Lights of Seoul
Overview
Lights on the Water, Where We Become One.
Lights of Seoul is a lantern festival held on Toronto Island that reinterprets Korean cultural traditions within a Canadian context. Through radiant lantern artworks, the festival transforms light into a shared cultural experience—inviting visitors into a collective space of celebration, reflection, and connection.
Year
October - December 2025
Duration
12 Weeks
Type
Branding
Role
- Branding Designer
Tools Used
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe InDesign
Transferring cultural festival from Seoul to Toronto
Project Background
Lights of Seoul reimagines the Seoul Lantern Festival (서울빛초롱축제) as a
site-specific cultural event in Toronto. The project explores how a
traditional
Korean festival can be translated into a multicultural environment
while
preserving its original spirit.
Rooted in the theme of gathering, wishing, and unity, the festival
adopts the
message “Lights on the water, where we become one.” Set in Toronto—a
city shaped
by diverse cultural backgrounds—the festival reframes light as a
symbol of
connection, bringing people together through shared experience
rather than
cultural familiarity alone.
The project involved designing a complete festival system, from core
identity to
applied materials, ensuring cohesion across physical and digital
touchpoints.
Challenges & Goals
-
Challenges
The primary challenge was establishing a cohesive and adaptable visual system that could scale across multiple applications—posters, digital advertising, wayfinding, and environmental graphics—while maintaining a unified identity throughout the festival.
-
Goals
The goal was to define and structure a clear design system—colour, typography, and layout that would support consistency across all materials, guide visitors intuitively through the festival, and present the festival as a single, unified brand experience
Approach & Key Process
Original Festival Reference
Target Audiences
Cultural Translation
Visual Culture Research
Synthesizing
Visitors' Experiences
Core Element Selection
Concept Development
System Construction
Content Strategy
Prototyping
Mockup & System Finalization
Feedback & Iteration
Final Showcase
Concept
What does Lights of Seoul bring from Seoul?
Lights of Seoul draws inspiration from traditional Korean lantern festivals, where paper lanterns are hung along streets and released onto rivers as symbols of hope and wishes.
Message
We all become the one.
By bringing these cultural practices to Toronto—a multicultural city—the festival becomes a platform for sharing individual stories and diverse backgrounds through customized lanterns. As lanterns float into the sky or across the water, participants not only take part in a Seoul tradition, but also contribute to a collective celebration of culture, connection, and belonging.
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