Fresh thinking sometimes goes far beyond the brief

The brief 

Ford of Europe approached us because they wanted a multi-skilled creative and research agency to develop concepts for their interiors that would enhance their customers’ lives. 

What we did 

The project began with a study by our research team of drivers across France, Germany and the UK. We looked at all sorts of scenarios from the school run to a weekend away. We also followed people who work in their vehicles for to see how their behaviour differed. Our findings were then taken into development that eventually split into two distinct routes. For domestic users, we came up with ‘We Space’ - the idea that the interior should bring together the driver, navigator and back-sitters. For commercial users, the thought was ‘Me Space’ – a secure, comfortable cocoon designed to be used for eight hours a day. But it was in prototyping our concepts that we had our best chance to innovate. Automotive prototypes, known as ‘bucks’, have very specific roles: a ‘white buck’ of unfinished card and foam is used to assess functional, mechanical and spatial issues and a ‘black buck’ communicates overall showroom appeal. For this project, we came up with what became termed the ‘grey’ buck, combining aspects of both. This way, we were able to garner more insightful responses from our target market on a much wider ranging set of issues. 

Result

Our results were formulated into a proposal that formed the basis of a presentation to Ford’s upper management. The upshot of our thinking, along with the grey buck to showcase it, was that we had more ideas given the green light for development than almost any other comparable project.

Client's Comments

"PDD were a natural choice to deliver meaningful innovation due to their long experience in user research, along with their design and technical development expertise."

Ford - APG team