D-FORD
Led the research and brand design of D-FORD – Ford’s global Innovation labs. Built the brand, talent onboarding, company culture, and partnership strategy.
INTRODUCTION
D-Ford is the innovation lab of Ford Motor Company.
An innovation unit using human-centred design to bring cutting edge tech and user needs to the forefront of Ford’s product development: To move from automaker to a mobility ecosystem.
D-Ford was created after fourteen years of collaborations between Ford Motor Company and IDEO, and the successfull application of Human-centred design to the development of new hardware and software features in existing vehicle lines, and creation of new Ford mobility services.
Under a fourteen weeks project, we combined the know-how of four global innovation units to define a shared vision, purpose, values and operating model that would translate under one cohesive brand name and organisational structure. Alongside new ways of working, technical capabilities and management systems.
We designed the Brand, Organisation and Space for all D-Ford Labs: London, Detroit, Shanghai and San Francisco.
For Brand:
Purpose, values, manifesto, visual and verbal identity, art direction.
For Organisation:
Partnerships, projects, talent, onboarding, ways of working and culture.
For Space:
Interior principles, spatial touchpoints, signature experiences.
︎︎︎ Led the design of D-FORD’s global brand identity
Led design workshops to define the foundations for the brand, pitched it to CEOs and executed the identity across multiple digital and physical touchpoints with designers across San Francisco, Detroit and London.
“We need to bring all the current innovation efforts across Ford Motor Company under one brand, one org structure and one partneship model with Ford. We need a new brand to reflect the work of engineers and designers across the USA, EU, and Asia”
WHAT’S THE IDEA BEHIND THE THREE SYMBOLS?
D-FORD’s brand purpose is to ‘Drive Human Progress’. So we created three symbols to represent these three words. An arrow for drive. A circle for human. A plus for progress. Derivitives of the logomark itself, the glyphs can both be used as graphic elements and storytelling tools.
WHAT’S THE IDEA BEHIND THE LOGO?
The D-Ford logo incorporates the universal signifier for movement—the arrow—and explicitly shows it being pulled forward by the D for design.
︎︎︎ D-WEEK
Led design, production and facilitation of a week-long onboarding event for Ford leadership
Led the design, production and facilitation of a week-long onboarding event with 20+ D-Fordians from London and Melbourne. The purpose of the event was to launch the new D-Ford lab, and office space in Farringdon, London
“We need to coordinate a launch event to galvanise new hires around our new values and ways of working, connecting them with their colleagues on the other side of the globe”
Activities were divided into WHY, WHO, WHAT, HOW & US.
On the Monday, we focused on ensuring mastery of the lab purpose and values through activities such as introductions, workshops and an inspiration outing.
On the Tuesday, we focused on design research, rapid prototyping, getting to know our users, collaborative spatial exercises in the office space.
On the Wednesday, we focused on the history of UX in Ford, how to work with the rest of the organisation through partnerships, and getting to know the Human-centred design learning system in Ford.
On the Thursday, we defined how different locations will collaborate by defining cultural rituals and ways of working, and an improv class!
On the Friday, we focused on design excellence by running expert masterclasses in prototyping, and storytelling. The week concluded with a career journey exercise and technical setups for new joiners.
︎︎︎ Designed a live prototype of office culture
Co-led a design and operations team to setup a three-months-long live prototype of culture in a temporary office, resulting in a handbook used to build the permanent office.
“Ford’s hierarchy, bureacracy and IP-driven working culture can get in the way of innovation mindsets and initiatives, we need a space and culture to embody collaboration, horizontal leadership and experimentation”
When we opened the London innovation lab in a temporary office in Farringdon, we had one goal: to test the brand, and organisational structure we had designed.
We had set new ways of working, such as modes of collaboration on projects. E.g. shifting from cubicle to hot desking, from working with a ‘waterfall method’ to ‘agile’.
Yet, we couldn’t stop the work and test, we had to understand how talent would react to these shifts by doing it live, in the office space, on live projects.
We routinely rented furniture and tech so that D-Fordians could feedback on quality and efficiency. We tried different office culture rituals. Whether it would be moving from powerpoints to active standing meetings, or swapping emails with video updates, or having a communal table for lunch rather than encouraging people to eat at their desks.
The result was a handbook for onboarding, interior design, hiring strategy and ways of working to inform the move to a new office and hiring of 100+ designers within the year.
︎︎︎
Built a Communication Strategy Playbook for partnerships
Co-led a global team of Communication designers and directors to design an internal Brand strategy positioning D-FORD as the primary partner for Ford’s cutting edge product development.
“All D-Ford Labs use human-centred design and work uniquely for Ford, but they aren’t yet known widely across the firm. We need Ford to understand their work and engage with their methodology in order to value investing in this partnership, hence commission projects”.
WHAT DID WE DESIGN?
A Strategy Framework + Comms Kit.
Including a modular story, case studies, templates, wireframes, copywriting and a roadmap for campaigns. All materials are mapped on a spectrum taking Fordians from Awareness, through Excitement, into Advocacy.
