LEAD DESIGNER / ART DIRECTION / STORYBOARDING & ANIMATION
My second major project for DigitasLBi was Honda Real View Test Drive, an interactive video experience that sits at the heart of Honda’s biggest-ever European content programme.
We were tasked by Honda to create a "fully integrated suite of engaging and informative content for the Honda car brands”. The Honda web platform at the time had a lack of product detail for users in the mid marketing funnel. Key insight also told us that the average European car buyer only visits one or two dealers on average during a three-month car-buying period. With this in mind, we decided to bring to life the test drive experience through digital channels, enabling users to understand key features and the driving experience without stepping foot into a Honda showroom.
Real View Test Drive brings to life the traditional test drive experience for four of Honda’s main vehicles. The video experience is split into two parts, the first being a real life first person story narrative and the second, a realistic CGI showroom where feature demonstrations take place. Throughout the journey, the user can choose to seamlessly transition into the showrooms to learn more about certain features.
UX and UI designs for the responsive platform
I fully designed the whole experience which sits within the Honda website. Accessible from the nav or an in-page module the user is taken on an interactive full screen video experience. At key moments the user can choose to transport themselves into one of the CGI showrooms to learn more about certain features.
Storyboarding the showrooms and features
The Real View Test Drive experience runs across 4 vehicles, with each having 5 individual showrooms. That meant a total of 20 showrooms needed to be storyboarded in detail. The production company Saddington Baynes then brought these storyboards to life.
The Creative Director and me worked tirelessly to ensure we were bringing the technologies to life in clever and inventive ways, not only to echo the values of the brand but to also differentiate the content from Honda’s competitors.
Artistic direction of all CGI components and motion design
Once all storyboards where in place and signed off I began developing the look and feel of the showroom architecture. I created an in depth document detailing how we wanted the showroom to feel and behave, bringing in elements from the real life Honda showrooms. I also used my Cinema 4D skills to create some early explorations for potential structural layouts and lighting.
Throughout the project I was continually mocking up static visuals of key scenes from the storyboards for Saddington Baynes’s production team to reference. We used neon as a consistent theme to demonstrate invisible technologies or to highlight specific objects.
To ensure the artistic direction was right for our audience, and to validate our approach, Saddington Baynes ran three stages of neuro testing. Various showroom layouts, qualities of lighting and neon styles were all tested thoroughly.
