Rob Williams
Rivian / Electric vehicles

An electric future.
With a sense of adventure.

Rivian was starting over. Founder RJ Scaringe had set a new direction: an adventure brand built around two electric vehicles on a shared platform—the R1T pickup and R1S SUV.

As Chief Creative Officer, I built and led the creative organization from four people to 45. With Rivian’s teams and partners, I shaped the early product direction and the way the company would introduce itself—from the identity to the public launch and its first headquarters.

Rob Williams / Chief Creative Officer

18 months from the new brief to launch readiness.

R1S / In the desert

Brand strategy & identity

Not every owner would take a Rivian to its limits. Knowing they could was part of the promise. We built the brand around that sense of possibility, with room for ambitious trips and everyday life.

I designed the logo and wordmark. The compass connects the invitation to explore with the four attributes behind the brand: adventurous, inspiring, inviting and innovative.

Rivian compass symbol and wordmark, designed by Rob Williams.
Identity / Logo and wordmark designed by Rob Williams
Rivian compass symbol and wordmark, designed by Rob Williams.
Identity / Logo and wordmark designed by Rob Williams
The gold Rivian compass: Adventurous above, Inspiring left, Inviting right and Innovative below.
Brand attributes / Adventurous, inspiring, inviting and innovative
Close-up of the Rivian compass badge.
Compass symbol / Vehicle badge
Brand essence reference slide with Porsche, Apple and Nike illustrating the associations a brand can build.
Brand strategy / References for the associations an identity can carry
Positioning diagram placing Rivian at the intersection of strong design and strong technology.
Positioning study / Design and technology
Original brand character comparisons using outdoor, travel, tools and technology references.
Brand character / Reference points for the company we wanted to build
Inspiring brand attribute with outdoor landscapes and imagery of exploration, confidence and possibility.
Inspiring / Exploration, confidence and possibility
Adventurous brand attribute with cycling, surfing, kayaking and other outdoor activities.
Adventurous / Outdoor activity and discovery
Inviting brand attribute with warm, friendly, shared outdoor experiences and a sense of community.
Inviting / Warmth, hospitality and shared experiences
Innovative brand attribute with references for thoughtful, modern, useful design.
Innovative / Thoughtful, useful design
Consumer persona spectrum with the modern explorer at the center, supported by achievers and active families.
Audience strategy / The modern explorer at the center
Achiever persona with values, expectations, barriers and a photograph of an outdoor cyclist.
Audience profile / The achiever
Active family persona centered on reliability, versatility, safety and opportunities to get outside.
Audience profile / The active family

Product development

Rivian’s first pickup needed the unmistakable presence of a truck, with a character of its own. We started with proportion. Classic Broncos and early Range Rovers offered references for an upright stance and a purposeful shape. We brought that clarity into a new design language: simple surfaces and strong graphics outside, warmth and careful material choices inside.

There was a team to build, too. We began with four junior designers. I recruited experienced talent around them, asking people to join a company whose potential was still largely an idea. Early sketches and a clear direction gave those conversations something concrete. The creative organization grew to 45.

Early truck development / Sketches, renderings and an outdoor-use study
Rivian concept development board with early truck sketches, digital renderings and an outdoor use study.
Early truck concepts / Proportion and vehicle layout
Rivian design studio with a green R1S surrounded by product development and material work.
Design studio / R1S and material development
Hands comparing green upholstery and wood samples during Rivian color, material and finish development.
Color, materials and finishes / Upholstery and wood studies
Rivian design review showing vehicle prototypes, digital visualization and a clay model in the studio.
Design review / Digital models, prototypes and clay
Front view of a Rivian clay model showing rough and refined surfacing during physical development.
Full-size clay model / Developing the exterior surfaces
Rivian interior development board showing center-console, door, seating and headrest studies.
Interior studies / Seats, doors and center console
Early Rivian interior design rendering with green upholstery, wood trim and central display.
Interior concept / Materials, dashboard and controls
Finished Rivian interior showing passenger-side door, wood trim and green seating in a natural landscape.
Finished interior / Wood trim, upholstery and door design
Driver view of the Rivian steering wheel, center display and digital vehicle interface.
Driver’s view / Steering wheel and displays
Rivian cabin showing sculpted front seats, panoramic glass roof and forest outside.
Cabin / Front seats and panoramic roof
Yellow Rivian R1S in a dense forest.
R1S / In the forest

Launch experience

Before Rivian could introduce itself at the LA Auto Show, I visited the organizers to make the case for what we were building.

The public introduction brought the R1T to Griffith Observatory and the vehicles to the show floor. Working with o2 Creative Solutions, we carried the adventure story into the setting: natural materials, places to gather and a display that made the electric platform visible. People could get close to the product and spend some time with the company behind it.

Exhibit design and production, and launch events / o2 Creative Solutions.

The silver Rivian R1T surrounded by guests at its nighttime premiere at Griffith Observatory.
R1T premiere / Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles
The silver Rivian R1T surrounded by guests at its nighttime premiere at Griffith Observatory.
R1T premiere / Griffith Observatory, Los Angeles
Griffith Observatory illuminated at dusk ahead of the Rivian premiere.
Launch setting / Griffith Observatory
o2 Creative Solutions rendering of the Rivian exhibit with timber uprights, vehicles and gathering spaces.
Exhibit concept / o2 Creative Solutions
Rivian auto show environment with an R1S and reception area.
Auto show exhibit / Vehicles, reception and gathering spaces
Rivian launch environment showing product stories, photography and material references.
Exhibit details / Product stories, photography and materials
A Rivian electric skateboard chassis displayed vertically between timber columns at the auto show.
Platform display / Rivian’s electric chassis
Lounge chairs, a side table and forest imagery create a gathering space within the Rivian exhibit.
Hospitality / Seating within the exhibit
Visitors gathered around Rivian vehicles in an auto show environment.
Auto show / Visitors and vehicles

Exhibit design & production, launch events and additional imagery / o2 Creative Solutions

First headquarters

A historic Albert Kahn factory in Plymouth, Michigan, became Rivian’s first headquarters. I led the design of its transformation, from the vehicle studio to the offices and shared spaces used by the rest of the company.

The studio needed room for full-size clay models, design work and reviews. The wider building needed to serve everyone bringing Rivian to life. We worked with the factory’s industrial character, introducing the warmth, materials and attention to detail we wanted people to recognize in the vehicles.

Rivian workspace with an orange shipping container carrying the company identity.
Headquarters / Shared spaces
Rivian workspace with an orange shipping container carrying the company identity.
Headquarters / Shared spaces
Exterior of Rivian’s first headquarters in a historic Albert Kahn factory in Plymouth, Michigan.
Plymouth, Michigan / Rivian’s first headquarters
Open Rivian studio workspace with teams at work.
Headquarters / Open workspaces
Guests gathered around the R1T in Rivian’s Michigan design studio beneath the factory roof structure.
Design studio / R1T presentation
Rivian headquarters lobby with a timber ceiling, lounge seating and the wordmark on a white wall.
Headquarters / Lobby
Topographic graphics across a glazed interior wall at Rivian’s Michigan headquarters.
Interior detail / Topographic graphics on glass

Additional studio, lobby and detail photography sourced from the project archive of o2 Creative Solutions

The early chapter

18Months

From the new brief to launch readiness.

4 → 45Creative organization

Built and led for the R1T and R1S introduction.

I left before customer deliveries and the IPO. The later milestones below reflect the continuing work of Rivian’s wider team.

$100B+Public debut / 2021

Market value exceeded $100 billion on the first day of trading.

2022MotorTrend Truck of the Year

R1T. Also awarded Popular Science’s 2021 Best of What’s New Grand Award.

Logo and wordmark design / Rob Williams. Creative direction and leadership / Rob Williams, Chief Creative Officer, with Rivian’s multidisciplinary teams and partners. My tenure preceded customer deliveries and the IPO.

Rivian / My role

A new brief. A team to build.

With $200 million already invested, Rivian was starting over. RJ Scaringe’s brief set the foundations: an electric truck and SUV on one platform, with adventure at the center. The wider direction was open.

During my first visit, the main investor told me, “You get one chance to get this right.”

My responsibility was to build the creative organization and turn that brief into a direction people could work toward. I led work across product expression, brand, communications, environments and launch. I also designed the logo and wordmark.

We worked from the new brief toward launch readiness over 18 months. The creative organization grew from four people to 45, alongside the multidisciplinary teams developing the vehicles and the business.

I left before customer deliveries and the IPO. The work continued with Rivian’s teams; this case focuses on my contribution to that early chapter.

Rivian / The story

The freedom to take a different road.

We spent time with people in the places they wanted to go. Their lives connected everyday responsibilities with the desire to get outside. Our audience work put the modern explorer at the center, with achievers and active families close around them. Adventure had to have room for all of those lives.

The four attributes gave the teams a practical way to judge the work. Adventurous and inspiring expressed the invitation to explore. Inviting meant capability should feel approachable. Innovative meant new technology should feel useful and familiar.

I called the creative direction essentialism: simplicity with warmth, thoughtful materials and care in the details. It could guide a vehicle, a room or the way the company welcomed someone.

The symbol I designed took its cue from a compass: four arrows held within a diamond. It connected the four attributes with the idea of exploration. Alongside it, I designed a wordmark that could carry the name from the vehicles into the rest of the company’s identity.

Rivian / The story

Still a truck. Entirely Rivian.

The pickup’s proportions came first. We worked through the dimensions and the fixed points that determine the size and arrangement of a vehicle, looking for the right stance and presence before refining the surfaces.

Classic Broncos and early Range Rovers gave us references for upright, purposeful proportions. The aim was not to reproduce them, but to bring that clarity into a new design language. Strong, simple graphics and carefully resolved surfaces gave the truck its character.

Inside, the same attention moved to the dashboard, doors, seats and the things people touched every day. Sophistication had to come from how the parts related to one another, the materials and the details.

We also learned from how people used trucks outdoors. Those experiences helped us consider where a detail could make the vehicle more useful or enjoyable. The design needed to work beyond its first impression.

The work shown spans early concepts, studio development and finished-vehicle imagery. My contribution was to the early program; development continued with Rivian’s teams after my tenure.

Rivian / The story

Our first hello.

In my presentation to the LA Auto Show organizers, I introduced the vehicles, the investors supporting us and the company taking shape around them. I needed to explain why this unfamiliar name deserved their attention.

The R1T premiere at Griffith Observatory gave the introduction a public setting. On the show floor, we wanted people to have time to explore: look closely at the electric platform, get near the vehicles and find somewhere to sit.

o2 Creative Solutions handled the exhibit design and production, and the launch events. My role was to carry Rivian’s point of view into that first encounter. Natural materials, places to gather and accessible product stories brought the same balance we wanted in the vehicles: capable, considered and inviting.

Rivian / The story

A new life for an old factory.

We stripped back the factory interior and reworked the building as a headquarters. At its heart was a vehicle design studio, with plates for full-size clay models, space for the designers and dedicated areas for reviews.

The brief extended to the whole building. Offices, meeting rooms and shared spaces had to serve the people working across the company, not only the design team.

The factory’s industrial structure gave us a starting point. Furniture, materials, lighting and the details people encountered each day introduced the warmth we wanted in Rivian. The work ran from the specialist equipment needed to develop a vehicle to the places where the team would meet and gather.