Mazda invited GPJ to participate in the RFP for their 2017 US auto show new-build. At the time it was interesting in our studio because we had another big RFP come in at the same time for Kia. Because the time and effort required for the responses, most creatives were assigned to both. I was part of only handful who were dedicated to one or the other.  I was dedicated to Mazda.

For the first few weeks, we were in full creative big-idea mode. We were immersing ourselves in the Mazda brand and learning as much as we could about what makes Mazda unique and which stories about the brand had the most potential. The first 3 pin-ups were strictly big-idea thinking. See below.

Our Creative Director on the project presented the idea of a Maker theme. The idea tied together the movement of hand-crafted workmanship with the attention to detail and master craftsmanship of the Mazda brand. This resonated the most with us and with the account team so we focused on this idea moving forward.

Once we got to this point, we had to resist the outside pressure to design the space. We weren't ready for that yet...we needed to design the customer journey first. In our design of the journey, we decided on four way-points in the space, each with their own interactive that would help tell the story of Master Craftsmanship, and zealous attention to detail.

Out of these, the clay modeling engagement was the most important, giving people the opportunity to learn about the process and tools used in designing Mazda vehicles in a fun and interactive way.

Another engagement designed by the Spinifex team was the MX-5 VR Simulator. This engagement focused on the human-centric attention to detail in the vehicles, especially the shape and positioning of the seats and vehicle controls. See below.

Once we had the customer journey set, we were able to focus on the space itself. We knew from discussions with the client that they wanted the form language to reflect the dealership re-branding that was going on at the time. So, from that information, along with our theme, we knew the form would be rectilinear and incorporate natural materials.

Above are some form study renderings which drew inspiration from our theme and the new dealership look. As the processed moved forward, we placed the architecture in the actual space and decided how to treat the customer journey. The journey was paramount, so we pushed the architecture back and created 4 zones each with their own engagement.

The rendering above was point where I left George P. Johnson to start a new opportunity at EWI Wordwide. You can see the basic shape and structure are set, but the engagements still needed refinement. Below you can see the design and rendering as finished by the very talented team at GPJ. The GPJ team won this RFP, and this design was produced for Detroit Auto Show, 2017.