IMMERSIVE THEMING

Colours, shapes, and styles of surfaces greatly contribute to overall guest experience and their likelihood of returning when paired with safety and accessibility.

Immersive theming sparks imagination and allows guests to feel as if they have become part of the story at well-designed facilities.

Oversized design elements such as octopus tentacles, paw prints, islands, waterways, or lily pads enhance themes and create unique and memorable play experiences.

Standard Thematic Inlays

For budget-friendly options, standard options include our Inlay Library which consists of over 10 themed sets of complementary shapes.

These sets include themes such as Australia + New Zealand, Outdoor Exploration, Geometric, and more.

Inlays can even create guided paths with trails of lily pads, tree stumps, rocks, or seashells as standard add-on packages to any project. 

Custom Thematic Inlays

We can bring virtually any design to life with Life Floor’s custom-cutting capabilities.

Consider life-size Inlays such as whales, dolphins, branded characters, and more for unique shape ideas. Surf boards are a popular choice for increasing play value.

Custom Inlays create ways for national brands to incorporate their iconic characters and motifs into surfaces. If this applies to you, we would be thrilled to join you in exploring a unique solution.

Guided Paths

Wavy curves, lines, and shapes designed into the surface can subtly lead guests around aquatic amenities as they explore.

These types of paths can provide new ways to engage with spray fixtures by guiding under jets, weaving between toys, and providing another level of theming when paired with specific colours or shapes.

Our Inlay library provides the potential to create meandering trails of lily pads, tree stumps, rocks, or seashells. These are offered as standard add-on packages to any project. 

Games

Designing games into the surface is a popular choice at many aquatic facilities.

Structured games add play potential to an aquatic centre with intentional interaction. Some ideas include:

• Hopscotch

• Four Square

• Checkerboards

• Search-and-Finds

The Floor is Lava

For a budget-friendly option, consider choosing a bright contrasting colour placed throughout a design to spark hopping-style free play activities such as The Floor is Lava.

These types of play have the ability to foster collaborative play which encourages children to develop key social skills.

Hopping Activities

Clusters or pathways of shapes create hopping activities for guests as they explore aquatic spaces and engage with different elements.

Hopping activities can be used as a standalone element to complement a Floor is Lava style game, or they can be integrated into a large-scale design to elevate immersive theming.

For example, our in-house Studio created a unique design for Westfield Memorial Pool Complex in Westfield, New Jersey, USA. A massive octopus tentacle design at this facility utilizes our Large Bubble Inlay from the Marine Inlay set to create a hopping activity while also contributing to the overall theme of the space.

Treasure Hunt

Our Treasure Hunt Inlay set is a great way for children to engage with an entire space and create immersive paths around or through spray fixtures.

From the first dashed line to X marks the spot, these Inlays are placed in a way that’s tailored and scaled to your facility to provide the best possible engagement.

Our other Inlay sets can also be used for a similar concept. From Lily Pads in our Pond set to Paw Prints in our Forest set and more: there are many options to choose from to simulate guided paths organically.

Search-and-Find

Our Inlays add theming to all facilities while also creating the potential for guests to search for certain shapes or count how many of each can be found within the floor. 

We’d never limit you to just one option. Hitchcock Design Group designed this Candyland-themed splash pad design for Forest Park Aquatic Center in Forest Park, Illinois, USA that combines elements of:

• Immersive Theming

• Hopping Activities

• Guided Paths

• Games