Meet Women in Print Australia Member Sam Rogers,
owner of Drive Creative in Victoria
There are some people in our industry who make extraordinarily complicated things look deceptively simple. Sam Rogers is one of them.
As Director of Drive Creative, Sam works in that interesting space where creative design meets the very practical realities of print, production, installation and, sometimes, cars travelling at considerable speed around Mount Panorama.
This year that meant leading the design of BMW’s M3 Safety Cars for the 2026 Bathurst 12 Hour – part of a twelve-vehicle BMW fleet that included Race Control, Medical and Hot Lap cars, as well as mountain transfer vehicles.
And because apparently designing for one of Australia’s highest-profile motorsport events isn’t quite enough of a challenge, 2026 also marked 40 years of the BMW M3.
No pressure, Sam.
When design has to do more than look good
This was Drive Creative’s third year working with BMW at the Bathurst 12 Hour, a relationship built on previous projects and an understanding not only of the BMW brand, but of the particular demands of motorsport.
Bathurst is an unforgiving place to put creative work on display. Everything is photographed and filmed, the audience is global and the vehicles need to look exceptional from just about every angle.
Unlike vehicles branded primarily for promotional purposes, every car in the Bathurst fleet has an operational role, so the design has to work around the practical requirements of the vehicle as well as deliver visually.
For Sam, that meant creating individual visual treatments appropriate to each vehicle while ensuring the twelve vehicles still read as one cohesive BMW fleet. The two M3 Safety Cars were the heroes; bold, highly visible and designed to command attention whether leading the field or sitting still.
The inspiration started with the M3 itself.
Sam went back to original M3 colours from the 1980s and 1990s – Alpine White, Henna Red, Brilliant Red and classic silver tones, treating them as a palette from which to build something new. Heritage provided the foundation, but this wasn’t intended as nostalgia.
Sharp lines, layered graphics and a sense of movement brought the design firmly into 2026. As Sam puts it, the objective was to give the cars “a sense of speed even while stationary”.
That line tells you quite a lot about the way Sam approaches design, and her zest for life and adventure.
And when the creative meets production reality?
Of course, anyone working in our industry knows a beautiful concept is only the start of the job. Sam also led the technical preparation of the Safety Car wraps.
And then the final layer: Defcon Films Australia applied its Frozen paint protection film over the printed wraps, changing the finish from gloss to satin while protecting both the graphics and the original OEM paint beneath them.
At Bathurst, that protection is functional as well as cosmetic. The vehicles are exposed to stones, rubber and debris at speed. The satin finish also reduces glare under track lighting and photography, helping the graphics remain clear on camera from different angles.
It is a terrific example of what happens when design, print, finishing, installation and materials are considered as one connected process that considers the final destination of the project, rather than a series of separate disciplines.
And that is something I particularly appreciate about Sam’s work. There is immense creativity, certainly, but there is also an understanding that our ideas have to survive contact with the real world.
Adding to the story is a slice of BMW history. Sam also designed the anniversary liveries for BMW M Team WRT’s M4 GT3 race cars, taking inspiration from the original 1989 Ken Done BMW Art Car and reinterpreting that history for the 40-year celebration. The WRT car designed by Sam (Car #32) had a strong race – with 30 minutes left of the race it was running in first position until another driver crashed into it while attempting an overtake. Ultimately, it finished in 12th place.
For a designer, seeing your work racing around Mount Panorama would already be a fairly spectacular moment. Seeing those cars take a front position during the race is something else entirely. Sam humbly describes being trusted with that piece of BMW motorsport history as a huge honour. I suspect those of us who know how much thinking, preparation, adjustment, problem-solving and teamwork sits behind a finished piece can appreciate what it means to be trusted by such an iconic brand to deliver at this level.
And while the photographs show beautiful cars, they don’t show the tight timelines, changing priorities, logistics, compliance requirements, materials decisions, print production, wrapping, PPF installation and final detailing that had to come together before those cars ever reached the track.
Sam is quick to credit her Drive Creative team, as well as BMW and Defcon, describing the result as a genuine collaboration. “Production was meticulously handled in-house, with Dominic managing print production, and install was skilfully completed by Shaun and Isaac,” she adds.
And that feels like the right place to leave this introduction to Sam Rogers.
An extraordinary woman in print, a member of Women in Print, quietly delivering the highest standard of work to one of the biggest brands in the country.
Sam has a rather wonderful knack for making all that look easy.
