Design And Technology In Motion


I am not a part of the Lexus target audience. The brand rarely crosses my mind and I can’t recall ever seeing one of their television commercials.

But I recently came across a project they sponsored called “Amazing In Motion,” and I’m now thinking about the brand for the first time. But, I guess that’s exactly what they planned. And it worked.

Carbon Fiber Exoskelleton

Carbon-fiber exoskeleton

The project, which Lexus calls an experiment, started with Daniel Kleinman, the film director responsible for the title sequences of the James Bond films. Not a bad start, right? The reason the word experiment fits is because Kleinman used all kinds of new technology in the Lexus film, including developing two 11-foot mechanical puppets and rendering their carbon-fiber bodies by printing their exoskeletons in 3D on exotic woods, like bamboo and walnut.

A Giant Puppet Ballet

Giant puppet ballet

Five ninja-clad puppeteers maneuver each puppet as the film breaks from convention to show the puppeteers as an important part of the experience. It is choreography at its core and in short documentary that I found on the website, we learn that these men took ballet lessons to learn how to operate their puppets.

The film is beautiful. Creative. Well designed and expertly designed. The website which serves as the hub for all this content in and around the film provides an equally well-designed experience.

I usually don’t admit it when I fall into a marketing trap like this, but the combination of high design, motion and technology caught my attention and I found this bold experiment both compelling and worth taking a few minutes to investigate.

Watch the video. You wont’ be sorry.