Product Design, Creative
Automotive Archive
A collection of creative and design projects ranging from the Flash era to the birth of responsive design.
The following are a collection of creative and design projects for BMW and Volvo. This work was done in a era when Flash was king and terms like "Experience Design", "Human Centric Design", and "Mobile First" were just starting to become defined. In that regard, the following work examples feel like a lifetime ago. However, it is a collection of work that I have a lot of heart for. It was crafted with amazingly talented and caring team members that I will never forget.
BMWusa.com
When the fold was important, and JP Power determined all major best practices for automotive digital experiences, BMWusa consistently performed in the top 10 within the North America markets for overall user experience. It was the result of daily/ weekly/ monthly deployments of enhancements to the experience. At the time, terms like “agile”, “waterfall”, and “product sprints” didn’t exist. We simply operated with a passion to always remain relevant and be the first to try something new.
BMW ConnectedDrive
BMW ConnectedDrive was a revolutionary addition of technology to the driving experience. BMW wanted to let its audiences know about all the new features, but do so in a way that was more human and that made seemingly complex technologies feel relatable.
The first BMW iAds
BMW pride themselves on being able to say they are/ were the first at something. So we jumped at the opportunity to not only have the first Apple iAd for the BMW X3, but also the first ever iAd on iPad with the BMW 6 Series. Both were in direct partnership with Apple headquarters in Cupertino, CA where I teamed up with Apple developers and creatives to set the bar for what interactive advertising on a smart device should be.
Joy is BMW
BMW was and will always be known as The Ultimate Driving Machine. However, they needed to remind both car enthusiasts and perspective owners of the emotional benefits of BMW ownership. BMW does not only stand for German engineering, it's also a company that celebrates the joy of driving. This became our strategic foundation for the global campaign "Joy is BMW".
My role & contribution
During my time as a member of the BMW creative team I worked under the capacity of a mid- level and senior Art Director. In truth, at the time it was more like a hybrid of creative Art Direction, UX and UI/ Product Design, but this was during an era when those disciplines were not defined yet, and within advertising agencies, Art Directors were responsible for it all.
Leadership
Eric Cheston - GCD
Marc Hartsmann - CD, Copy
Anthony Monohan - CD, Art
Aileen Calderon - CD, Copy
Creative
Cory Galster - Art
Jon Cochran - Art
Will Wong - Art
Elizabeth King - Copy
Hillary Hudgins - Copy
Production
Dennis Hanley
Nick Colletta
Klodet Torosiam
Alison Ng
Technology
Chris Gsell
Matt Powel
Fred Eharhart
Account
Allyson Witherspoon
Steven Thibodeau
Socrates Papazoglou
Nisha Kumar
User Experience
Jed McClure
Sinan Ascioglu
Strategy
Megan O’Connor
Volvo Configurator
For automobile manufacturers, their interactive bread and butter has always been digital car configurators. It is where all prospects and car enthusiasts first come to dream and learn more about their favorite vehicle options. To help indoctrinate Volvo Cars into the new digital era of mobile first design, we focused on making sure their configurator was a responsive experience that took advantage of all the benefits of smart/ touch devices.
Volvo NextGen
Volvo Next Generation was a two year project focused on transforming Volvos global digital presence to a responsive design system. Through close collaboration with client side user architects and partnering with various design and creative teams across the globe, we led the creation of a modular and dynamic digital experience for Volvo Cars that spanned across 64 different markets and 24 languages.
My role & contribution
Working on the Volvo creative team was my introduction into becoming more of a creative leader. As an Associate Creative Director, I was beginning to gain experience with providing feedback to others, shaping the larger creative vision, and becoming more client facing. I had a lot of failures, and stumbled a lot, but grew more as a creative, designer, mentor, collaborator than ever before. The team was inspiring and the work was groundbreaking. We didn’t know it at the time, but we were collectively uncovering and defining what would become future best practices for responsive design and more systematic approaches to digital.
Leadership
John Steward- ECD
Cory Galster - ACD, CD
Creative
Robert Terrlizzi - Art
Matt Lucero - Art
Account
Allyson Witherspoon
Hailey Valery
Project Management
Audrey Kirkland
Catherine DeAngelis
User Experience
Mobiento