Düsseldorf and
the Rhine as a
Brand Asset
Long before social media became a city's most powerful marketing tool, Düsseldorf had the Rhine. For my Bachelor thesis in 2017, I asked a simple question: what would it look like to rebuild a city's identity from the inside out – and what better vessel than a ship? The MS Westfalia became the canvas for a full 360° concept on how Düsseldorf could (re)brand itself for the digital age.
Services
Brand Strategy & Concept
Spatial Design
3D Modelling
Motion & Image Video
Print & Editorial
Year
2017
Location
Düsseldorf
MARITIME
EXPERIENCE DESIGN
What Set Us Apart
The MS Westfalia – a two-story riverboat – was reimagined as a floating brand world. Culinary experiences, historical exhibits, gamification, media installations, and two fictional restaurants (one paying hommage to Ddorf's Japanese quarter, the other to the so called “longest bar in the world“– the Düsseldorfer Altstadt): every touchpoint designed to give locals and visitors a preview of the city's essence. The thesis argued that tangible, place-rooted experiences are what make city marketing actually stick – pride has to be felt before it can be shared.
Derivation
The defense video brought the concept to life through self-filmed city-snippets, 3D renderings of the ship and a series of expert voices: Frank Schrader, then Geschäftsführer of Düsseldorf Marketing & Tourismus; Arne Klüh, the voice of Antenne Düsseldorf; and Boris Neisser, CEO of Destination Düsseldorf – may he rest in peace. Three people who knew the city inside out, lending weight to a vision that was equal parts research, instinct, and love for Düsseldorf.
Set Sail.
A curated journey through Düsseldorf's culinary, cultural, and creative soul – illustrated stop by stop, fact by fact, designed to slip into your pocket and pull you back out onto the river.
Taste. Look. Listen.
Three chapters, three lenses on the city. Each section cover dressed in a distinct, vivid color – a visual shorthand for what's waiting at every stop along the Rhine.
Find your Way.
A custom-illustrated map of the full tour route — every stop, every landmark, every reason to linger a little longer than planned.
