Thinkwell Group is an
experience design
User experience design (UX design, UXD, UED, or XD) is the process of defining the experience a user would go through when interacting with a digital product or website. Design decisions in UX design are often driven by research, data analysis, an ...
and production agency that was founded in 2001 with headquarters in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
.
It specializes in the creation and master planning of theme parks, destination resorts, major branded and intellectual property attractions, events & spectaculars, museums & exhibits, expos, and live shows around the world. Since 2006, the firm has gone from approximately 35 employees to approximately 180. Thinkwell was named "Most Honored Theme Park Design Company" at the 2013 Theme Park and Attractions Summit & Awards in Beijing. In March 2022
TAITacquired Thinkwell Group.
Work
Some of the firm's projects include
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of ''Harry Potter'' is a walk-through exhibition and studio tour in Leavesden, Hertfordshire, England, owned by Warner Bros. and operated by their Studio Tours division. It is located within W ...
,
Leavesden;
Ski Dubai
Ski Dubai is an indoor ski resort with 22,500 square meters of indoor ski area. The park maintains a temperature of -1 degree to 2 degrees Celsius throughout the year. It is a part of the Mall of the Emirates, one of the largest shopping malls ...
, an indoor ski resort in the
Mall of the Emirates
Mall of the Emirates ( ar, مول الإمارات) is a shopping mall in Dubai. Developed and owned by Majid Al Futtaim Group, it opened in November 2005 and is located at interchange four on Sheikh Zayed Road.
The multi-level shopping mall cur ...
; NatureQuest, at Atlanta's
Fernbank Museum of Natural History
Fernbank Museum of Natural History, in Atlanta, Georgia, is a museum that presents exhibitions and programming about natural history. Fernbank Museum has a number of permanent exhibitions and regularly hosts temporary exhibitions in its expansi ...
; the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Grand Opening Event for
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a chain of themed areas at Universal Parks & Resorts based on the ''Harry Potter'' media franchise, adapting elements from the Warner Bros.' film series and original novels by J. K. Rowling. The areas wer ...
at Universal Parks and Resorts'
Islands of Adventure
Universal's Islands of Adventure (also known as Islands of Adventure or IOA), originally called Universal Studios Islands of Adventure, is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. It opened on May 28, 1999, along with CityWalk, as part of an ...
theme park in Orlando, Florida; and Jurassic Park Institute Tour, a 50,000-square-foot traveling educational attraction based on the movie
''Jurassic Park''.
In China, the firm has produced inEontime World, a massive indoor theme park, and SongSong Town, an "activity park" inside LeSong Plaza, both in
Harbin
Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...
, and Warner Bros. Fun Zone in Macau, opened in October 2015 a hotel and casino mega-resort,
Studio Cit. The firm has designed Monkey Kingdom (Beijing), based on the 16th century
Journey to the West
''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the greatest Classic Chinese Novels, and has been described as arguably the most popu ...
Chinese folk tale, and Jurassic Dream, an indoor theme park in the Heilongjiang Province.
In 2015 the firm opened the first major expansion to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter, which includes a recreation of
Platform 9 3/4
J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter universe, ''Harry Potter'' universe contains numerous settings for the events in her fantasy novels. These locations are categorised as a dwelling, school, List of leading shopping streets and districts by city, shop ...
and the original
Hogwarts Express
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry () is a fictional Scottish boarding school of magic for students aged eleven to eighteen, and is the primary setting for the first six books in J. K. Rowling's '' Harry Potter'' series and serves as a m ...
train. Also for Warner Bros., the firm designed and produced the interactive attraction, Stage 48: Script to Screen at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood. The firm also opened two museum projects, Aquanaut Adventure: A Discovery Zone at the
Georgia Aquarium
Georgia Aquarium is a public aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It exhibits hundreds of species and thousands of animals across its seven major galleries, all of which reside in more than of water. It was the largest aquarium in the wor ...
and the
Worlds of Puppetry Museum
The Center for Puppetry Arts, located in Atlanta, is the United States' largest organization dedicated to the art form of puppetry. The center focuses on three areas: performance, education and museum. It is one of the few puppet museums in the ...
at the
Center for Puppetry Arts
The Center for Puppetry Arts, located in Atlanta, is the United States' largest organization dedicated to the art form of puppetry. The center focuses on three areas: performance, education and museum. It is one of the few puppet museums in the ...
, the
Fast & Furious: Supercharged attraction at
Universal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and theme park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusemen ...
, and ''The Hunger Games: The Exhibition'', a traveling exhibition created in partnership with
Lionsgate
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
based on
The Hunger Games
''The Hunger Games'' is a series of young adult dystopian novels written by American author Suzanne Collins. The first three novels are part of a trilogy following teenage protagonist Katniss Everdeen, and the fourth book is a prequel set ...
movie and book franchise.
The firm was contracted by
Expo 2020 Dubai as content master planners and designers.
References
External links
* {{Official website, https://thinkwellgroup.com/
Why Theme Parks Need Movie Tentpoles Too – The Hollywood Reporter, Thinkwell CCO Craig Hanna quoted
2001 establishments in California
American companies established in 2001
Design companies established in 2001
Companies based in Los Angeles
Design companies of the United States
Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden