The Big League

Branding at Scale: My Creative Journey Inside BP’s Global Rebrand

Returning from Sydney in early 2000, fresh from the magic of the Olympics, I was quickly swept into another whirlwind - the Dotcom boom. A friend got me an interview with a fast-growing American eBusiness consultancy called Scient. I sent my CV on a Monday, interviewed on Wednesday, joined on Friday, and was flown to San Francisco on Saturday for a week-long induction with other new hires from around the world.

I returned to London and was immediately placed on the BP global rebrand - a project that would define the next seven months of my career. From first briefing to final delivery, I was on it from start to finish. At its peak, the team numbered over 70 people. Our task? Translate the old BP Shield brand into the bold new Helios identity, conceived by Ogilvy in New York and Landor in San Francisco.

My main role was to art direct two exceptional photographers who, between them, travelled to five continents in one month - capturing BP’s presence across the globe, from energy sites to community projects. The pressure was intense, the deadlines unforgiving - and yet the experience was transformative.

Working directly with BP’s Global Brand Management team, navigating the politics and precision of a brand rollout at that scale, felt like playing in the big league. It sharpened my creative instincts, deepened my strategic thinking, and left a permanent impression on how I approach global storytelling today.

#DotcomBoom #BPBrand #GlobalBranding #ScientConsulting #ArtDirection #BrandTransformation #StoryDrivenDesign #CreativeLeadership #CorporateStorytelling #JetoStudio #DesignLegacy #FromVisionToReality #PhotographyDirection #Ogilvy #Landor #BrandRollout