For those with automotive passions, your workspace becomes your “garage”. Inspired by the feel of a Formula 1 cockpit, the graphics of racing car liveries, or the performance-inspired design of a high-end dash, we take a look at how car enthusiasts have transformed their offices into motorsport inspired workspaces.
Drawing inspiration from racing cockpits
Racing cockpits are optimized spaces. Every surface is assigned a function and they are meticulously tuned to maximize that function. You can apply similar design logic to your workspace to boost your productivity.
At the race, your racing seat holds you close as you become one with the race. At work, your office chair should give you similar support and also incorporate the same premium materials from high end car interiors. Leather is a obvious choice, but even incorporating carbon fiber or racing-inspired fabrics can achieve a fantastic office chair that looks equally at home in your office or garage.
Whether you are building a racing PC or already have a PC set up, you will want to think about lighting. In a racing setting, your lights won’t just be turned on, they will be placed in a strategic location to avoid glare and distraction. You will want enough light to clearly read a document or message on your screen. Enough light to read the names of tracks and any other information scrolling across the bottom of the screen. Task lighting and low ambient lighting levels will help to reduce eye fatigue. Accent lighting such as a light bar behind your racing screen will complete the feel of a high-end racing car interior giving the gamer a truly immersive experience.
The screens are setup at an angle to resemble an ‘wrapped’ car dashboard allowing you to see critical information such as your RPMs, speed and fuel instantly at all times. We have taken this one step further incorporating email, current projects and relevant contacts & colleagues into our dashboard providing instant access to the information most relevant to you.
Color schemes and material choices
You might be surprised to learn that automotive colors are much more complex than most people give automotive painters credit for. There are solid colors, metallic colors, and then there are what is known as pearl colors. What exactly is a pearl color and how is it applied to an automobile?
A pearl paint contains very small, usually glass, particles which reflect light in different ways, giving it a pearlescent appearance and creating the
Choose a classic racing combination like black and red, silver and blue, or white and orange. There’s a fine line between having enough color and having too much. It’s great to have bold colors on items like the chair, monitor stand, cable organizers, and accessories. There can also be a bold racing inspired design on car desk mats. Then for your computer setup in the car, you can keep things neutral and still look very professional and clean for video calls.
The Carbon Fiber, Brushed Aluminum and Matte Black designs have an automotive inspiration without being too “car guy”. These finishes also look good in images, which is an important aspect when most of your product demos are in front of screens.
While you can’t very well recreate an entire car interior in your office or conference room to generate inspiration for your designs, automotive interiors do serve as an excellent springboard for idea generation.
Functional accessories with automotive flair
Items which serve a dual purpose by being both decorative and functional are usually the most appealing. However there are a few items which arguably serve only to enhance the looks of your gaming setup. This rather stylish racing wheel cover cover is just one of them and it has zero advantages over its counterpart the racing wheel document holder which positions documents securely infront of your screen as well as offering style.
Cable management for your automotive inspired workspace. Racing cars keep cables hidden behind panels, pipes, channels etc. Your home workspace cables don’t have to look messy with a little planning. Check the spiral cable wrap, removable adhesive cable channels or an under desk cable tray for keeping your workspace cables neatly organised and out of the way.
Balancing enthusiasm with professionalism
Rather than overwhelming the casual viewer with stats about the event, such as the name of the track or the number of miles of circuit, such trivial details are better represented through a small reference, such as that poster on the wall. To the average person, it looks like random squiggles and shapes, but to those who matter, it is a clear declaration of purpose: this is what it means to race. As more and more of our meetings, whether business or social, take place in video calls from the comfort of our own workspaces, it is worth pausing to consider what will be visible behind you.
Whether you are looking to add to your collection of automotive books or purchase a special piece of racing art for your office, we have a selection of items which express your love of automobiles in a tasteful and professional manner that won’t offend those around you should you display them at the office.
Performance-driven organization
Many racing teams organize tools and parts to their cars before their pit stops. The Scotties organize their racing workspace similarly. The items that you use most often should be readily available and accessible. Everything else should be stored in an organized and accessible location.
You don’t have to go with a racing theme. There are organizers for many other types of things with racing twists. Working with automotive inspiration means that every object has a place to go and a function to serve.
You may not find everything you need for your next project at the office supply store. Automotive parts suppliers can come in handy. For someone looking for a creative way to organize their office supplies, take a look at tool organizers used by mechanics. The individual parts bins can hold things as small as paper clips, rubber bands, or push pins and keep them visible and accessible. The industrial look of the organizers fits in well with an automotive theme.
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