Across the attractions industry, operators are seeking ways to refresh environments, give guests new reasons to visit, and make existing spaces more adaptable.
For many, however, changing the guest experience still requires significant investment in physical theming and temporary installations. This can be particularly challenging for seasonal events, where spaces may need to be transformed several times a year.
Belgian creative design firm Painting with Light has developed Illumiware in response, drawing on its experience in lighting, video and immersive design.
The new product brand focuses on making the visual technologies used in immersive environments more accessible, with a range of robust, standardised hardware designed to work with changing digital content.
This approach lets operators use the same physical infrastructure for different experiences and events, rather than requiring a new installation for each one.
Illumiware will make its global debut at IAAPA Expo Europe, where it will showcase the IllumiSphere, a 360-degree holographic LED display, alongside the IllumiTree, a 3.5-metre-tall visual installation. Both combine digital content with physical environments, offering attractions new ways to change a space without completely reworking it.
From lighting design to digital environments
Illumiware builds on Painting with Light’s experience in lighting, video and immersive design. Founder and CEO Luc Peumans has seen display technology develop significantly over his career, bringing new creative possibilities to attractions and other entertainment environments.
Painting with Light founder and CEO, Luc Peumans
He sees the growth of LED technology as particularly significant. Higher-resolution displays and increasingly sophisticated content let designers create more realistic, flexible environments, while improvements in reliability and affordability are making the technology more accessible.
“The quality [of LED screens] has improved so much that it gives so many possibilities,” Peumans says. “The content you can create becomes so realistic.”
For Peumans, the potential goes beyond standalone displays. He sees digital surfaces becoming an increasingly integrated part of location-based entertainment, allowing operators to change a space's look and atmosphere without physically altering it.
“I believe that in the future all wallpaper will be replaced by LED screens,” he says. “With this trend, you can change atmospheres very drastically. It allows you, with the press of a button, to go from atmosphere one to atmosphere two.”
This could be particularly relevant to venues that need to refresh their environments throughout the year. Seasonal changes traditionally involve physical decorations, installations and associated labour. Digital content offers an alternative, allowing the same infrastructure to support different themes and occasions.
“A lot of operators are looking for solutions where they have year-long access to create different atmospheres so that people come back again,” Peumans says.
Designing technology around the story
Painting with Light has already explored the potential of flexible digital scenery through projects including the Plopsa Theatre, where the company designed and delivered a moving LED screen installation covering around 275 square metres.
The system allows the venue to create different scenic environments using the same physical infrastructure. Shows can therefore be changed without rebuilding the stage, giving the operator greater flexibility.
“With moving LED walls, you can make such realistic sceneries that people are blown away, but you can do two different kinds of shows very easily,” Peumans says. “Today you play this show, tomorrow you play another, and with minimal effort you can make it change.”
However, Peumans says LED use cannot be considered in isolation from the wider lighting design. Large screens can produce significant amounts of light, potentially affecting the atmosphere of a space if they are not carefully integrated with other elements.
“Everything from us comes from light; we come from a theatrical background. But LED screens are also light,” he says. “The challenge will be to combine these tools—to create the right atmosphere using light combined with the LED screens or with content projection.”
This thinking also influences how Painting with Light approaches technology in the visitor experience. Rather than making the technology itself the focus, Peumans believes it should support the story and remain largely invisible to the audience.
“You always have to put technology behind the purpose of the story and not the other way around,” he says.
“In the end, maybe the audience doesn't really notice it. They should not notice it. That’s the good thing about technology; if they don't notice it, then it works.”
Introducing IllumiSphere
This philosophy drove IllumiSphere's development. This new product moves beyond conventional flat-panel digital signage, using spinning LED technology to create the appearance of floating 3D animations visible from 360 degrees.
Peter van Bilsen, commercial lead for Illumiware
For Peter van Bilsen, commercial lead for Illumiware, the product’s development stemmed from a gap he identified through his work with operators.
Van Bilsen, who has spent years consulting with operators on hardware and design integration, saw destinations seeking high-impact visual experiences that could fit existing budgets and spaces.
IllumiSphere's core differentiator is its three-dimensional presence.
Traditional screens are linear, flat, and highly directional; guests must stand in front of them to experience the content. IllumiSphere uses spinning holographic LED technology encased in a durable, clear protective housing.
This creates the appearance of a floating, three-dimensional light sculpture that can be viewed from different angles.
Available in three sizes, from 230 mm to 400 mm, the units are designed for applications ranging from retail displays and indoor theming to outdoor plazas and queue lines.
Designed for commercial environments, the units feature an anti-UV polycarbonate shell and are rated IP65 for water and dust resistance and IK08 for impact protection. OSRAM LEDs provide up to 25,000 hours of operating life, supporting long-term use in high-traffic venues.
Ease of deployment
While the technology is designed to create a sophisticated visual effect, it is intended to be straightforward to operate. Advanced AV systems can require specialist technicians, programming and control equipment, creating an additional operational consideration for attractions.
"Ease of deployment was central to our design," explains Van Bilsen. "It is so easy; it’s plug and play, so it doesn't need any special skills.”
Each IllumiSphere is self-contained, with 8GB of internal storage for MP4 content. Operators can upload new animations wirelessly via Wi-Fi, without accessing the hardware or connecting physical cables.
IllumiSphere can be used for Halloween and other seasonal overlays
An online tool helps users format content for the spherical display, while a secure transmission dongle allows teams to update individual or multiple units at once. This gives operators a straightforward way to change campaigns, animations or seasonal content without physically modifying the installation.
Illumiware also provides pre-designed content alongside its hardware, recognising that not every attraction has an in-house team to create 3D animations.
Painting with Light has developed themed content packs for seasonal events, with each pack containing 10 looping video animations designed specifically for the IllumiSphere. The content uses high-contrast visuals against black backgrounds to enhance the holographic effect.
Six packs are currently available, covering Christmas, winter, Valentine’s Day, Easter, summer and Halloween. Operators can organise the animations into seasonal playlists and switch between them as required.
“We prepare a lot of content in advance, making a playlist for each season,” adds Van Bilsen. “And they only have to click on it, so it plays a different configuration.”
Scaling up
Individual IllumiSpheres can be used for signage and smaller thematic elements, while multiple units can be combined into larger installations. One example is the IllumiTree, a 3.5-metre structure designed for public spaces, plazas and attraction entrances.
The standard IllumiTree incorporates 16 IllumiSpheres, although larger configurations can accommodate up to 32. The outdoor-rated structure uses low-voltage power and is designed for use in busy public environments.
Several IllumiSpheres can be combined to create an IllumiTree
Its digital content can be changed to suit different seasons, events or campaigns, allowing the physical structure to remain in place.
An IllumiTree can therefore take on different roles throughout the year, from a Christmas installation to an Easter feature or branded display, using the same underlying hardware.
Beyond attractions
The IllumiSphere is designed for a range of environments, from attraction entrances and plazas to queue lines, dark rides, zoos and aquariums.
Its relatively small footprint and changeable content allow it to be used for theming, wayfinding or seasonal displays without permanent changes to the surrounding environment.
Queue lines are one potential application, providing a way to introduce visual content and storytelling into spaces that can otherwise be difficult to theme. Zoos and aquariums could also use the spheres for evening events, while theme parks and dark rides could incorporate them into existing scenic environments.
IllumiSphere can also be used for signage and wayfinding
Illumiware is also targeting markets beyond traditional attractions, including hospitality and retail. Seasonal displays are one area of interest, while hotels and holiday accommodation could use the technology to add changing visual elements to lobbies and other shared spaces.
“We are indeed talking to companies in retail, especially because seasonal events are very important to them,” says Van Bilsen.
This wider application reflects the IllumiSphere’s focus on flexible digital content rather than a single attraction format.
Reducing the operational burden
For operators, IllumiSphere's appeal goes beyond its visual impact. By shifting seasonal changes from physical decoration to digital content, the system could reduce some of the labour, storage, and logistical demands of repeated changeovers.
Traditional seasonal displays can require teams to install and dismantle decorations, store them between events and work at height in large spaces. A digital installation remains in place, with the visual treatment changed through its content.
IllumiSphere is designed to make switching seasonal displays easier
“You hang them one time, and they hang the whole year,” says Van Bilsen. “It really gives them something where they say, ‘Oh yeah, let’s put on now the Easter content’—click, and it’s ready.”
The approach can also reduce the need to store large quantities of seasonal props and potentially extend the useful life of the physical installation.
For venues running multiple seasonal events, this could make it easier to refresh an environment without repeating the same physical changeover process several times a year.
Rental opens the door
Illumiware has partnered with Blue-I Group to establish a rental and distribution route for the technology. Blue-I will be Illumiware’s exclusive rental partner in Europe, as well as its rental and sales partner in the UK and Ireland.
The IllumiSphere adds another visual technology to Blue-I's AV offering, with applications spanning seasonal displays, signage, exhibitions, brand activations and events.
Illumisphere transforms spaces with 360° holographic light experiences
“The purpose is to explore unique and creative technologies that can help agencies, designers and artists turn their ideas into practical, visually engaging solutions,” says Yves Melis of Blue-I Group.
“When we first saw IllumiSphere, we immediately recognised both its creative potential and its practical value.”
The rental model is particularly suited to temporary installations, including events, pop-ups and product launches. The spheres are designed to be lightweight and straightforward to install, with content prepared in advance for each project.
For organisations considering new technology, rental lets them test the IllumiSphere in a live environment before committing to a permanent installation.
“It is very much a case of ‘try before you buy’,” says Melis.
The approach also allows users to experiment with different configurations and content before committing to a permanent installation.
Looking ahead
Illumiware will make its global debut at IAAPA Expo Europe in London, where Painting with Light is planning an immersive booth centred on the IllumiTree. The showcase will allow visitors to see the technology in a live environment.
For Luc Peumans, the launch also marks the next step in an idea that began during the COVID-19 pandemic: making some of the tools developed for Painting with Light’s bespoke projects available as products that other organisations can use.
“Why don't we make it available for other people to use? That’s the philosophy of this Illumiware brand,” he says.
The company is now looking at how the technology could develop alongside advances in real-time content and AI. Peumans sees potential for digital environments to become more responsive, with content adapting to visitors or changing in real time.
“Also, I'm really interested in what AI will bring,” he says. “The combination of all these things to create unique experiences in real time, adapted to a group of people, gives you a lot of opportunities.”
For Van Bilsen, the longer-term ambition is to move beyond individual installations and explore networks of connected IllumiSpheres across larger environments, including plazas, themed areas and event spaces.
The immediate focus, however, is on establishing the platform and demonstrating where it can add value. For attractions and other venues, the proposition is ultimately about changing the experience without having to change the physical environment around it.
Attendees at IAAPA Expo Europe 2026 in London, held from 22 – 24 September, can meet the Painting with Light team and discover IllumiSphere for themselves at booth #S4230.
