Comments on: Inside Trek’s new design studio

By: Crack that whip… | Bicycle Design

Crack that whip… | Bicycle Design — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:03:51 +0000

[...] have noticed the yellow fixie with “DEVO” on the top tube hanging above a desk in one of the Trek design studio pictures that I posted not long ago. For those of you who wondered about that bike, yes the logo on the top [...]

By: Gustavs

Gustavs — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:12:00 +0000

Very cozy and relaxing place to unwind.

By: James

James — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:16:00 +0000

OK Anon, when I read the koolaid comment, I assumed that you didn’t agree with the premise that the physical environment makes a difference for people doing creative work. Now it seems that you just don’t like the new space at Trek. Either way, fine with me…we just disagree. To answer your question though, I graduated in 1992, have worked in a few different types of design environments (all with different sets of positive and negative aspects). Whether in a consulting type environment, or a corporate one, I don’t think any standards have been beaten out of me (whatever that is supposed to mean).

By the way, this new studio at Trek is where the industrial designers and graphic designers are located. You mention the engineers in your comment, but they are not located in this new space.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 04:28:00 +0000

Actually no, I'm in ID. Have been since 1993.

Have you been stuck in corporate hell since you graduated, or have you had standards beaten out of you? An Octanorm cell with pretty pictures on the wall hardly constitutes something to get excited about, and all I see here is Trek asking us to get the pom-poms out for something that's really not that interesting.

Good on them for not making their engineers sit in cubicles, but on the grand scheme of what's possible vs what they've done, I give them a resounding 4/10.

It's called 'perspective'.

By: James

James — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 11:26:00 +0000

Anon 9:00, no koolaid here. Like I said, from my own experience, a creative environment makes a difference in the work I do. I currently work in a more standard corpoarte office environmant and it is harder to informally interact with other designers and to come up with creative solutions

My guess is that you are not a designer though and you think this is a unnecessary expenditure on Trek's part. What can I say...I think you are just wrong.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 02:00:00 +0000

How much Koolaid exactly do you have in your fridge, James?

By: James

James — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 01:16:00 +0000

Garrett, I don't see this new studio as ridiculous at all. Throughout my design career, I have worked in different types of corporate office and studio environments. Based on my experience, I can say without a doubt that a creative space, which fosters informal collaboration, can positively influence the output of all the designers who work there. Most design consultancies have such creative spaces, but often in-house corporate designers work in typical office or cubicle environments that do not inspire or encourage creativity. The fact that Trek's management considers this space an investment in their
creative staff shows that they "get" that. I am sure they expect a return on this investment and my bet is they will get it.

Also, I will mention that details, like artwork created by the designers who work in the space, goes a long way toward cultivating a creative environment without a breaking the bank. When designers are allowed to create their own workspaces, they usually can do a lot with the given budget, whatever that budget happens to be.

By: Garrett

Garrett — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 18:04:00 +0000

Talk about ridiculous, why does everything have to be so fancy?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 03:57:00 +0000

People have, people will but never seem to get US interest – except for a small few. Just a case of “I got my hybrid velomobile”. I sure wish more people did.

“Build electric velomobiles.”

By: Shawn Small

Shawn Small — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 18:33:00 +0000

looks like a place where industrial designers work and not engineers.