Early in my practice, I worked closely with Ford Motor Company’s Brand Imaging Group, contributing to the visual strategy, storytelling, and strategic direction of future-facing concept vehicles. The group helped Ford’s broad portfolio of brands develop distinct identities, each marque guided by its own recognizable design DNA.

My role was to decode those brand characteristics and make them visible. Working alongside Ford’s automotive designers, I translated research, cultural insight, and brand strategy into narratives, visual frameworks, and design principles that informed the development and presentation of concept vehicles, among them the Ford Model U, Mercury Messenger, and Ford Airstream. The aim was to align each vehicle’s intended meaning with its form, color, materials, and overall experience.

The work gave me an early understanding of how three-dimensional design shapes brand perception. A concept vehicle could do more than preview a future product; it could make strategy tangible, letting people see, experience, and evaluate a possible direction for the brand. That insight still informs my approach: begin with narrative, let strategy guide form, and treat products, environments, and communication as parts of a coherent system.