Cadillac F1
This was the second half of my major research project during my 3rd year at the University of Winchester. The first half consisted of researching around the topic, which you can view here. My project was based around a luxury American icon, Cadillac, which is entering F1 next year.
For this side of the project, I aimed to merge the historic identity of Cadillac and the fast-paced world of Formula 1, I aimed to create a premium visual identity that merges identity with innovation.
This project took place in Adobe InDesign and Photoshop, along with WIX website maker.
Quick recap
During my research, I mainly focused on how brands use Formula One and motorsports to grow their image, focusing on teams like Ferrari and Aston Martin and how their brand has been built around motorsport. Along with motorsport sponsorship culture.
I also looked at some recent re-brands like KIA in 2021 and Jaguar in 2024 and how they improved or devalued their brand image, along with some of the financial and cultural effects.
From what I learned from this research I felt like I had a good idea of how I was going to go about creating a brand for Cadillac.
Objectives
My objective for this second half of this project was to create the full brand package for the Cadillac Formula One team, this would involve me creating the livery for the car, the race suits which would be worn by the drivers and mechanics, merchandise, social media graphics, a social media page and a website, along with many other things.
Who is Cadillac?
Cadillac is an American car manufacturer and is a part of General Motors, which is the largest car manufacturer in the United States (above Toyota and Ford) They hold about 16.8% of the market share.
Cadillac as a company have a history of motorsport, racing since 1909 in the inaugural Indy 500 up until the present day where they are primarily racing in endurance racing championships (The World Endurance Championship and the IMSA Sports Car Championship) where they race in the hypercar class.
In mid 2024 it was announced that they would be joining the Formula One grid as the 11th team, the first time there would be more than 10 teams since the 2012 season.
Cadillac joining the F1 grid in 2026 is good for everyone involved, F1 get an all American team, something they have wanted for a while and since they have been pushing to be more seen in America as a sport, Cadillac and GM are a part of the worlds most viewed motorsport and the benefts that brings
Understanding Cadillacs existing motorsport aesthetic helped me to identify which brand elements to preserve, while the shift to F1 required me to create new visuals that reflected both the prestige of Formula 1 and Cadillacs American heritage.
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Branding
The first and most important thing I needed to do first was decide on some colours and fonts that I was going to use for the team, during my research I had outlined my idea of using yellow as the teams main colour, this would allow the car to stand out in a sea of blue, black, green or red cars. I also had the idea of the yellow becoming important to the overall Cadillac brand, a lot like the red that Ferrari are famous for.
Looking at all the other teams on the current grid, a lot of them have a primary colour and then some secondary colours, I went with a blue. This is for two reasons, one, the main sponsor for this team is GM and their colour is blue, also the blue stands out from the yellow but does not look to outlandish like it does on the current (2024-25) Ferrari.
I also looked at some other possible secondary colours like silver for example.
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Fonts
Cadillac has its own font, "English 157 BT" or "Cadillac signature"; they also have a more modern font called "Cadillac Gothic", which I planned on using on the website, social media graphics and logo. These fonts did not look good on the car, though so I used a different font, being STA7, which is a custom font.
Unfortunately, there was no download for "Cadillac Gothic", so I used a similar font called Formula 1
Livery design
One of the key challenges for this project was conveying Cadillacs existing branding into Formula 1. Most of the inspiration came from Cadillac's hypercar project and the colours and designs they use on them, I wanted the car to stand out and build a brand around the colour of the car, something similar to Ferrari with their red colour, so the decision was taken to make the car yellow, this would stand out on the current grid, a colour that Cadillac already use and is something that a brand can be built around.
I also wanted to intergrate the luxury aspect of Cadillac into the livery, I placed the Cadillac logo around the car to maintain the brands presence, along with the Cadillac gothic font on the side-pod, all without making the design feel overcrowded. It also gave space for sponsorship to stand out and be seen.
For sponsorship placement I looked at a very helpful graphic which shows how much a brand would pay for each spot on the car, bigger brands get better spots so I was working on that basis as well.
The final outcome is something I am very happy with.
Sponsorship
A part of making Cadillac F1 a global motorsport brand is the sponsorship that they carry on the car, I researched the current commercial landscape of motorsport, looking at brands that work with Cadillac (not just in motorsport but also in car manufacturing) I also looked at other F1 teams and who they like to partner with. Teams like Mercedes-AMG and Red Bull often partner with luxury, tech and energy brands that match their image and performace goals.
I analysed some of Cadillac's current partnerships, with brands like Exxonmobil, Dellara and Hertz, from their building a "brand web" looking at what brands link with those brands and so on.
The average amount of sponsors for a new team is about 14 to 16 so my aim was to find that many which I was successful in doing. Drivers also bring sponsors with them so that also played a part.
Overall though, all of these sponsorship brands help to bulster Cadillacs image in F1 as a luxury motorsport brand.
Drivers
Valtteri Bottas
Franco Colapinto
Lia Block
Sebastian Bourdais
Driver
Driver
Third driver
Test & reserve driver
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I selected drivers who I believed would be the best fit for Cadillac, both in terms of on-track performance and expanding the brand in key global markets.
Valtteri Bottas, a Finnish driver with experience at Mercedes and Alfa Romeo, was chosen not only for his skill and consistency but also to help strengthen Cadillac’s presence in Europe, where the brand is relatively unknown.
He also brings some good sponsorship with him from his previous teams.
Franco Colapinto, from Argentina, was selected for similar reasons—his talent on track and his potential to boost Cadillac’s recognition in South America.
He also brings some large South American sponsors along with global brand Uber.
Lia Block brought another valuable dimension to the team. As an American driver and the daughter of motorsport legend Ken Block, she aligned perfectly with Cadillac’s U.S. heritage. Additionally, I wanted to include a female driver, making her an ideal choice.
She brings the iconic brand Hoonigan which is famously known through the car and motorsports world.
Finally, Sebastian Bourdais, a former F1 driver and current Cadillac endurance racer, was added as a test and reserve driver. Initially, I only had the first three, but after researching other teams, I realized most had a dedicated reserve driver. With his F1 experience and existing ties to Cadillac, Bourdais was the perfect fit.
Race suit designs
The Cadillac race suits were designed to embody the team's identity on the track.
The colour palette mirrors that of the car, along with the sponsorship placement, with the most important being the most visible, the GM logo is planted in the centre of the design, emphasising the importance of the brand to the team.
Once again, I used a very helpful and interesting graphic that I found to help me place the sponsors in places where they belong, a lot like with the livery design, sponsor placement is determined by how much the sponsor is paying, so the larger and more important sponsors are placed in more visible areas.
While developing these designs, I played around with some of the secondary sponsor placement, but found that maintaining hierarchy and brand visibility at key camera angles was essential to both the looks and sponsor value.
Logos
When exploring how Cadillac might realistically enter the world of Formula 1, I had to consider General Motors' broader brand ecosystem. Since GM is the parent company of Cadillac and a powerhouse in the American automotive space, it made sense to me to make GM the title sponsor of the Cadillac F1 team.
This inspired me to create a hybrid logo, combining both the companies' logos, a lot like what current F1 teams have done, teams like Mercedes, Aston Martin and Alpine have done, combining their title sponsors' logo into their logo.
The logo went through several design stages with several different variants, I explored different weight ratios, spacing and colours to make sure it worked on both digital and print.
Social media
To extend the Cadillac brand beyond the race track, I created a social media mockup of the team's Instagram page, along with team graphics. I looked at the current team's social media presence, teams like Ferrari and Mercedes, who use bold and punchy graphics across their social media platforms.
I created a number of different graphics which could be used on the team's social media, graphics like race day count down, race results, race week pages and announcement graphics using the branding that I had created for Cadillac, including the typography, colours and including the team's logo on the post.
The slogan "Never lift" became the backbone for Cadillac's online presence, a direct reference to racing culture, where drivers are told to "never lift of the throttle". It reflects speed, confidence and motion, pushing forward in the world of motorsports. Values that align with my image of the Cadillac brand.
Visually, I used #Neverlift as a tagline across social media posts and as a way for fans to become a part of the brand, building a sort of family and connection with the team's fans.
I also planned to use some little paragraphs for social media and advertising.
- "Never lift, Engine on, Mind sharp"
- "From Detroit to Monaco, Never lift"
- "When others break, we push, Never lift"
To establish a digital home for the Cadillac F1 brand, I designed a team website using WIX, a website that mirrors the team's bold, high-performance identity.
The site would act as a central hub for fans, sponsors and media. Showcasing everything from race results, team news, season schedules and events and much more, including stuff about the team as a whole, like their ethos and environmental practices.
The design of the site reflects Cadillac's clean and modern asthetic, with a black back-ground allowing images and text to stand out, large visual blocks also allow this.
I used the Never lift slogan as a unifying element across the site, anchoring the brand voice and creating continuity from the racetrack to the digital world.
Key sections of the site are
- "Meet the team"
-"Shop"
-"Environment"
-"2026"
The site also features a Never Lift news room/ blog section with stories about the team and things happening to it, for example, new drivers or sponsors joining or the team's environmental goals.
The site can be visited here.
On the website, you can also see a lot more work that I did, including driver cards and merchandise.
Sketches and notes
This segment shows all the sketches that I did for this project, including designs for the car and social media graphics.
Inspiration
A big source of inspiration came from social media, there are a lot of creators that create fantasy liveries for current and old teams, I looked at what they have done for Cadillac and some others to get ideas for my designs.
Time management
I managed this project using a phased timeline, covering the concept process, design process and refinement. Starting with making concept designs and understanding how I wanted the project to look, along with some research. then came the design process of things like the livery, logos and the website.
I made sure I had enough time to complete this project and give myself ample time to work on other submissions.