Behind-the-scenes: Designing an interactive heritage experience

Gibraltar's importance during World War II has often been overlooked. The Blitz, Pearl Harbour and D-Day have taken centre stage for book, movie and gaming storylines. But this British-owned peninsula experienced a tumultuous time in a geographically vulnerable location, and yet, was still able to play a pivotal role in the allies victory in 1945.

These stories became the backbone of a revitalised World War II experience in the heart of the underground cave network in Gibraltar. This is the story of how we turned these amazing stories, into an experince for all.

The big idea

Just why will the attraction exist, and, what are we doing it for? These were the first two questions we posed to our clients Wright Tech Media, who operate the visitor attraction. It may seem like two simple questions to answer, but many clients we work with, do not share the exact point of view as their colleagues.

To help guide these answers, we also undertook some insights to understand the potential audience and competitor landscape. How could we make an experience that guests want, in a way that other attractions don't do?

An in-person session to figure out these answers, left us with a clear vision for the experience, we were going to embark on telling the human stories and secrets of Gibraltar's role in an active-led war experience.

Only then, did we step into concept design.

Sketching the secrets

With such an intricate and unique environment to host a heritage experience, we really needed to consider the guest flow first. With many tourists having just one hour to enjoy the experience before boarding their Mediterranean cruise, we planned out the stories we wanted to tell in a timely fashion.

Our design team jumped at the chance to envisage a new entrance to the experience, featuring a mural, as well as the intricacies of the hands-on activities and interpretation areas.

Making it happen

This is where our producer team come into their own. Taking the creative concept designs, we then set to work on making these sketches a reality. After leading on the development of design packs and schematics, the producer team worked with vendors to get the right finish on all assets.

Here is just one example of the work at this stage. We also provided creative oversight, on-site art direction and quality control as the interpretation entered fabrication and install.

Celebrating our joint success

The experience re-opened to the public in 2025, to both the local community and tourism groups, and has become a key attraction in Visit Gibraltar's marketing campaign. The attraction is also seeing a surge in corporate bookings and has become a unique destination for the business community too.

We are incredibly proud to have played a role in revitalising this experience to tell the amazing human stories of Gibraltar, and the role this small peninsula played in the final outcome of World War II. Video courtesy of Visit Gibraltar.