The Lightning
Built Ford Tough. No Gas.
Role: Creative Director: Sound & Light, Strategist
Team: Composers, Designers, Animators, Producer
Disciplines: Direction, Strategy, Animation
“Team, this is our chance to design the first all-American electric pickup.”
No pressure.
The F-150 Lightning wasn’t just a truck, it was a pivot. A redefinition of what power sounds like when there's no engine to hide behind.
I led the sonic direction from the ground up, creating a sonic experience that honored the legacy of Ford trucks while pushing into a fully electric future.
We didn’t reach for clichés. We reached for materiality.
Stone. Steel. Gravel. Thunder.
Not sampled; synthesized. Built into tones and transitions that felt tactile, weighty, and real, then shaped to match the sharp clarity of an EV.
This wasn’t a remix.
It was the future.
Tuned, tightened, and fully charged.
I led the creation of Lightning’s chime suite, sampling from the material world: steel, gravel, thunder.
Then we reshaped them for an electric future.
Minimal. Intentional.
Tough.
Sonic Cues
First Light. Last Fade.
We carried the laser contour technique from Mach-E, sweeping light across form for Lightning’s startup and shutdown. This created a holistic visual language to pair with the new brand soundscape. Presence in, presence out. Every motion intentional.
Feel the
Mode Shift
This isn’t just UI, it’s feedback with bite.
Each drive mode triggers a new visual identity. We composed sharp, deep sonic cues to match.
Fast fades, low rumbles, sudden drops.
You don’t just see the change.
You feel it.
An all-new sonic language and a multisensory in-truck experience.
That’s quite a feather.