A New Blueprint for Jaguar
We’re fresh back from Munich where we got a firsthand look at the German premiere of Jaguar’s Type 00. But this was no ordinary vehicle debut. Jaguar’s vision was as much an art installation as it was an automotive reveal. The showcase offered a multi-sensory experience, dissolving the boundaries between art, design, and engineering. We got an exclusive look at the decisive and exuberantly modernist step in the brand’s rebirth.
Set at Munich's Haus der Kunst, the center of the exhibition stood Type 00, finished in a vivid French Ultramarine blue. The color is undoubtedly bold, and was specifically chosen to evoke freedom, emotion, and cutting-edge innovation through its striking intensity and modern character. Expanding beyond a traditional design study, the Type 00 signals Jaguar’s return to the fearless creative territory it once defined, echoing the ethos of its founder, Sir William Lyons, who famously challenged the brand to "Copy Nothing."
To better understand the thinking behind Type 00 and Jaguar’s evolving identity, we sat down with two of the creative leads behind the project: Adam Knowles, Head of Spatial and Experiential Design, and Axel Goulée, Lead Materiality Designer. Both have been instrumental in crafting not only the car itself, but the immersive world surrounding it; from the architecture of the space to the finishes that define the vehicle’s character. Their perspectives reveal how Jaguar is using material, color, and physical experience as powerful storytelling tools.
The exhibition immersed visitors in Jaguar’s new creative philosophy, rooted in modernist aesthetics and characterized by bold forms, striking materials, and unapologetically expressive colors. “We see Type 00 as more of an artistic statement than a traditional design object,” explained Goulée, Jaguar’s materiality designer. “This is about emotion, storytelling, and questioning the very boundaries of technology.”
He described French Ultramarine as something beyond a mere finish, but instead as an experience. “Historically, ultramarine was the most coveted pigment by artists. For us, it's a symbol of freedom, creativity and technology. We even developed a bespoke pigment exclusive to Jaguar, pushing the boundaries of saturation in automotive design.”
But the use of color wasn’t limited to French Ultramarine. As part of Jaguar’s refreshed visual identity, the brand now plays with a painter’s palette of red, yellow, and blue, with each acting as a flexible design language rather than a static brand cue.
“Jaguar has taken an artistic approach to color,” said Knowles, manager of spatial and experiential design. “Our tones aren’t flat or fixed. They have movement, texture, and emotion. We use gradients, reflectivity, and material shifts to create dynamic experiences across every brand touchpoint.”
The spotlight was on blue that surrounded guests in tonal contrasts that heightened the drama of the Type 00 reveal. “We built a calm, immersive environment around the vehicle, so that when it appeared, it really hit with saturation and intent,” Knowles said. “It became a magnetic focal point, not just something to look at, but something to feel.”
For both Knowles and Goulée, color was more than decoration. It was a storytelling device with emotional weight. Inside the Type 00 itself, three different blues had been deployed, with each narrating a different aspect of the vehicle’s identity.
From the London Blue, inspired by Jaguar’s 1960s palette, to the theatrical interior storage spaces and the striking French Ultramarine exterior, the team used color to create surprise, serenity, and spectacle. “It's like composing music,” said Goulée. “You need silences and crescendos. Color brings harmony between the interior, the exterior, and the digital experience.”
That approach extended to the brand’s retail and spatial design, where color was treated as a sensory journey. “We’ve created entire installations around a single color,” Knowles added. “From Miami pink to the current blue experience, we love to saturate the environment, then pull it back to make the car itself shine. It’s a choreography of attention.”
Beyond the design, Type 00 also served as a cultural signal. “Jaguar has always been part of the zeitgeist,” Knowles reflected. “Look at the E-type, which was aligned with fashion, architecture, and sculpture. We want to recapture that relevance.”
The ambition in the room felt tangible. Type 00 wasn’t just displayed, but it was framed—literally and metaphorically—within one of Europe’s leading spaces for contemporary thought. This setting allowed Jaguar to position its new identity not just in the automotive space, but within culture at large.
“Jaguar is here to disrupt, not echo,” Knowles concluded. “We’re challenging ourselves to behave in new ways to experiment, to provoke, to lead.”
In Munich, within the clean geometry of the Terrassensaal, Jaguar’s new direction came into sharp focus. Exuberant modernism is more than just a design philosophy but almost a manifesto for Jaguar.
Want to learn more about the Type 00? Check out more here.
