CLIENT: Ford
STUDIO: Imagination
ROLE: Digital Creative Director
When production began of the F-150 Lightning, Ford needed a way to announce the arrival of this groundbreaking truck. We decided to strike Lightning all over New York City in the form of a projection light and sound show, all powered by the vehicle itself. We captured footage of the stunt to share on Ford social channels.
CLIENT: Ford
STUDIO: Imagination
ROLE: Digital Creative Director
The cancellation of in-person events forced a re-invention of what a virtual event could be. No longer would attendees be able to physically immerse themselves in the Ford brand and experience all of the new Ford products first hand. We took on the challenge by building one of the largest virtual production studios in the country and transporting viewers virtually.
CLIENT: Ford
STUDIO: Imagination
ROLE: Digital Creative Director
For the first time in 55 years, Ford expanded the Mustang family, bringing the famous pony into the electric age with Mustang Mach-E, an all-new, all-electric SUV born of the same all-American ideals that inspired the best-selling coupe in the world. Ford challenged us to think beyond a launch event and create a cultural moment that would engage the loyal Mustang fanbase and inspire a whole new generation of future Mustang owners.
or the reveal we created a TV show format, starring Idris Elba with special guests including Ken Block, Molly McQueen, Billy Johnson, Ben Collins and Bill Ford. The fast-paced show from the Jet Centre Los Angeles, took the audience on a journey of what the Mustang has always meant to fans, and why the time is right for an all-electric Mustang to join the stable.
The show had Detroit swagger with the reveal featuring the incredible Detroit Youth Choir and a 28ft high giant pony used as a platform for projection mapping. The evening culminated with the reveal of the Mustang Mach-E GT alongside its stablemates.
CLIENT: Ford
STUDIO: Imagination
ROLE: Digital Creative Director
The Ford F-Series is a larger business on its own than Nike, Starbucks, Tesla, Coca-Cola, Uber, Mastercard, Visa, Twitter, Netflix - or to put it another way, bigger than the revenues of the National Football League, National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, and National Basketball Association combined.
That means every F-150 launch is an important moment for the company - but this one felt bigger.
Ford challenged Imagination to create a virtual reveal to launch the best selling truck in America for 43 years with the impact this truck deserves, under the most difficult of circumstances.
The reveal was recorded in a purpose-built studio under strict social distancing conditions. Unlike traditional reveal events, the objective was to create a 30 minute broadcast for online audiences, targeting both media and consumers alike.
Together with Ford, we achieved this with a 30 minute ‘as live’ broadcast from the F-150 studio. It was hosted by actor and comedian Denis Leary, to drive authenticity, viewership, and conversation.
The centerpiece of the studio was a giant LED toolbox that opened up to reveal the new truck. The digital toolbox displayed 2 CGI films dramatizing the truck's new features and customer benefits before opening up to reveal the next versions of America’s best-selling pickup truck.
The team used Augmented Reality to demonstrate the truck’s new productivity features and technology that brought to life Ford’s commitment to creating smart vehicles for a smart world.
The reveal was live-streamed across multiple platforms with over 3.3 million views combined within the first five days. Positive sentiment was seen as #F150 was a trending topic on Twitter during and after the reveal and the 10th top trending video on YouTube. With a potential earned media reach of 554 million, the F-150 reveal exceeded the Dodge Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado earned media results from their in-person reveals at the 2018 North American International Auto Show.
CLIENT: Visa
STUDIO: GPJ/Spinifex Group
ROLE: Creative Director
Visa needed a way to educate their customers about the future of payment technology, so they came to us. We developed a customer centric journey to simulate various payment scenarios including retail, transportation and at home. A mobile app was developed that was controlled by a docent’s master tablet, ensuring a synced tour experience for all participants.
Voice recognition, QR codes, NFC, and RFID were all connected on the backend to create a seamless customer journey.
CLIENT: Acura
STUDIO: GPJ/Spinifex Group
ROLE: Creative Director
When Acura became the title sponsor of the Grand Prix of Long Beach, they wanted to announce it in a big way. With only 3 weeks of lead time, the team had to concept, plan and produce a guerilla marketing stunt through the streets of LA and Long Beach, culminating in social media video teasers and a 60 second commercial.
A high powered mobile projector drove a digital version of the #6 ARX-05 vehicle on a journey from downtown LA to the ports of Long Beach. Working with prominent mural artists from around the world, we designed illustrations that pay homage to the culture of the two cities and projected them on buildings along the way. The road to Long Beach culminates in the delivery of Juan Pablo Montoya and his car to the race track through the power of a CGI vehicle.
CLIENT: Acura
STUDIO: GPJ/Spinifex Group
ROLE: Creative Director
The socially-connected NSX GT3 VR Pod experience introduced Acura’s newest GT3 model and allowed participants to color and customize the livery with Leap Motion hand tracking technology. The racing environment they were then dropped into was influenced by this design. The NSX GT3 VR Pods were a hit at the Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago and New York Auto Shows and multiple smaller markets.
SOFTWARE: Illustrator, Cinema 4D, Photoshop
Some rules I live by, whether during my design process or otherwise.
CLIENT: IBM
STUDIO: GPJ/Spinifex Group
ROLE: Creative Director - Digital
An experience showing US Open tennis fans that IBM Watson shares their passion for the game. Guests could explore how Watson sees, hears and understands emotion – capturing and delivering exciting moments and in-depth match insight, and ultimately improving the game experience.
Fans could test Watson’s abilities through a 3-part interactive challenge, and learn how this same technology is being used to address complex world issues, from identifying problems with cars and trains to diagnosing and treating cancer.
CLIENT: Honda
STUDIO: Spinifex Group
ROLE: Creative Director
Honda needed a way to show off the features available on the all-new 2018 Accord. Our solution was HondaLens. An 8 minute long self-guided tour of the vehicle using Microsoft’s HoloLens. Attendees were given a brief introduction to the technology before being guided around the vehicle by floating wayfinding arrows. By the end of the experience, attendees had learned of the 40 year history of the Accord, had a simulated safety scenario play out around them, and saw first hand how much technology is jam packed into the new Accord.
CLIENT: Honda
STUDIO: Spinifex Group
ROLE: Creative Director
After the success of HondaLens the previous year, Honda decided to revamp the experience for the 2018/2019 auto show season, this time featuring the all-new Passport. We took the learnings from a year of attendee interactions to improve the experience and increase throughput. The scenic surround designed by the Spinifex team served to amplify the engagement to the casual onlooker, as well as improve 3D tracking for the headsets. The new central placement within the Honda booth made it the featured element within the space.
CLIENT: Nissan
STUDIO: Spinifex Group
ROLE: Creative Director
Shown at CES 2018 and NAIAS 2019
CLIENT: Acura
STUDIO: Spinifex Group
ROLE: Creative Director
To launch the 2019 Acura RDX, Spinifex developed a content-led campaign spanning 5-months. Beginning with a social teaser video highlighting the key lines of the vehicle, select media were treated to a sneak peak of the RDX Prototype at Acura’s holiday reception, before it was unveiled en masse at the 2018 Detroit auto show. Online and social activity continued to build momentum, leading up to the reveal of the production RDX at the New York auto show.
The Detroit press event was enhanced by the debut of Acura’s new auto show booth, which featured a dual-layer screen canvas combining a transparent LED screen with a large-scale projection surface. We strategically positioned the vehicle between these two screens, enabling us to use content mapping to tease and celebrate the vehicle before it drove out.
The creative evolved from Detroit to New York as we transitioned from the prototype to production version. To add substance to the style, we created a series of mini-documentary films around the vehicle’s design and engineering teams, which were featured during the New York press event, and as follow-up social content.
CLIENT: Lexus
STUDIO: Spinifex Group
ROLE: Creative Director - Digital
Lexus debuted their redesigned auto show kit in January 2017 at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. Spinifex was tasked with developing the media and interactive installations to help craft the Lexus brand story. The result was a stunning media landscape and cutting edge interactives inspired by the automaker's forthcoming rebrand and the architecture of the new space.
CLIENT: Harris Corp.
STUDIO: Inhance Digital
ROLE: Art Director
Inhance was awarded this $4m project to redesign and produce a new Customer Briefing Center (CBC) for Harris Corporation at their Florida Headquarters. The result was a total of 12 interactive experiences ranging from a social media feed to a full blown 5 minute long VFX fueled simulator. Between the two extremes, we used cutting edge technology to help tell the Harris story. Transparent LCD displays, motion sensors, touch screens, Unity, Unreal, and a 22' long touch screen wall are just some of the tricks we had up our sleeves. I was brought in early into the project as the Art Director to develop styleframes and manage the overall look and feel of each of the experiences. At the peak of the project I was managing 10+ artists and programmers, all the while contributing my own design work. By all accounts, this was the most successful project Inhance Digital has ever produced and I'm proud of the part I had to play in it.
CLIENT: Qualcomm
STUDIO: Inhance Digital
ROLE: Art Director
Inhance created this cartoon style animation to show how Qualcomm's new LTE-D technology works. I was tasked with developing the style of the animation and managing the team of 5 motion graphic artists.
CLIENT: Toyota
STUDIO: 3DEXCITE
ROLE: Art Director
Working with the Rav4 team at Toyota corporate, we developed this experience for the company's annual dealer meeting. It allowed users to configure a full sized SUV right in front of them thanks to the power of projection mapping. The other side of the set up allowed consumers to explore the interior of the vehicle using the touchscreen display and also learn about the Rav4's new powertrain technology.
All photos © Nina Wellstein 2015
CLIENT: Mooney Aircraft
STUDIO: 3DEXCITE
ROLES: Art Director, UI/UX Designer
Mooney requested an app that could show off their latest aircraft in a tech savvy way. What we created was an AR application and aircraft configurator showing the M10 as it was parked in a hanger, waiting for take off on the runway, and flying through blue skies. The 3 red buttons surrounding the plane added functionality to enter xray mode, start the propellor, or change colors. The interior was navigable by rotating the device and looking around.
CLIENT: John Deere
STUDIO: RTT
ROLES: Art Director, Motion Graphics Animator, Final Compositor, Retoucher
John Deere tasked RTT with showing off their latest emissions technology using CGI. From conception to completion, I directed artists and worked with engineers to ensure we portrayed the technology correctly and effectively educated consumers.
CLIENT: Detroit
STUDIO: RTT
ROLES: Art Director, UI designer
CLIENT: Various
STUDIO: Freelance
ROLE: Artist
A smathering of work I've done in college, freelance, or otherwise.
CLIENT: Detroit
STUDIO: RTT
ROLE: Art Director
In order to expand the range of uses for its marketing materials, Detroit (formerly Detroit Diesel), entrusted RTT with the production of high-end 3D visualizations for its latest generation of heavy-duty engines, axles, transmission and exhaust system. Using existing CAD data, RTT created high-resolution print images, a 360-degree turntable, and animated HD films.
RTT also ventured into character design by developing "Cody" the virtual technician. Designed from the ground up, Cody is rigged and ready to be used in film, still or interactive work.
CLIENT: Mazda
STUDIO: Spinifex Group
ROLE: Creative Director - Digital
CLIENT: Toyota
STUDIO: RTT
ROLES: Art Director
One of the advantages of CGI is the ability to visualize a product before it exists in the real world. This was the case for the recent reveal images for the 2015 Toyota Camry. RTT created 6 exterior and 5 interior shots for Toyota to use for the vehicle launch. I worked closely with the client and artists to establish camera angles, develop lighting, and execute the final production of the stills.
CLIENT: Buick/DigitasLBi
STUDIO: RTT
ROLE: Art Director
Configurable images are RTT's bread and butter and, together with DigitasLBi, they were taken to the next level. All images are fully configurable, allowing the user to build their own dream Buick. Originally planned for use on Buick.com, the images were rendered at 6K high resolution to allow for later repurposing in print.
CLIENT: JR Thompson/Dodge
STUDIO: 3DEXCITE
ROLE: Art Director/3D Artist
LINK: http://www.drivesrt.com/viper/
Dodge offers the ability to purchase a one of a kind Viper, so they needed a one of a kind way for their customers to design it. Working as the Art Director and 3D artist, I was intimately involved in the planning and final execution of the entire experience.
CLIENT: GM
STUDIO: RTT
ROLE: Designer/Art Director
RTT produces hundreds of configurable images every year. Scouring that volume of work to find a single image can be a daunting task. Enter PicGen. Designed for the computer savvy and not-so savvy alike, PicGen allows it's users to configure high-resolution images for a multitude of uses.
CLIENT: none (spec work)
STUDIO: RTT
ROLES: Art Director/retoucher
This was an exercise in angle hunting and retouching. I worked with the 3D artist to develop camera angles and lighting of the vehicle. I then composited and retouched the images until they felt like they were drenched in warmth and sitting on the beach.
Every once in awhile I get off the computer and use my hands. These are the result.
