Role
Lead Designer
Lead Designer
Services
Branding · Visual Design · Web Design · Advertising
Branding · Visual Design · Web Design · Advertising
Overview
Caterham Cars is celebrated for its raw performance and craftsmanship but its digital presence felt static and disjointed. The goal was to modernise the visual identity, launch an immersive digital experience, and craft storytelling that matched the brand’s speed and legacy.
Caterham Cars is celebrated for its raw performance and craftsmanship but its digital presence felt static and disjointed. The goal was to modernise the visual identity, launch an immersive digital experience, and craft storytelling that matched the brand’s speed and legacy.
Research & analysis
I began by mapping Caterham’s diverse audiences: Seller, Customer, Racer, Builder, and identified pain points in the existing digital experience: a lack of interactive features, weak navigation, and limited storytelling. The digital presence wasn’t reflecting the brand’s kinetic character or community culture.
Ideation & concept development
From insights emerged a vision: a dynamic, modular ecosystem that brought engineering to life. Concepts included real-time configurators, personalised dashboards for different user groups, editorial-driven storytelling, and motion-rich interactions to convey speed and passion.
Crafting a modern visual identity
The visual identity update focused on conveying speed, precision, and heritage. The logo has a sharp geometry with a “Slant Square” mark to represent craftsmanship while keeping classic proportions. The typography is bold but friendly for impact, paired with technical sans-serifs for clarity while the colour palette use the iconic deep acid green and carbon black to balance heritage with a modern, performance-driven aesthetic.
Translating identity into interfaces
Layouts were structured around modular components for configurators, user portals, and editorial hubs. Focus was on hierarchy, clear navigation, and seamless user journeys that balanced technical detail with storytelling. The digital ecosystem used dynamic layouts, scroll-triggered animations, and micro-interactions to bring the brand to life. Photography, lifestyle imagery, and technical specs were integrated in the storytelling, creating an experience that felt both tactile and high-performance.
Showcasing speed & craftsmanship
Advertising leveraged the “Speed Square” graphic element across print and digital channels to convey motion and precision. Campaigns positioned Caterham as fun, bold, and performance-driven, reinforcing the brand’s identity across all touchpoints.
Outcome & Impact
The introduction of interactive configurators and dynamic content significantly boosted user engagement, while the refined brand identity reinforced Caterham’s positioning as performance-focused and tactile. Enhanced usability and stronger storytelling elevated the overall digital experience, ensuring the brand’s online presence truly reflected its legacy and speed.
Reflection
By starting with brand identity and translating it into digital interfaces and advertising, the project showed how a legacy brand can feel alive online. Motion, storytelling, and modular design brought Caterham’s craftsmanship and performance into the modern world.