely across London, with an estimated reach of 1.5 million across out-of-home and digital channels.
This was one of those rare projects that combined creative range with proper end-to-end delivery. The mix of formats and outputs kept it interesting throughout, and seeing my work out in the wild while I was in London was a proud moment.
