This year, I’m exploring the future of ‘third place’ through a series of exploratory posts and trend pieces. My goal is to provoke new thinking and spark some unusual conversations about the future of community, connection, and belonging. This first piece will explore a trend i’m watching closely: ‘America Goes Outside.’ Across the US, outdoor […]
Author: rebecca@thetrestles.com
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Old Ways Won’t Open New Doors
A few years ago, I went through a major life transition that led me to shut down my design studio of four years and go in-house at a Fortune 50. That decision to step back and go in a new direction didn’t come lightly. It involved laying off my team and eventually telling my favorite […]
Trends Driving In-store Experience in 2019
Earlier this year, I chatted with foot traffic analytics company Dor about key trends driving the future of in-store experience. Dor’s Joanna Rutter and I focused our discussion especially upon applications of trends that had a strong operational foundation, to ensure the chosen trends could be easily applied and scaled, rather than looked at as […]
Why You Need a Service Design Coach
Maybe you missed it, but a recent piece in Fast Company positioned service design as an essential capability for growing businesses today. However, the truth of the matter is that there still aren’t enough experienced service designers to go around. Most of today’s growing businesses who need service design are looking to hire senior service designers, not junior ones-because service design […]
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I Am Not Joanna Gaines
It’s sad but true. I’ve never been a design personality, an Instagram celebrity, or even a blogger. Yet, i’ve been practicing design professionally for the better part of the past decade. My perspective and the nature of my work (and my home, if i’m honest) doesn’t fit the ‘perfectly curated’ and ‘photoshoot ready’ ethos that […]
The Pop-up Paradigm is Outdated. Here’s How We’re Rethinking It.
Let’s say you’re the brain behind an awesome small brand on the rise and you want to take it physical. You Google “pop-up agencies” simply looking for some ideas and help. What do you find? What are you promised? Largely, retailers who dive into researching how to do a pop-up are bombarded with imagery of […]
Paper Plane is Popping Up
It is with great excitement that I am unveiling my new startup, Paper Plane, this week. In honor of what we’re all about, helping companies run affordable experiments in a brick and mortar way, we’re hosting a pop-up in downtown Durham during Moogfest this Friday to celebrate. Here are all the deets. Moogfest Pop-up Details […]
New Venture & Other Big Updates
Greetings! I am writing you with some exciting news. Since we started in 2012, Trestles has evolved and so has my work as its cofounder. In 2016 I decided to briefly step away from consulting to put myself in the shoes of my customer. I spent a year working in-house as a service designer at Lowe’s, […]
What is Design Thinking?
I have been a full-time practitioner of design thinking for six years and a dabbler for over nine. As a seasoned service designer and founder of two design-led companies, my approach to practicing design thinking is more nuanced than that of the average practitioner. Therefore, I want to finally share my point-of-view on the topic […]
A Tale of Two Hotels
A few weeks back, I visited New York City to attend PSFK’s “Future of Retail” gathering, which coincided with NRF’s Retail Big Show & Expo. I have grown increasingly interested in this topic after working in-house at a Fortune 50 retailer and seeing the immense opportunity to apply my craft of service design to industries […]