Ford & Google

Art direction - digital + motion + event

Two archive projects to show the scope of my design experience.

Ford of Europe

From 2006-07, I lead the Ford team in the Media department for Imagination. When the client demanded a reinvigoration of their International Autoshow stand experience we responded with an ambitious integrated offering.

Imagination was always about combining dramatic structural exhibits with extraordinary brand experiences, both in terms of digital content and physical product.

To launch the S-Max, we first created ‘Where Are the Joneses?’, an online audience-driven sitcom. The central characters moved around Europe in a purple S-Max being given things to do by the audience. This hugely successful Babycow produced initiative won industry awards and a loyal audience.

It also provided the starting requirement for the 2007 Geneva Autoshow stand; namely, a LOT of user-generated content that provided material for a VJ stand experience. This was the focus of the event using a 200 ft LED screen as a massive, ever-changing social media wallpaper. Result? A very happy client, agency industry awards and donuts in the car park all round.

The Where Are The Joneses project was an interactive online comedy. Two characters, on a 12 week European road-trip, created an improvised episode every day which was uploaded to YouTube and a blog. This inspired secondary content from cast and audience, including videos from viewers, a ton of images, diaries written by the characters and audience comments. All good VJ experience fodder.

The blog allowed the audience to help shape the storyline, write the script, create new characters and even cast themselves to appear in the show.

Some results:

141,455 blog visits
15,367 wiki visits
395,457 total visits (all locations)
The average time spent on the wiki was 15 minutes

Awards:

My role:
Creative direction

The Ford stands at the Tier 1 auto shows are always huge. These sketches show elevations for walls and the 200ft LED screen backdrop, as well as early ideas for the VJ experience, both the custom physical interface, as well as content planning for the show.

Google – ‘Brand ReImagined’ events

At Brand Fuel, I directed and designed many of the digital elements of the Google Brand ReImagined events in October 2013.

These took place across Europe and featured a bespoke three-stage auditorium where multiple speakers presented to an invited audience of local business executives. The intention was to show them the changing nature of advertising and how Google tools can help them create a brand presence in non-traditional media spaces.

My role was both hands-on and client-facing. I developed ideas working with the event Producer and 3D Creative Director, frequently presented to the client team and was then hands-on directing a team of app developers.

A large part of my work for the event was designing the UX and UI for a companion app. Delegates were handed tablets as they entered the event. With the app already installed and running it gave them an immediate contextual experience; information about the speakers, the ability to share to their own social channels and save notes, all of which were delivered to their inbox. The app always reflected and complimented the experience within the room, either showing the main speaker presentations or becoming passive so as not to distract in screensaver mode – at all times giving access to the sharing and note-taking functionality.

In the end, a personalised experience of the event was created and all the content that delegates saved to the app was then delivered back to their inbox as a unique record of their day.

My role:
Art Director (UX and UI)
Content editing and motion graphics.