Traditional and slow-to-evolve design and leadership mindset
Gut am Arbeitgeber finde ich
a) Talented and passionate designers across all studios.
b) The now closed Munich and Shanghai offices offer significantly better environments.
c) Strong design heritage and reputation, especially for industrial designers.
d) Good opportunity to win design awards in industrial design.
Schlecht am Arbeitgeber finde ich
a) The company culture is outdated and regressive, especially in Stuttgart.
b) Poor leadership cohesion, vision, and execution.
c) Digital UX, strategy and research competencies are undervalued.
d) Hiring practices; In my case, the role expectations differed significantly from what was initially presented.
e) Excessive micro-management and lack of trust in professionals.
Verbesserungsvorschläge
a) Modernise the leadership mindset and embrace contemporary design practices.
d) Either fully commit to being a multi-disciplinary design agency or focus exclusively on industrial design; don’t pretend to be both.
c) Trust professional and stop excessive internal debate.
d) Don’t hire for roles you culturally or structurally can’t support.
e) Invest in internal training and cultural evolution.
Arbeitsatmosphäre
The atmosphere varies significantly between offices. While the now closed Munich office and Shanghai office offer a more positive and open culture, Stuttgart is marked by a rigid, traditional mindset that hinders innovation and collaboration.
Image
The company’s external image is largely propped up by its heritage and the high number of design awards. The external reputation and internal experience can differ significantly depending on your role or discipline especially for non-industrial designers in the areas of UX, Strategy and Research.
Work-Life-Balance
Generally good most times
Karriere/Weiterbildung
Career growth seems limited if you're outside the industrial design discipline. UX, Research and Strategy and other newer competencies are not nurtured or respected, making professional development in those areas unlikely.
Kollegenzusammenhalt
Despite the structural and cultural issues, many designers across studios are passionate and talented, creating isolated pockets of strong peer collaboration. Tensions and rivalry within and between crafts affected trust worthy collaboration.
Umgang mit älteren Kollegen
Interactions with senior colleagues were often complicated by hidden politics and a lack of genuine transparency. In my experience, senior colleague interactions were often influenced by internal politics, and feedback sometimes lacked directness, creating confusion or mistrust. The lack of transparency resulted in a sense of mis-trust after repeted situations.
Vorgesetztenverhalten
Leadership appeared divided at times, and vision alignment was often unclear. There is an excessive need for control and a fear of trusting professionals, with long-winded discussions often replacing decisive action. Leadership appears disconnected from emerging design disciplines.
Kommunikation
In my experience, communication at the leadership level often lacked clarity and alignment. There’s a lack of alignment on vision and direction, and excessive micro-management is masked as co-creation, leading to drawn-out discussions with little outcome.
Gleichberechtigung
There is an implicit hierarchy that places industrial design above other disciplines. This undermines equality across design competencies.
Interessante Aufgaben
If you're an industrial designer, you'll likely find opportunities to work on award-driven projects. For anyone outside that niche, such as UX, startegy or digital designers, the work is undervalued and opportunities are limited.
Gehalt/Benefits
Umwelt-/Sozialbewusstsein
Arbeitsbedingungen
Arbeitgeber-Kommentar
Thank you for your honest feedback. We take all input seriously and see it as an opportunity to grow.
We’re glad you appreciated the talent and passion of our designers, as well as our design legacy. At the same time, we’re sorry to hear that other aspects of your experience didn’t meet your expectations.
Topics like leadership, trust, and clarity of roles are already a strong focus for us. We’re actively working on evolving our culture and ways of working, including clearer communication, updated training formats, and refining our positioning as a multidisciplinary design agency.
Ensuring role clarity is a priority, and we’re taking steps to avoid such discrepancies in the future.
We appreciate your suggestions and wish you all the best for your next chapter.
Best regards,
Denise Knoll
HR Managerin