Nissan
Experience, Strategy & Design
Year: 2022
Agency: Publicis Sapient
Role: Global Creative Director
Helping an automotive heavyweight embrace their digital future
With the advent of EV and connected cars, the auto industry is going through its largest transformation in history. Nissan has a history of innovation and was one of the first to launch an electric vehicle in 1947. However, with so many challenger brands in the market today, Nissan is reinventing itself – from hardware manufacturer, to lifestyle brand with an ecosystem of connected services and customer experiences.
Overseeing the Nissan Experience, Strategy & Design team, I ushered in a DesignOps approach to make this transition that would ultimately ensure value for the business, agency partners, end customers, regional markets and dealerships alike. This meant building a powerful, cross-functional team spanning timezones, adopting an evidence based approach led by data and customer research, systematising our design libraries and toolset to ensure consistency and efficiency, as well as placing a core focus on employee experience via onboarding, training and mentorship.
Design SystemIn 2020, Nissan released their rebrand, known as Nissan Next. We took the opportunity to translate the new brand into a comprehensive design system of pre-built, reusable assets – components, patterns, guidelines and code, that enables designers and developers to build high calibre, consistent digital experiences at speed.
Configurator LiteA lighter configurator that empowers Nissan customers to seamlessly design their future car, helping them envision it in their lives and making them feel in control of their budgeting and onward path to purchase.
Vehicle E-CommerceIndustry leading e-commerce solution that puts the power back in customers’ hands, featuring smart contracts, leasing and drive away today options.
Illustration ToolkitA modular toolkit for creating bespoke Nissan illustrations, based on the concept of ‘timeless Japanese futurism’.
Results
During a period of 18 months, I helped one of the most established car companies embrace their digital future, starting with the evolution of the biggest OEM platform in the world. My team released innovative new products and services for Nissan, rolled out a robust design system and guidelines to empower local content creators, and we spearheaded multiple initiatives that helped them move a record number of car sales online.
163 local market sites
37 languages
Over 1bn page views in 2021
5% increase in directly attributable digitally influenced sales YoY, to above 23% of all Nissan sales globally