

Think your workplace is creative and fun? (Inside Pixar - A Photo Tour) - gaika
http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/m/wall_e/news/1741321/15/exclusive_inside_pixar_a_photo_tour

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petercooper
Notice how the work areas are _really_ dark?

I haven't seen a workplace like this in a really long time. I personally love
dark workspaces, but they seem to have become uncommon - substituted for
"bright and airy" fluorescent lit hellholes. I wonder how / why Pixar went
with it.

That whole area with the garden shed, as well as the render farm, look great!

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parenthesis
I'd rather have natural light than dark, or fluorescent-lit hellhole.

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markbao
Natural light is only available 10-12 hours a day, and most hackers' days are
longer than that.

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ojbyrne
I found the phrasing of the first page a little misleading - "...is a hive of
self-expression; this employee, for example, is working out of a garden shed."
suggests that this specific employee decided that he wanted to work in a
garden shed, and it represents his self-expression, and the picture is framed
to make it look that way like it's the only one to enhance that impression.
When in fact there are other pictures out there showing that there are many of
these. E.g. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/veerles-blog/461586084/>

Not that they aren't cool, but the text is misleading.

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wallflower
Andy Baio (waxy.org), said that Pixar has the right of first refusal when it
comes to employee projects. If an employee wants to work on something of their
own, they have to go to Pixar management and tell them about it before
starting. In case Pixar would be interested. Usually they say 'no' and get
full approval to work on their own project (at home).

Contrast this enlightened approach to employee IP agreements and other murky
waters at typical companies (even startups).

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SingAlong
Its the Steve Jobs way. Very strict with work.

And by the way... minus the darkness and you'll get a really cool work place.
Bright light is always good to work in. The photos above show guys working
isolatedly.

That way, I like Google's work place. Lots of toys and very vibrant(never been
there, but their photos clearly show that).

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Zev
And I thought I had some creative ideas for what would make a quirky/fun
workplace. Pixar blew em out of the water with that garden shed.

Also, cheerios! Am I the only one that keeps a box of cereal around to snack
while trying to solve a problem? Chips just aren't the same.. :p

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babul
But is there correlation to creativity, productivity, and creative
environments like this. I can (and have) see people getting very distracted
with all the funtertainment around.

Without wanting to be a joykill, it really only works where you have highly
driven and motivated people/team(s) who use it to fuel them.

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JabavuAdams
I wonder how often they get to use the non-food facilities, in crunch mode.

This is all great as a marketing and recruiting tool, but the reality is that
to do that kind of work well, you need to work _hard_.

I've worked at an "it" company where people lost sight of that, amid all the
perks.

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bprater
After seeing this and other Pixar movies that include their workspaces, I've
decided that any companies I start in the future will have a 'no white wall'
policy. I'll give employees a budget to use as they wish, or if they don't,
I'll bring in someone to "decorate".

