TheArsenale Perspectives / Brand Consultation
Design strategies
Choose a design decision that proves the promise.
What it means
Design strategy translates positioning into choices about form, materials, interaction and experience. It defines what a design must communicate and which trade-offs matter. The aim is to align what people see and use with the value a business wants them to recognise.
Why a CMO invests in it
A CMO gains a more credible connection between brand language and product evidence. Shared design criteria can align partners, reduce subjective approvals and make an innovation easier to explain. Distinctiveness is valuable when it also serves the experience.
The documented case
TheArsenale orchestrated a collaboration between BMW and Louis Vuitton around the BMW i8. The project connected the car’s approach to lightweight design with Louis Vuitton’s craftsmanship and culture of travel.
At its centre was a luggage collection made for the i8: two travel bags, a business case and a garment bag. Carbon fibre created a material link with the vehicle, while the pieces were designed to fit its interior.
TheArsenale’s contribution was to bring the brands together around this shared idea, creating a clear connection between automotive innovation and the art of travel.
The marketing lesson
Louis Vuitton’s luggage for the BMW i8 connects lightweight automotive design with the craft and culture of travel. The collection was conceived to fit the car, and carbon fibre creates a tangible material link. TheArsenale orchestrated the collaboration. The lesson is that a partnership becomes more convincing when the shared idea is built into the object itself, rather than added only in advertising.
Which physical or experiential choice will make our positioning believable?
What the work produces
Design principles; material and form criteria; experience priorities; concept assessment; partner design brief.
The exact scope is defined for each brief; this is a practical guide to the discipline.
What to measure
Review functional fit, perceived relevance of the collaboration, consistency with the brand promise and the ease with which the design rationale can be understood.
These are suggested evaluation criteria, not reported results for the case above.