HARRY POTTER STORe: harajuku, tokyo
Lead Designer & Art Director · 8 environments + ceiling & 15×11m fascia · 2-month build · Photoshop (illustration + photo-comp) · Partners: Lumsden, CodSteaks, Technically Creative.
I worked with Warner Bros and Lumsden to deliver the interior and fascia artwork for the Harry Potter Harajuku store. A permanent retail destination designed to feel like stepping into the Forbidden Forest. My role was to take creative ownership of all 2D elements, from concept through to production-ready artwork, across eight huge scenes spanning walls, ceiling and a 15×11m shopfront.
THE BRIEF
The brief was clear and ambitious: create an atmospheric forest filled with magical creatures, on brand for the Wizarding World but without tying it to a specific time or storyline, and make it lifesize. The first task was a 13×5m ceiling mural situated above 3D trees, designed to make visitors feel as though they were looking up through the forest canopy into the night sky. I gathered references, sketched options, and built a full concept board to clarify perspective and style. Warner Bros pushed for realism, moody, mist-filled, and cinematic, which became the visual language for the whole space.
CHALLENGES
The scale was the biggest challenge. Working at 120dpi across files this size was almost unmanageable, so I built a system of three layered files for each scene: composition, editing, and final detail, and each file was linked within the next, instead of embedded. This gave me the space to balance lighting, add mist and creatures, and make changes quickly without crashing my machine. That workflow proved invaluable when dimensions shifted late in production; a wall needed extending by half a metre, but because my artwork was built larger than spec, I could resolve it within an hour, saving the client from extra costs and delays.
THE FASCIA
After the ceiling came the store fascia, which needed to double as a canvas for animation. I meticulously sectioned the design in to print and digital areas, and supplied layered artwork so that the animation team could bring depth and movement: owls swooping, spiders descending, the Ford Anglia darting between trees. It transformed the storefront into a living, breathing slice of the Forbidden Forest.
RESULT
The final result was more than decoration; it was the backdrop to the whole environment, an anchor for the storytelling and a photo moment in its own right. Visitors posed in front of centaurs I had built, children pointed out hidden owls and bowtruckles, and the shopfront became a social media favourite. Even Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) walked past one of the scenes and called it “awesome.” Press described Harajuku as “so much more than just a retail space” (Time Out Tokyo) and highlighted the immersive graphics as a key part of the experience.
RETROSPECTIVE
For me, Harajuku was both a technical and creative milestone. A chance to leave a permanent mark on the Wizarding World while proving I can own design at scale, solve production challenges under pressure, and help turn a retail space into an immersive experience.
Additional Imagery
In collaboration with Lumsden · Fabrication: CodSteaks · Animation: Technically Creative. Harry Potter TM & © WBEI.