HELLA is a global leader in automotive lighting. In Australia, however, the brand operates not as a manufacturer or R&D hub, but as a technical distributor. It supplies premium parts and lighting systems to industries ranging from mining and marine to agriculture and heavy vehicle maintenance.

This unique market position created a branding challenge: how to visually communicate HELLA’s technical credibility and product relevance without relying on photographs of real vehicles, which posed legal risks, rapid dating, and unintentional brand bias.

What started as a workaround to avoid licensed imagery became an opportunity to reimagine the brand’s visual language in a way that honoured its global legacy while tailoring it to Australia’s practical, multi-sector reality.

The Challenge

Historically, HELLA Australia followed the global brand guidelines closely, using supplied visual assets that often featured real, recognisable vehicles. But this strategy had growing limitations:

• Licensing complications with automotive manufacturers

• The need for constant updates as vehicle models changed

• A risk of appearing biased toward certain makes or segments

• A mismatch between HELLA’s global image and its local service-based identity

This was the first time HELLA Australia had attempted to craft a more tailored brand presence, one that reflected the true scope of their offering and connected more meaningfully with the Australian market.

Strategic Solution

Designing around the problem

At the heart of the solution was a deceptively simple idea: build our own vehicles.

Instead of avoiding vehicles altogether, I led the creation of a suite of custom 3D vehicle models, rendered in a way that emphasised HELLA’s precision and technical credibility. These weren’t slick CGI mockups, they were designed as glowing holographic wireframes, referencing CAD diagrams and technical drawings more than showrooms.

This visual language allowed HELLA to:

• Feature vehicles without favouring any one brand

• Maintain complete control over lighting, layout, and styling

• Reuse and adapt assets across formats and product lines

• Visually signal the concept of innovation, not just functionality

Building flexibility into the system

From the start, the approach was built for scale. Each model was fully adaptable, designed to suit different campaigns, angles, and lighting conditions. More importantly, the holographic style became a flexible brand signature, one that extended beyond vehicles.

I adapted the look for product-specific visuals, including brake discs for HELLA Pagid. The result was a cohesive system that could scale across HELLA’s wide offering while remaining unmistakably theirs.

Creative Execution

Overcoming brand constraints

The biggest design tension came from HELLA’s global identity, which favoured white, clinical backdrops, and the holographic models, which performed best against darker environments. The wireframes lost visibility on white, reducing their impact.

The solution was both simple and strategic. I introduced a gradient grey background, subtle enough to feel aligned with global standards, but dark enough to give the glowing visuals the contrast they needed. This preserved HELLA’s brand clarity while enhancing the new visual approach.

Formats and rollout

The identity system was deployed across:

• Print advertisements in trade and industry publications

• Digital banners and website assets

• Event signage and vehicle wraps, including a standout truck wrap

• Product brochures and sales materials

• Internal documents and branded templates

Each execution carried the same core style: precise, minimal, and technically confident.

Unrealised Concepts

One of the most ambitious ideas never made it to production: creating physical holograms for use in events and showrooms. I researched and found three production routes, two using off-the-shelf display technology and a third bespoke solution that could scale the hologram to full vehicle size.

While the idea was ultimately shelved due to cost, the research and prototyping added depth to the concept. It showed how far the visual identity could stretch if given the right stage.

Strategic Integration

Unlike a typical campaign, this was not a fixed push. It was a brand repositioning that integrated quietly and consistently across HELLA Australia’s ecosystem. It was not designed to sell a product, it was designed to reframe how the brand is seen by mechanics, fleet managers, mining operators, and trade professionals.

Sector-specific relevance

HELLA serves multiple verticals, and the new system was designed with this segmentation in mind. The visuals and messaging could flex subtly between mining, marine, and transport audiences, without ever compromising consistency.

This balance between group-level identity and local market relevance was a key strategic achievement.

Key Takeaways

This project pushed me, not just as a designer, but as a strategic thinker and technical problem-solver. Learning 3D modelling was the steepest curve. I had to navigate everything from rendering issues and lighting challenges to spatial composition, all while aligning to a global brand system with strict visual codes.

But that challenge was also what made the work so rewarding. It reminded me that design is as much about navigating constraints as it is about generating ideas. That clarity and flexibility don’t have to be opposites, and that sometimes, the most powerful brand assets are the ones you build yourself.

Final Reflection

The HELLA Australia repositioning shows that brand identity does not have to be loud to be powerful. By creating a system that was visually distinctive, strategically grounded, and technically precise, we helped HELLA stand out in a market that often blends into itself.

And in the process, we gave them a toolkit that can keep evolving, just like the vehicles their parts help drive forward.