Through the wilderness again
It was time again for one of the biggest automotive consumer event of the year in China – the Destination X tour.
And once more, starting in four different cities in the country, 4 large teams or a total of 192 participants drive for one week towards a central meeting point. The X their routes create on the country’s map is different every time and in 2010 the final stage where all teams would meet up with their X1, X3, X5 and X6 Hybrid BMW SAVs at was in Chengdu.
This time, we wanted to give people a deeper experience. Again it was the stunning landscape that would determine the unique experience of the tour. But instead of just showing the web audience where they might find themselves, should they join the event, we wanted them to feel like they are actually traveling.
Thus the site presented itself with the event’s travel map on the bonnet of the new BMW X1 and entering the tour was possible at any given point. One would then be taken into a breathtaking view of that scene, just the way it would be in real life. It was even more impressive in fullscreen mode, and all landscapes would be sonified to make for a near-life audio-visual experience. The reduced amount of navigation elements on screen made it possible to truly enjoy the environment and read background information stored in the discovery hot spots.
In order to complete the feeling of real traveling, a camera functionality would allow to take pictures of anything and any desired angle. The images could then be arranged into a travel book pdf.
Job: BMW Destination X 2010 event experience website
Client: BMW China
Year: 2010
Agency: Interone China
Role: Creative concept, Design Lead
+++
Yes you can
You know it and I know it. But the general public in China doesn’t know it yet. And that’s the possibility to buy a car without the cash at hand. MINI China started a campaign to introduce it’s financial services to the Chinese customers.
We took on this classically dry subject with the right kind of MINI humor and turned it into something fun. Sure, we all have lots of dreams in our lives, but the only sensible dream to pursue is getting a MINI. And this web-special will tell you how in three entertaining narratives.
» Link to the website
Job: MINI Financial Services
Client: MINI China
Year: 2010
Agency: Interone China
Role: Creative Lead, Design, Concept, Animation
+++
Show off!
It’s that time of the year again. The automotive world comes to Beijing and proudly displays their most recent achievements and products.
We all know this kind of event, it is usually packed with people and visitors have no overview whatsoever. Consequently, most car brands create a small guidance for their customers – what to see and where to find it.
When BMW asked us to create this years motorshow webspecial, we developed the idea of using the browser window as a transformable space. The concept sounds almost too simple: Nothing but content, the content IS the webspecial.
Upon start, the navigation floats before your eyes likes a large mobile. Clicking an item dives into that typographic link. It opens up a room with the specific car centered as the sole hero, surrounded by secondary content. The labels of the content and the images of the cars are all that counts.
Job: BMW Beijing Auto Motorshow 2010
Client: BMW China
Year: 2010
Agency: Interone China
Role: Design lead, concept
+++
Can you handle it?
Long wheelbase and short overhangs – there are lots of things that make a MINI and a GoKart alike. MINI’s legendary handling and performance has always been compared a lot to one of these open air speed racers.
Building on the double movie success “The Italian Job”, MINI China launched “The Chinese Job”, a series of events that teach (potential) customers how to drive like they do in the movies. The best drivers are selected over a period of several weeks and the best of them have to prove their skills in up to three larger race events. Finally, three winners will take home a genuine MINI John Cooper Works, the strongest car the brand produces. This car is not launched to the Chinese market, so it constitutes a real incentive.
We chose the advertising style to be a mix of real MINI imaging mixed with a black and white comic style, reminiscent to the mid-20th century “Michel Vaillant” comic books with a touch of Sin City. A fully animated trailer movie introduced customers to the speed and action of a car chase that could very well have been part of an “Italian Job” movie.
» Link to the website
Job: MINI The Chinese Job
Client: MINI China
Year: 2010
Agency: Interone China
Role: Creative Lead, Concept, Animator, Movie supervision
+++
Unite for a better world
“Better City, Better Life” – This year’s motto of the world EXPO targets one thing especially: Taking care of the planet. QQ and BMW took this as a chance to turn it into an initiative for the Chinese. QQ is a short messaging system similar to Skype, MSN and the like. With combined efforts they created a ribbon icon that symbolizes active membership of the initiative and will display inside the instant messenger next to the user’s name.
To become a member, people have to admit to doing small things in life that have a great impact. “I won’t use disposable chopsticks for one year” for instance. The motto for the initiative can therefore be translated to “Having You, Having Future”.
A large web platform was created where users are able to exchange their thoughts and commit to the initiative. It has already turned into one of the largest online campaign the world has ever seen. As of now, a staggering 60 Million people are participating with numbers still counting up an.
While the visual challenge for us laid within bridging BMW’s premium design and QQ’s more young and lively style, the outcome certainly works well and enjoys a strong appreciation in all media.
» Link to the campaign website
» Link to the BMW content website
Job: BMW QQ Expo Shanghai 2010 Initiative
Client: QQ / BMW China
Year: 2010
Agency: Interone China
Role: Design supervision, concept
+++
Dare to stand out
Even though MINI is not the classical car of desire in the Chinese market, its popularity is on the rise. But China is a market that’s rather new to the cult and has not yet jumped onto the international customization band wagon. To bring customization on track, MINI China launched a new COOPER model – the MINI Cheer. It has a reduced standard configuration and thus is the most affordable canvas for personality in the range.
Together with MINI we developed another three-phased digital initiative, launching the first in December 2009. This initial small module introduces the idea and mindset of customization into a country which is still strongly influenced by the civil revolution. But the society is starting to advance into a direction where uniqueness is an acceptable attribute. Playing with the ‘revolutionizer’ idea, we developed a small web-special which turns stereotypes into provocative expressions in its short but loud intro. Following up are 12 customized MINI models, ranging from the Cheer all the way to the John Cooper Works models and illustrating a broad choice of designs. Each model equipped with a teasing name, interior and accessory shots. The cars are placed on an underground parking lot elevator and are lifted into sight upon click onto the dangling remote.
This paves the ground for the two remaining phases to come.
» Link to the website
Job: MINI Cheer / Accessorize
Client: MINI China
Year: 2009
Agency: Interone China
Role: Creative Lead, UX, Concept, Animator
+++
Back to school
MINI turns 50! In China, MINI wanted to use this opportunity to educate customers about what MINI is: a serious male racing machine. Taking education literally, we created the MINI Academy for Fast Learners. An institute that would turn MINI enthusiats into true MINI experts.
The academy was launched in three phases. An off-speaker lead users through the content. The teaser phase introduced them to the idea of this ‘other kind of institue’, with a nasty off-voice and some multiple-choice questions. During the main phase, eight classes with interactive games and questionnaires kept users busy way longer than the usual average surf time, thus creating an intensive brand experience.
Eventually, the final exam phase would be directed towards all students who passed the academy classes and who learned a lot about MINI’s history, presenting itself to them with 10 tough random questions. Two users would win a MINI Camden or MINI Mayfair, both 50th anniversary special edition cars.
The academy was the largest MINI China initiative to date and proved to be very successful.
» Link to the website
Job: MINI Academy for Fast Learners
Client: MINI China
Year: 2009
Agency: Interone China
Role: Creative Lead, UX & Voice Concept, Animator
+++
Find what you’re looking for
The BMW is an incredibly successful brand. Their line of cars keeps growing by the year and the variety of chassis / engine combinations are almost unlimited.
What is great for fans of the brand on one hand might constitute a difficulty for those who are not yet familiar with Z4, X6 and the like. We developed an interactive car finder, called the BMW car comparison. A RIA application, conveniently reachable from anywhere in the BMW China website.
Users can compare up to three model packages and see their difference in image and text down to the very tinyest details. Lastly, a selection of links and downloads take them further into the website and to the model of their desire.
Job: BMW Car comparison
Client: BMW China
Year: 2009
Agency: Interone China
Role: RIA Flash Developer
+++
Cheese!
Canon came to us and asked for a relaunch of parts of their website. A design facelift for their CSR section and homepage as well as a database-driven template structure for their product range. The task didn’t sound as challenging as it turned out to be. But with thousands of products and a near endless variety of different types of product pages this demanded a high level of expertise.
We created a complete relaunch concept which I cannot share at this point, because it’s launch will be spread over several phases. For now you will find a streamlined version of the previous homepage and a face-lifted CSR section. Both keep closely to the pre-existing structure and hint at the things to come.
Job: Canon China Homepage relaunch
Client: Canon Asia
Year: 2009
Agency: Interone China
Role: Design Concept for intermediate relaunch
+++
Cross Country
Every year, BMW China hosts an extraordinary event – the Destination X tour.
Starting in four different cities in the country, 4 teams of 40 participants each drive for a week towards a central meeting point. Thus creating an enormous X on the country’s map and experiencing the beauty of the landscape. They test their driving skills with the BMW X models along the way.
The online site was to mirror the event’s core atmosphere: discovery. A layered explorable 360 degree environment greeted users, inviting them to pan around and click on information panels that were set into the landscape. The perspective was set to Guilin, the target city of the tour. By panning, people looked towards the start cities, which were laid out according to their true point of compass. The landscape was artificially composed out of the areas’ true sights. The es names of the start cities were placed into the scenery like large Hollywood signs. Clicking them zoomed up into the scene and into a flight through the clouds. Eventually, the viewer would reach another scenery. A more intimate one, with all sorts of information about the destination and the according leg of the tour.
The website featured daily updates on embedded Google Maps routes and made for the largest number of registrations in the history of the tour.
Job: BMW Destination X 2009 event experience website
Client: BMW China
Year: 2009
Agency: Interone China
Role: Creative concept, Design Lead
+++
Mission briefing
BMW China hosts a yearly event to promote their 3 series models – The Mission 3 experience. Over a number of weekends, up to 80 are put through a unique hands-on driving experience.
We developed a website concept that resembled a futuristic secret agent briefing. The user took on the role of the agent and watched a secret service hostess drawing transparent floating interfaces into plain air which were interactive and detailed the locations, dates and tasks.
Viewers were required to press an “Accept mission” button to register for the event. We collected the largest amount of registrations ever made for this event.
Job: BMW Mission 3
Client: BMW China
Year: 2009
Agency: Interone China
Role: Visual Concept, Design
+++
Put a smile on your face
Women love to look and feel good. Nobody would want to argue with that. And since women also apparently have lots of fun with caring for themselves, it was only consequent for NIVEA to name their new body lotion ‘Happy Time’. NIVEA asked us to create one for the international launch of this new product.
Following the style of the usual NIVEA product special, we created a lively and fun environment, matching the spring-like feel of the product. A song and ringtone download of the ad soundtrack completed the little project.
Job: Nivea Hapy Time Body Lotion webspecial
Client: Nivea Germany
Year: 2009
Agency: Kolle Rebbe Hamburg
Role: Flash developer
+++
Enjoy yourself
It is always a joy, being able to give a company a new design identity. This joy is even higher when this company’s profession happens to be entertainment. The EMPORE is such a company. Set in North Germany, less than an hour South of Hamburg, this mid-size town’s theater is standing strong amid its large neighbor’s cultural landscape.
The EMPORE wanted to relaunch its appearance without completely reinventing it. We found a color code and communication strategy that was warm and welcoming, promising customers a great time with quality entertainment. It strongly displayed their traditional roots, but on the other hand paved the way to a younger target group. We created a website that was inviting and led to an unprecedented number of new season ticket subscribers. Being a small enterprise, the EMPORE proved to possess an enormously large understanding towards what a redesign means. Season schedule book, exterior and interior followed the new idea and is still in progress.
The company was able to extend their business considerably throughout the fist year of changed appearance and stands out in national competition
Job: EMPORE CI redesign and ticketing website relaunch
Client: EMPORE Buchholz, Germany
Year: 2008
Agency: self
Role: Communication concept, Design
+++
