We created a SparkAR filter featuring a scale model of Harrods allowing customers all over the world to experience the magic of the world’s most famous department store from the comfort of their home.  

The main challenge with building any Spark AR filter is the file size which is limited to 4MB for anyone wanting to upload a filter to the platform. To put that into perspective, that’s about the size of the average photo taken on an iPhone!

Harrods is an incredibly vast building – the jewel in the Crown of department stores – with over 1m square feet of floor space and 12,000 lights on the store’s façade. In short, there’s a huge amount of detail that needs to be interpreted into a 3D model to get something that looks anything like the real thing.

Luckily, our expert team of animators & Spark AR developers were up to the challenge and began by re-topologising a much larger 3D model of the store, reducing geometric detail where possible while retaining the key elements that make Harrods, Harrods. This involved ensuring all of the key architectural details were present on the façade of the building including the upper windows, flag poles, roof details, lights and window displays which were updated in line with this year’s Christmas designs. 

The final filter features an animated reveal of the store which can be scaled and placed in the user’s environment, as well as a spectacular fireworks display which explodes from shooting green emeralds before revealing the iconic Harrods logo.