You can feel a brand in the way a car drives — the precision of the steering, the way it grips a corner, the smooth pull of acceleration. But how do you turn a feeling into something measurable, repeatable, across every Nissan vehicle?

That was the brief: How might we translate Nissan’s brand essence into consistent driving attributes — without making them all feel the same?

What we did

We built a framework that fused emotion and engineering — subjective human insight with hard performance data — to create Nissan’s Driving DNA Map.

The process started at the source.
Workshops with brand, marketing, engineering, and design teams revealed what really makes a Nissan feel like a Nissan. That gave us our starting point — brand values like control, innovation, confidence, and agility.

Then we mapped them to the road.

• Steering → precision
• Braking → trust
• Acceleration → performance
• Smoothness → intelligence
• Stability → control

Next, we made it measurable.

Through AB Dynamics’ robot drivers and Affectiva’s emotional AI, we ran side-by-side tests — combining the precision of machines with the gut instincts of human drivers. Emotional responses helped us dial in the nuances, making sure the cars didn’t just perform well — they felt right.

What came out

A living, breathing Driving DNA Map — linking Nissan’s brand to real, testable, and tunable attributes. One that informs every model going forward and evolves as drivers, markets, and expectations shift.

Why it matters

It’s not about creating uniformity — it’s about creating recognition. Now, whether you're in a compact city car or a performance SUV, it still feels unmistakably Nissan.

Behind the scenes

I led the design of the research methodology and oversaw integration across teams. This project taught me how to blend intuition with data, art with science — and how to trust my gut (even when it kept me up at night).