Revolutionizing Automotive Brochures: The NISSAN GT-R

E-graphics communications' Innovative Approach to Showcasing Nissan's Flagship Model

The NISSAN GT-R, a supercar that represents Nissan's brand, is not displayed at any regular Nissan dealers, making it difficult for potential customers to see the actual car firsthand. To address this, E-graphics communications designed a brochure that makes people feel as if they were seeing the actual car, communicating the car's evolution in an intuitive and convincing manner.

The brochure's unique properties lie in its vivid representation of the GT-R’s exterior and interior. The choice of a vivid orange color for the vehicle body against a black background creates a sharp contrast, highlighting the car's figure. The sky shown in the black background adds an emotional feeling to the inorganic black color, creating an impression of the GT-R’s extended presence. All vehicle body and interior images are created by 3DCG, perfectly reproducing the beauty and high-quality feeling of the car using background reflections and glare effectively.

The brochure is a deluxe edition with a hard cover, sized at a 250-mm square with 60 pages. It has a weight and a pleasant feel suitable for the super sports car. It uses “FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) approved paper”, which is made from thinned wood, aligning with environmental sustainability efforts.

In Japan, automobile brochures are considered as an incentive item for targeted customers. Therefore, a brochure must convey both emotional and functional qualities to the potential buyer. This brochure allows the new owner to obsess over his or her purchase and fantasize about driving it, while waiting for the car to be delivered. It was released in July 2016 in Japan and will be used until the model gets updated.

The design team faced challenges in creating a brochure that could make the GT-R’s evolution intuitive and convincing. A process of trial and error was repeated until they found the solution of using one-side foldout to have nearly 1-meter long spread. The result is a brochure that allows the viewer to confirm the evolved difference from GT-R in the past as if looking at the actual car in person.

This innovative approach to automotive brochures has not gone unnoticed. The design was awarded the Golden A' Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design Award in 2017, a testament to the team's creativity and innovation in design.