A little story about Porsche, Daigle Design and relationships.

Why did a big name like Porsche choose a sporty-sized design firm like Daigle Design?

The answer is: better handling, cooler design, faster to the finish line . . . and a relationship.

Porsche Cars North America liked the relationship they had developed with Candace Daigle (our turbo-charged creative director) while she was working on the Porsche account for an ad agency.

Candace had been "revving up" the famous car company with some very cool graphic design for the Porsche Driving Experience car carrier. She'd also created some sleek video covers, a national newsletter and some neat miniature driving pylons with little tire tracks across them.

So when the time came for a new project, Porsche picked Candace and Daigle Design.

The project?
A 48 page national catalog of Porsche sportswear and car accessories.

The concept?
We came up with it while on the road during a marathon weekend of location scouting, polaroids, pencil sketches and comps.

The strategy?
#1. Break from Porsche tradition. Take the cars and products out of the photo studio and do the whole catalog "on the road".

#2. Put a full page photo of a classic Porsche opposite every page of products, to satisfy a wide range of Porsche owners and give the catalog long life as a collectible.

#3. Introduce the auto industry to the drama of Nevada's Black Rock Desert. It worked. Ultimately this became "the catalog that launched a thousand car commercials".

The team?
One designer, one copywriter, one Porsche rep and three photographers.

The field work?
Two weeks of 20 hour photo shoot days, 1500 photos, carte blanche at the Porsche company lot, one flock of sheep and a flood of car washes.

The result?
A beautiful thematic brochure of cars and locations, a fantastic response from Porsche, a trunk full of awards and a coincidental (?) upward turn in Porsche sales.

All this without a single speeding ticket, proving that Nevada needs more highway patrol.

The lesson?
Relationships work. Remember that your mileage may vary, but the relationship we enjoyed with Porsche on this and other projects is a good example of how great results just happen when creatives and clients get to know each other.

The key word here is relationships. It's as close to a mantra as we get.