Downtown Disney is primarily a commercial space that has the intent to invite and entice you into spending money on way overpriced kettle corn (which I succumbed to) and stuffed animals you do not need. I think the designers were trying to create a friendly magical world that is colorful, eye-catchingly busy, child-like and carefree. It is an explosion of shimmering color.
I definitely think the designers accomplished their goals through using lots of creative lights in every possible nook and cranny. The trees are dripping with globes of color, the restaurants and shops lit up with sparkling colored entryways and neon marquis. I think they are successful because they focused on lighting the architectural objects in the space using various types of small light fixtures, as opposed to lighting the area with a few large overhanging fluorescent lights. Had they done this you would have lost the night factor, and it would have seemed more like they were trying to re-create a daylight feeling at night. By preserving the darkness of night, they maintained the sense of friendly mystery that invites you to explore.
The picture above kind of captures the overall environment and feel of Downtown Disney. I apologize for the blurriness picture; this exercise was also a lesson in how little I know about how my camera’s nighttime settings work.
For the individual stores I chose to focus on the The House of Blues and Disney Vault 28.
House of Blues is a Creole, New Orleans, voodoo themed restaurant and music performance space. I think the lighting designer’s goal was to create an edgy space where people could either chill or party. The space is an eclectic mish mosh, mix of old and trendy. With the exception of the bright blue marquis, on the outside you might think you are in New Orleans. The space is left dark, with a few old fashioned lights lining the walls; these also have blue lamps in them. The blue seems mysterious and electric to me in an enticing kind of way. It tells me this is a cool dark party place, but requires you to go in to see what it is really about. On the inside of the restaurant, the mix of old and new is even more apparent, and the lights scream party. There is interplay of fire and ice, old and new. The ceiling of the main dining room is covered in what appears to be a giant light fixture of square tiles that cycle through a rainbow of colors. The bar is lit up in neon blue lights that make all the glasses and bottles look like ice. Also hanging from the ceiling and over the dining tables are old-fashioned, chandeliers and light fixtures that emit a more golden, warm theatrical light. The interplay of these creates an atmosphere that is old and new, relaxed and party-like. I do not think that they were as successful as they could have been, and perhaps aired on the side of doing too much. Although I think New Orleans style is very busy, the amount of different types of lights seem to be overkill, especially the rainbow ceiling light. It through me off, and made the dining room seem more like a dance floor.
Disney Vault 28 is a Disney themed clothing store that is meant to be vintage inspired. The target audience would definitely be the teen and college age bracket and plays on the vintage industrial style that is so trendy right now. Since Disney just recently acquired Marvel, they also carry x-men and other Marvel comic character clothes. The entryway to the store is hidden by a giant “vault” lit up in a way that makes it look like an antique copper or bronze. Inside the store is an eclectic mix of vintage and modern chandeliers and light fixtures along with regular industrial light fixtures. Special colored lights light up certain corners or elements of the store. To play on the industrial feel the lights and wiring are not hidden and actually compliment and add to the design. Everything about this store screams vintage and artsy. The bright white industrial lights juxtaposed between the more amber, orange, golden light that came from the vintage fixtures. Had someone told me Disney was creating a vintage inspired clothing line using Disney characters I would have had a hard time imagining it, but I really think they were very successful. While I may feel too old to wear a vibrant Mickey T-shirt, I was definitely tempted to buy one of the vintage looking styles. The unique hidden entry and the industrial feel that was enhanced by the lights definitely brought you into a zone that was hip and unique.
I tried to get the pictures in the correct spots after each paragraph but was not successful so they are all at the top. Could not get them in the correct order, but they are all labled.
ReplyDeleteno problem about the pics - really, really nice detail relating specific lighting affects to emotion and intent :)
ReplyDeletei now want to visit the Vault :)
nice work!