Company:
Addinol
Year:
2016-2018
Duration:
2 Years
Overview
Comprehensive advertising campaign that started with billboards and print materials, then expanded into a digital landing page experience. The core challenge was taking a static campaign metaphor - smooth roads representing quality motor oil - and translating it into an interactive web journey. This wasn't just about putting print ads online; it required rethinking how the poetic "every road deserves the best oil" concept could work with scrolling, product information, and dual conversion paths for customers and dealers. The project showed how a single creative concept could scale across print, digital, and physical merchandise while maintaining consistent messaging.
Web Experience
The landing page needed to serve two audiences - customers researching products and dealers exploring partnerships - without compromising the campaign's artistic vision. Used the landscape imagery to create a scrolling experience that felt like driving, with the road metaphor unfolding gradually before revealing product details. The challenge was balancing the poetic campaign aesthetic with practical e-commerce functionality: dealer locators, product specifications, and clear calls-to-action. Had to make conversion feel natural, not transactional, while keeping the serene, confident tone that made the print campaign work.
Campaign Foundations
Here I had to become an information architect by force. Developers want to see EVERYTHING simultaneously: environment statuses, release versions, deployment history, active users, issues, pull requests. Classic case of "we want it like competitor's, only better and with blackjack."
Material Cards seemed like an obvious solution, but standard proportions created cathedral-sized interfaces. Had to break Material spacing rules for functional density.
The trickiest part - creating a scanning pattern. Developers first look for problems: failed deployments, security issues, broken builds. All critical information went to the top with red and orange accents. "Panic mode" information at the top, "all is well" statistics at the bottom. Simple as an emergency room.
Visual Strategy
The visuals for the campaign were designed to be both beautiful and thought-provoking. By using natural landscapes as a backdrop for our metaphors, we aim to evoke a sense of peace and reliability—qualities that Addinol embodies. The imagery of smooth roads cutting through serene landscapes conveys ease and confidence, reinforcing the message that with Addinol oil, every journey—no matter how tough the road—will be smooth.
Custom Components
The Dialog Dilemma
Client wanted "personalized experience" for project creation (read: not like everyone else), but Material Dialog has strict opinions. I learned to use Material as foundation while adding custom interactions where needed.
Data Tables
Most painful problem. Client: "Show all columns at once!" Material Table: "What about responsive design?"
Had to create hybrid - Material foundation with custom sorting, filtering, and expandable rows. Compromise as art form. This was 2018, and I was still learning when to follow rules and when to break them.
User Activity Widget
Diplomatic victory - combined Material List patterns with custom git visualization. Used Material's strengths, quietly added custom elements where it fell short.
Throughout the campaign, this concept is reinforced through various media. Billboards, online ads, and print materials all feature the slogan prominently, accompanied by visuals that clearly depict the metaphor of the road and engine. This consistent reinforcement helps solidify Addinol’s brand identity as a provider of top-quality oils that ensure smooth travels and engine reliability.
T-Shirt Design
Promotional t-shirts designed with a two-color print using the campaign's main visual pattern. The design aligns with brand identity while ensuring cost-efficiency through silkscreen printing, which allowed for large-scale production at reduced costs. Materials were chosen for durability and everyday wear. These shirts were distributed at events and sold online, extending the brand's reach in a practical, wearable format that turned customers into campaign ambassadors.
Additional t-shirt designs exploring different aspects of the campaign visual language. These variations offered more options for different audiences and preferences while maintaining the core campaign aesthetic. From bold statement pieces to subtle branded designs, the extended collection showed how the campaign's visual system could flex across different merchandise applications without losing consistency.
Planner
Сustom planner with a unique approach to its page layout, specifically crafted to inspire creativity and flexibility in its use. The diary features undated pages, allowing users to fill it in as they wish without the constraints of a traditional calendar structure.
This design choice encourages personalization and adaptability, making it ideal for those who need a non-traditional planning tool that adapts to their scheduling needs and creative impulses. The layout includes ample space for notes, drawings, and various entries, providing a versatile platform for both planning and expressing one's thoughts and ideas freely.
Extra
Additional materials developed as part of the project: Promotional T-shirt Collection, Corporate Calendar Series, Product Catalog Design, Trade Show Posters, Brand Merchandise Graphics, Marketing Collateral Materials
Design Exploration
During campaign development, multiple creative directions were explored before landing on the final "smooth roads" concept. Each alternative tested different ways to communicate engine performance and oil quality. While these concepts didn't make it to production, they played a crucial role in refining what the campaign needed to be - helping identify what resonated emotionally versus what required too much explanation.
Concept 1: The Sound of Performance
The Idea: This direction visualized engine performance as music. Mechanical objects (piano, trumpet, motorcycle) were shown in cross-section to reveal their internal workings, paired with the oil bottle. The metaphor: Engine + Oil = Harmony. Just like a well-tuned instrument produces beautiful sound, a well-lubricated engine runs smoothly and quietly. The turquoise background created strong brand presence, while technical cutaways emphasized precision and craftsmanship.
Why It Didn't Work: The music metaphor was clever but required too much explanation. While conceptually strong, it wasn't instantly readable on billboards. The client wanted immediate emotional connection over intellectual puzzle-solving. The technical cross-sections also felt cold compared to the warmth of natural landscapes.
Concept 2: Speed & Performance
The Idea: Futuristic speed aesthetic with Tron-like neon vehicles, motion blur, and cyberpunk energy. Paired the oil bottle with high-tech racing imagery - motorcycles, sports cars, agricultural equipment - all visualized with glowing trails and dramatic lighting. The message: premium performance for modern machines. Bold gradient overlays and dynamic compositions created urgency and excitement.
Why It Didn't Work: Too aggressive and tech-forward for a brand wanting universal appeal. The futuristic aesthetic alienated everyday drivers who just need reliable oil for commuting. Felt more like energy drink advertising than automotive care. The client wanted approachable confidence, not adrenaline rush. Landscapes won because everyone understands a smooth road - not everyone relates to neon-lit speed racing.
Concept 3: Natural Performance
The Idea: Stripped-back approach using real landscape photography with subtle wave overlays connecting scenes to the oil bottle. Showed actual destinations (Australian coast, Canadian mountains, golden wheat fields) with fluid, organic shapes suggesting smooth flow. Clean, minimal, letting natural beauty do the work. The wave element tied back to liquid/oil without being literal.
Why It Didn't Work: Too subtle. While beautiful, the concept felt more like tourism advertising than motor oil. The wave overlays weren't strong enough to communicate the product benefit - they just looked decorative. Client needed something with more conceptual punch. This direction proved that real landscapes worked, but needed a stronger metaphor (the road) to connect beauty to performance.
Concept 3: Natural Performance
The Idea: Stripped-back approach using real landscape photography with subtle wave overlays connecting scenes to the oil bottle. Showed actual destinations (Australian coast, Canadian mountains, golden wheat fields) with fluid, organic shapes suggesting smooth flow. Clean, minimal, letting natural beauty do the work. The wave element tied back to liquid/oil without being literal.
Why It Didn't Work: Too subtle. While beautiful, the concept felt more like tourism advertising than motor oil. The wave overlays weren't strong enough to communicate the product benefit - they just looked decorative. Client needed something with more conceptual punch. This direction proved that real landscapes worked, but needed a stronger metaphor (the road) to connect beauty to performance.
From Print to Product Thinking
My Addinol relationship started in 2013 with graphic design work - wraps, calendars, print materials. Years of that. The 2016 rebrand campaign looked like more of the same, just bigger. But creating the landing page forced product design thinking I didn't have yet: user journeys, competing user needs (customers vs dealers), component systems, conversion optimization. I was faking product design skills while learning them. The campaign worked, they kept me on as international consultant, and honestly - this project taught me more about product thinking than any app would have. Sometimes you learn product design by accident, solving marketing problems with product design frameworks. Not sure that was the plan, but it worked.