A studio website redesign usually ends with a launch post that few people read. The Collected Works skipped the post and rented a truck. The New York and New Orleans design studio loaded its new studio website onto an LED screen, drove it around New York City for eight hours, and then built a video game about the ride. I think it is the most honest portfolio launch of the year, and I want to show you why.
Why Would a Design Studio Put Its Studio Website on a Truck?
The studio says it wanted an unexpected way to share the new site. That is a polite description of a real problem. A studio website sits in a browser tab, and nobody walks past a browser tab.
A truck changes the math. Traffic forces strangers to look at your homepage for the length of a red light. According to the studio, people stopped, filmed, and clapped.
I call this a street-level launch. It means releasing a studio website in public space first and online second. The logic is simple. If a homepage holds up under a stranger’s glance from a sidewalk, it will hold up in a search result.
Most studios announce a redesign. The Collected Works staged one. What would your own studio put on a truck?
What Does the New Studio Website Look Like?
The homepage opens with the line “Brands Built to Move.” Below it sits “NYC × NOLA & BEYOND” and a day counter that read 4,613 when I loaded the page. The studio describes itself as an independent design studio that builds identity systems for technology, culture, and entertainment.
Homepage details worth a second look
Two clocks show New York and New Orleans time, one hour apart. Next to each clock sits the line “Wait…10 AM–6 PM M–F.” The five selected projects on the studio website are LiveKit, Circuit, Dropbox, Sooki, and Expensify. The studio sets its type in Saans from Displaay Type Foundry, and Nick DiMatteo handled development.
Then comes the part that matters. The “What We’ve Been Up To” section opens with two items. Their titles are “We Put Our Website on a Truck.” and “Then We Made a Video Game About the Truck.” The studio website tells the whole story in two headlines.
I read “Brands Built to Move” as the real brief for the stunt. A studio that sells identity systems built to move made its own identity move. That reads as a thesis, and it explains why the truck never feels random.
How Did the Truck Project Work?
Eight hours on New York streets
The studio rented an enormous LED truck and uploaded its studio website onto the side. It then drove the truck around New York City for eight hours. The team also designed custom bumper stickers and air fresheners. Merchandise for a truck sounds like a joke, yet it gives people something to keep.
A 90-second film with a bebop soundtrack
The studio hired Driftless Films to follow the truck and capture reactions. The footage became a 90-second short film with a professional voiceover narrator and a bebop jazz soundtrack. You can watch it at tcw.studio/truck.
The length matters. Ninety seconds fits short-form feeds and a forwarded message to a prospective client. Meanwhile, the bebop choice signals taste before a single project appears.
What Is OUT OF OFFICE, the Game Behind the Truck?
OUT OF OFFICE is a multiplayer arcade driving game inspired by Sega’s Crazy Taxi. Players drive the studio’s LED truck through the studio’s own version of New York City. They pick up projects from the studio’s history and deliver them. Expensify is one of the deliveries.
The team built a small TCW universe around that loop. It includes billboards with past work and collaborators, hidden Easter eggs, inside jokes, and 3D scans of real team members. Other players share the city, and so does the studio. You can find the game at truck.tcw.studio.
Why the delivery mechanic works
Design studios deliver projects for a living. A game about delivering projects therefore turns the portfolio into the gameplay verb. I call this a playable portfolio, meaning a portfolio where visitors handle past work instead of scrolling past it.
The multiplayer choice carries a risk. The studio says more trucks make the city more fun, which also means an empty city feels dull. A shared world needs players, and that depends on whether the film and the coverage send them. I would check the player count before judging the game.
What Is a Three-Surface Launch?
The Collected Works did not release one thing. It released a studio website, a film, and a game, each with its own link. I call this a three-surface launch, and each surface does a different job.
The studio website carries the credentials. The film carries the story into social feeds. The game carries attention because a game asks for minutes, whereas a homepage asks for seconds.
The studio also made a point I find useful. None of it was client work. The team says that fact makes the project interesting, and I agree. A client brief would have cut the air fresheners first.
What Can Other Studios Learn From This Studio Website Launch?
Start from your own positioning line. The Collected Works sells identity systems that move, so a moving truck fits. A studio that sells quiet editorial typography needs a different vehicle.
Next, plan for reactions. A film crew turned eight hours of driving into 90 seconds of proof. Without footage, the truck stays a rumor.
Finally, price the whole stack honestly. A rented LED truck, a film crew, a narrator, and a game build add up fast. Few studios can match that budget. I expect smaller teams to borrow the idea in cheaper form, such as a homepage projected on a building wall. I also expect at least one more studio to ship a playable portfolio by 2028.
Studio Website Launch at a Glance
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Studio | The Collected Works, New York City and New Orleans |
| Studio website | tcw.studio |
| Truck stunt | Rented LED truck, eight hours in New York City |
| Film | 90 seconds, shot by Driftless Films, voiceover, bebop jazz, tcw.studio/truck |
| Game | OUT OF OFFICE, multiplayer, inspired by Crazy Taxi, truck.tcw.studio |
| Client work | None |
| Selected work on the homepage | LiveKit, Circuit, Dropbox, Sooki, Expensify |
| Typeface | Saans by Displaay Type Foundry |
| Development | Nick DiMatteo |
Common Questions About the Studio Website, Truck, and Game
Who is The Collected Works?
The Collected Works is an independent design studio based in New York City and New Orleans. It builds identity systems for technology, culture, and entertainment. Its client projects include Expensify, Dropbox, LiveKit, Circuit, and Sooki.
How long did the studio drive the LED truck?
The studio drove the truck around New York City for eight hours. Driftless Films followed along and filmed the reactions.
What is OUT OF OFFICE?
OUT OF OFFICE is a multiplayer arcade driving game inspired by Crazy Taxi. Players drive the studio’s LED truck through a custom version of New York City and deliver projects from the studio’s history.
Was the truck project client work?
No. The studio says the truck, the film, and the game were made for itself.
What is the studio’s tagline?
The homepage footer reads “Rad Work for Rad People™” and lists the phone number +1.951.OOO.DAMN.
Any footage © The Collected Works. Browse WE AND THE COLOR’s Web Design category for more creative inspiration.
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