What it had to solve
Delve into the magic of Mercedes-Benz technology and synthesize a new visual tone — something that would feel out of place at Mercedes-Benz and push its boundaries
How it works
Sehsucht Berlin developed a visual framework of materiality where translucent and digital meet tangible and realistic, then produced the film as a 'visual and literal poem' with audio by Hastings Audio Network, led by creative directors Christian Zschunke and Guilherme Todorov.
What it did
No results were reported; the studio framed the work as transformative for how Mercedes-Benz Digital approaches design and storytelling.
Background
In May 2023 Berlin motion studio Sehsucht published the work it spent months on for Mercedes-Benz Digital: an effort to synthesize a new visual tone for the brand's technology. The studio's stated premise was that Mercedes-Benz is the synthesis of the digital and the analog, and from that assertion it built a visual framework of materiality where translucent and digital meet tangible and realistic.
Having established the framework, the studio deliberately pushed past it — toward something that would 'feel out of place at Mercedes-Benz' and challenge the brand's boundaries — producing a piece it described as a visual and literal poem. The film was produced by Sehsucht Berlin with creative directors Christian Zschunke and Guilherme Todorov, EP Markus Trautmann, and audio by Hastings Audio Network.
Why it lands
A car brand's digital presence risks generic tech aesthetics; a stated materiality thesis gives it an ownable look
Naming the work a poem licensed the studio to break from automotive film conventions on purpose
Deliberately seeking 'out of place' work set a creative ceiling above safe brand-film territory
What you can take
A visual framework stated as a thesis — 'the synthesis of the digital and the analog' — gives every downstream asset a rule to obey and a boundary to push.
Since then
As of May 2023 the film stood as Mercedes-Benz Digital's new visual tone per Sehsucht, with the studio calling the journey transformative for both client and studio.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE