Turning Cadillac’s headlight heritage into a kinetic light installation.
For the global launch of the Cadillac OPTIQ, we turned a historic optical invention into a kinetic installation that made the car’s reveal a spatial and sensitive experience.
Context
The Fresnel lens was developed to project light over long distances, transforming car lenses.
For the launch of its electric OPTIQ, Cadillac commissioned artist Sebastian Kite to reinterpret this invention as an installation, with Dentsu Creative and HELO producing the project.
Light became the connection between a history of technical innovation and a new vehicle.
Mission
Working from Sebastian Kite’s artistic direction, Units designed, engineered and fabricated the installation.
We developed large rotating Fresnel lenses and the structures that supported them, testing how their movement could focus and redirect light. The mechanical system had to move smoothly and reliably while working with the lighting, projection and sound of the reveal.
Outcome
The finished installation brought the lenses into motion around the OPTIQ.
Their rotation produced shifting patterns of light, while the lenses acted as resonant objects within the sound composition. Together, these elements gave the launch a visual and spatial identity grounded in the physical properties of the Fresnel lens.
