Mercedes-Benz is rooted in innovation, having been at the forefront of automotive engineering for decades. Even now, it’s constantly exceeding expectations, bringing new breakthroughs to the field on the regular. But it’s not just in its designs that Mercedes-Benz is ahead of the curve: the brand also innovates in culture.
Mercedes-Benz recognises that culture is at the heart of everything it does. It’s been integral to the brand from day one, even back in 1888, when Bertha Benz helped to shape culture and society as we know it today by getting behind the wheel of the first ever automobile and going on the first long-distance car ride in history.
That’s why, this International Women’s Day, we linked up with Mercedes-Benz for a new project called “Driven by Her,” which aims to spotlight women in the creative industry, by exploring how innovation can move beyond mechanics and into culture.
Focus 1: The Crumple Zone
Our female creatives’ task was to interpret some of Mercedes-Benz’s most influential innovations in vehicle design through their own lens. For the first focus, Mercedes-Benz asked them for their take on the crumple zone, not literally but using their own visual, sonic or cinematic mediums - turning engineering into expression.
In case you don’t know, the crumple zone is the feature on a car, first introduced in the Mercedes-Benz W111 in 1959, that’s designed to reduce the impact felt by passengers in a collision. It’s a zone of the vehicle that absorbs the energy of a crash and redirects energy away from the passenger cabin. It’s literally lifesaving.
Sound artist Ruthlss and automotive artist Rae Roberts, the two female creatives we brought on board for the first phase of the “Driven by Her” project, chose to interpret the crumple zone through the physics behind it.
Click to hear audio of Ruthlss's "Driven by Her" track below:
As Ruthlss explained, “I started by thinking about all the different sounds I could capture from the car. Things like the key in the ignition, the door closing, the windows winding down.” She used those soundbites to create a musical composition, translating “what happens during a collision into sound.”
Rae Roberts interpreted the same invisible movement visually. Across the bonnet of the W111, she painted lines that mapped imagined zones of compression. “In a crash, energy travels through the car as waves of compression and release,” she told us. “I wanted to visualise that movement across the bonnet.”
Focus 2: ABS (Anti-lock Breaking System)
For the second focus, we linked up with photographer Holly-Marie Cato to interpret a groundbreaking (no pun intended) example of innovation: the ABS (Anti-lock Braking System). First implemented in the Mercedes-Benz W116 in 1978, the ABS is a vehicle safety system that works to prevent the wheels from locking during hard braking by modulating pressure to maintain steering control.
Holly-Marie Cato took inspiration from the ABS to create a photo series that uses storytelling to document a South London road trip inspired by the pioneering spirit of Bertha Benz. Like the ABS, which is all about controlling motion in order to stop safely, Holly’s photo series captures the moments of pause in her daily life that instil a sense of joy and belonging.
Driving Mercedes’ car around South London with the ABS emblem on the side, Holly picked up Zura, who runs Duda Diner in Holly’s neighbourhood, to help capture the photo series which visualises a vibrant story about community, empowerment, and the joys of modern life.
Focus 3: Mercedes GLC
For the third and final instalment, we brought “Driven by Her” into the modern day with a focus on a brand new example of Mercedes’ innovation: the Mercedes-Benz GLC. Bringing on board filmmaker Fanny Hötzeneder to interpret the GLC’s technical design identity and visual aesthetic through her lens, the third focus is inspired by Mercedes-Benz’s “Welcome Home” philosophy.
Rather than focusing on performance, Fanny was drawn to how the proportions of the GLC feel, placing the car in an everyday environment rather than a traditional automotive setting. Fanny also weaves in references to Mercedes-Benz’s legacy, like an old-school television playing footage of the icon, Bertha Benz.
The short film spotlights how the Mercedes-Benz GLC fits into our lives, enlisting a cast of female creatives to explore the relationship between people and objects, reinforcing the idea that good design isn’t just about aesthetics, but about how something exists in space.
That’s a wrap on “Driven by Her,” our project with Mercedes-Benz that’s been all about spotlighting female creatives and reinterpreting Mercedes’ innovation from their perspectives. Hit up Mercedes’ website to explore more, and the new GLC.
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