THE ULTIMATE ULTIMATE DRIVING EXPERIENCE:DRIVE A BMW ON MARS
CREATIVE DIRECTION FOR VISIONARY BMW INITIATIVE
I led art for a project by a BMW aligned startup agency called Indelible Planet, that was tasked with exploring groundbreaking Legacy Branding* initiatives for BMW's board in Munich. The role required transforming visionary concepts like the Ultimate Ultimate Driving Experience 'Drive a BMW on Mars' and 'The Oceans Project' into compelling visual narratives that would captivate global stakeholders while preserving BMW's hallmark gravitas – the measured sophistication that has defined the German automotive leader for generations.
We used Mars to reframe BMW’s legacy around future terrain & extreme engineering. Our goal wasn’t product - it was perception.
Could BMW maintain relevance in a future shaped by climate disruption, space colonization, and shifting cultural values?
My job was to help them see how.
We used Mars to reframe BMW’s legacy around future terrain & extreme engineering. Our goal wasn’t product - it was perception.
Could BMW maintain relevance in a future shaped by climate disruption, space colonization, and shifting cultural values?
My job was to help them see how.
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STRATEGIC VISION
Created a comprehensive visual identity system that translated complex engineering concepts into an accessible visual language, balancing innovation with corporate credibility.
BMW’s always been about performance through precision. But what’s the future of performance? Not louder. Quieter.
Not faster. Deeper.
Mars isn’t just sci-fi - it’s the most silent, inhospitable, awe-inspiring terrain imaginable. No sound. No road. No audience.
Created a comprehensive visual identity system that translated complex engineering concepts into an accessible visual language, balancing innovation with corporate credibility.
BMW’s always been about performance through precision. But what’s the future of performance? Not louder. Quieter.
Not faster. Deeper.
Mars isn’t just sci-fi - it’s the most silent, inhospitable, awe-inspiring terrain imaginable. No sound. No road. No audience.
Just machine, environment, and the void.
BRAND DEVELOPMENT
Developed complete visual ecosystems including:
- Identity Systems & Design Language
- Strategic Presentation Frameworks
- Visual World Creation bridging current reality with the future
IMPACT
- Unified artistic vision with business strategy
- Developed visual systems that supported ambitious global initiatives
- Pushed the brand to the edge of its comfort zone — and past it. Ultimately, the work proved too bold (and too expensive) for rollout — but it shook the boardroom, reframed BMW’s future terrain, and left Mars on the map.
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PROJECT DETAILS
1. STRATEGY+INSIGHTS
The following deck was created to help BMW’s leadership visualize the concept. My role was to make the possible feel tangible. This wasn’t just design - it was strategic translation. Every image, layout, and visual cue was engineered to turn a bold future into something boardroom-legible, emotionally resonant, and culturally inevitable.
(excerpts)
2. EXPERIENTIAL CAMPAIGN
SITUATION
As part of The Ultimate Ultimate Driving Experience platform, BMW sought to explore how a legacy mobility brand could claim cultural relevance in a spacefaring future. The challenge: translate an internal Mars concept into a bold, global-facing campaign that could inspire customers, stakeholders, and the public alike.
TASK
Develop a multi-tiered experiential campaign that would extend BMW’s Mars narrative into public consciousness - blending real space tech, cultural symbolism, and participatory storytelling. The campaign needed to be visionary enough to provoke media attention, yet grounded enough to feel technically and ethically credible.
As part of The Ultimate Ultimate Driving Experience platform, BMW sought to explore how a legacy mobility brand could claim cultural relevance in a spacefaring future. The challenge: translate an internal Mars concept into a bold, global-facing campaign that could inspire customers, stakeholders, and the public alike.
TASK
Develop a multi-tiered experiential campaign that would extend BMW’s Mars narrative into public consciousness - blending real space tech, cultural symbolism, and participatory storytelling. The campaign needed to be visionary enough to provoke media attention, yet grounded enough to feel technically and ethically credible.
ACTION
Led creative direction for Project XB, a speculative global activation that included:
- A BMW concept vehicle placed in Earth orbit, visible via telescope
- Interactive LED “torch” activations connecting customers across continents
- A Moon-based social-media-connected rover, enabling public exploration
- A message to the stars - the Record of Humanity and Engineering, broadcast via S.E.T.I., positioning BMW as only the second brand (after NASA's Voyager) to reach for deep space communication
RESULT
Though unexecuted due to budget constraints, the campaign was recognized as a breakthrough in experiential strategy - blending aerospace, media, and symbolic storytelling to expand what a brand activation could be. It remains a blueprint for how legacy brands can tap emerging technologies and space exploration to generate cultural relevance and public unity at global scale.
Led creative direction for Project XB, a speculative global activation that included:
- A BMW concept vehicle placed in Earth orbit, visible via telescope
- Interactive LED “torch” activations connecting customers across continents
- A Moon-based social-media-connected rover, enabling public exploration
- A message to the stars - the Record of Humanity and Engineering, broadcast via S.E.T.I., positioning BMW as only the second brand (after NASA's Voyager) to reach for deep space communication
RESULT
Though unexecuted due to budget constraints, the campaign was recognized as a breakthrough in experiential strategy - blending aerospace, media, and symbolic storytelling to expand what a brand activation could be. It remains a blueprint for how legacy brands can tap emerging technologies and space exploration to generate cultural relevance and public unity at global scale.
(DECK EXCERPTS)
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THE OCEANS PROJECT - A BMW LEGACY BRANDING INITIATIVE
As part of a legacy branding engagement for BMW, I led visual direction for The Oceans Project - a sustainability initiative centered around rallying internal stakeholders around oceanic plastic cleanup.
In partnership with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Pharrell’s Parley for the Oceans, our team explored real-world solutions: ocean filtration technologies, algae-based alternatives, circular design systems, and upcycled materials. My task was to distill that ambition into a singular visual that could transcend data and ignite belief.
The key image drew inspiration from the Andaman Islands, where elephants swim in open water - a surreal, powerful symbol of balance between humanity, nature, and engineering. A creature revered across cultures, weightless and at peace underwater.
That visual became our emotional anchor, because no one moves for facts alone. You move when your spirit gets called forward.
I also created, edited and scored our signature short featuring one of the swinmming elephants of the Andaman Sea - a dreamlike sequence that captured the project's boundless spirit.
(INTRO)