Best Holiday Fun: Design Your Tree for Apple’s Your Tree on Battersea Event

Shoppers and creatives are being invited to design festive trees for Apple’s Your Tree on Battersea, a public projection project that turns the iconic Battersea Power Station into a giant holiday canvas. Submissions are open across the UK , you can draw at home on an iPad or create your design in select Apple Stores , and winning trees will be projected on the building from 5pm to 10:30pm nightly from 4 December.

• Open to everyone: Submit iPad drawings from home or visit participating Apple Stores to create a tree in person.
• Simple, bold art wins: Projections use each light as a pixel, so designs need strong colours and clear shapes that read at a distance.
• Dates to remember: Entries close 23 November at 11:59pm; public reveal on 4 December; projections run until 24 December.
• Iconic scale: The artwork is projected onto chimneys and wash towers, so designs must account for unusual building features and low-resolution detail.
• Fun and public: Seeing your tree on a landmark feels surprisingly magical , bright, bold and communal.

Why artists say the Battersea canvas demands bolder, simpler work

Designers who’ve taken part before stress that the scale really changes how you draw, and that’s part of the thrill. The projection treats each light like a pixel, so what looks intricate up close can dissolve into mush on the façade; the safest route is bright blocks of colour, chunky shapes and bold outlines. That means your drawing can be playful and graphic rather than detailed and fussy, and the result reads well from across the river, especially at night when contrast matters.

And there’s a tactile, almost nostalgic feel to it , submissions are often made on iPad, so digital brush strokes still carry a hand-made quality. Creatives told itsnicethat they had to strip back their usual maximalist layers to suit the building’s scale, and many found that limitation actually helped the designs sing. Expect your tree to feel immediate and slightly iconic rather than photo-realistic.

How the building’s quirks shape the very best entries

Battersea’s chimneys and wash towers are not a flat screen, they’re part of the story , designers have to work around chimneys, gaps and odd surfaces. That led artists to make the treetop thinner around chimneys or to use negative space creatively, so the architecture becomes part of the artwork. In short, think of the building as a collaborator rather than a constraint.

Pro tip: if you can, go and stand near the building or look at photos of previous projections to judge how shapes and colours translate at that scale. Several illustrators said doing this drastically improved their choices, and you’ll likely spot places where simple changes , a brighter red, a larger star , make all the difference.

What Apple wants and how to build a submission that stands out

Apple’s call is simple: create a tree that works at scale and reads clearly on a low-resolution projection. The technical brief rewards bold colours, strong silhouettes and playful composition. You can draw at home on an iPad using your favourite app, then submit digitally, or pop into a participating Apple Store to work with guidance and kit on-site.

Think about contrast and distance. Large, high-contrast elements like bands of colour, repeating shapes, or oversized decorations make a tree memorable when it’s projected. Avoid tiny textures or fine gradients that vanish under the projector’s pixel-like lights. And don’t forget storytelling , a quirky character, a local nod, or a clever use of the chimneys can make judges and passers-by smile.

How the public will experience the projections and why it matters

Having your design shown on Battersea Power Station is not just an Instagram moment, it’s a communal piece of holiday cheer. The projections run from 5pm to 10:30pm each night, so families, commuters and night-time walkers can catch them without fuss. Seeing dozens of different trees on a landmark creates a shared sense of delight, particularly in a city where public displays feel increasingly rare and precious.

Judges will publicly unveil winning submissions on 4 December, making it an event as much as a display. For creators, it’s an opportunity to see how their work translates to a new medium, and for viewers, it’s an unexpected, joyful light show that changes a familiar skyline.

Safety, timing and little practical details you’ll want to know

Submissions close 23 November at 11:59pm, so don’t leave it until the last minute if you want to edit and refine. Check Apple’s Your Tree on Battersea page for file specs and any store dates, and bear in mind that simpler files often translate more reliably in projection. If you make your design in-store, staff may offer pointers about scale and colour , use them, they can save you reworking later.

Finally, remember that seeing your work on such a scale can change how you feel about your practice. Several participants said they’d look back and want to tweak things, but that’s part of being a maker , it’s a tiny, bright gamble that’s absolutely worth taking.

Ready to see your tree glow on the Thames? Visit Apple’s Your Tree on Battersea page, check the submission details and drop your design in before 23 November.