Open House Dublin

The Open House Dublin 2025 programme and identity focused on O’Connell Street as a microcosm for the city at large. It was positioned as a living system in totality, shaped by stories, history, people and its iconic built environment. 

Photographer Rich Gilligan was commissioned to capture O’Connell Street as it is lived and experienced day to day, revealing moments of activity, connection and character that often go unnoticed. Shaped by time spent on the street itself, the process favoured a flexible approach – moving, waiting and responding to the street’s rhythms as moments surfaced. We worked closely with Rich and IAF Director Emmett Scanlon on the art direction for the campaign, traversing O’Connell Street to identify and capture a characterful person or a transient, prevailing atmosphere.

Photography-led compositions allowed real people and places to guide the narrative, with the graphic language acting as a quiet framework rather than a dominant overlay. This left space for observation, chance and character to come through.

Designed as an inclusive festival, the programme invites everyone, from curious locals to seasoned professionals, to engage with Dublin’s built environment in new and accessible ways. Accessibility was therefore a primary design consideration across both the print and digital campaigns. A restrained black-and-white palette ensured strong tonal contrast, while a simplified typographic system prioritised clarity and legibility across print and screen.

On the website, each event page was structured to support visitors navigating the city in real time. Clear scheduling information, booking prompts and dedicated accessibility notes sit alongside detailed transport guidance – including nearby tram stops, bus routes, bike stations and rail connections. This layered but highly structured information design allows users to quickly orient themselves and move efficiently between tours, often within tight timeframes. The result is a platform that supports both discovery and practical navigation, reducing friction and enabling broader participation.

The campaign and website refresh were developed using the updated Irish Architecture Foundation brand by Post Studio, including their custom typeface. This ensured continuity across IAF communications while allowing the 2025 programme to establish its own visual rhythm. Together, the campaign and digital platform encouraged audiences to slow down, look again, and engage more deeply with one of Dublin’s most iconic civic spaces.