A rising star in the field of motorcycle design, Luke Robbins creates streamlined, futuristic concepts for motorcycle brands that draw on a range of diverse influences.
Sitting at the intersection of art, engineering and sci-fi, Robbin’s style offers a radical reimagining of how the boundaries of motorcycle form can be pushed going forward.
With an established online presence in the world of motorcycle design, it is something of a surprise to connect with Robbins over Zoom and discover how young he is. At only 26, he is remarkably accomplished and driven. Robbins is actively trying to build up his network, which he does with great enthusiasm through regularly showing off his work. In doing this he sees his relative youth as something of an advantage to help his progress in such a unique field.
“The benefit I have, at this particular time in the industry, is that we’re going through this really weird time where we have electric and we’ve still got internal combustion,” says Robbins. “My age in some ways is a benefit in that I’m not bound to the internal combustion engine and the restrictions that come with that technology, I can employ more unorthodox methods in how I draw inspiration from different fields.”
“Looking at shoe design, the textures and materials they use, is really useful. I look at vastly different disciplines which helps to give me fresh perspectives.“
Perhaps because of his age, his timing and the lack of years spent within big industry, Robbins is able to bring fresh thinking to the world of motorcycle design. Graduating into the pandemic, he was forced to do things on his own from the very beginning, setting up his company from the outset. It allowed him to work across brands and sectors, while maintaining the independence to develop a distinct design language.
“I don’t see the inherent value of only taking inspiration from cars and motorcycles,” says Robbins. “Because if you zero in on just one area I think you’re only going to regurgitate what you’ve already seen. That’s why looking at shoe design, the textures and materials they use, is really useful. I look at vastly different disciplines which helps to give me fresh perspectives. Couple that with the electric age that we’re now in, fundamentally, means motorcycles don’t necessarily need to look the same anymore.”
Luke with his winning design on the Continental GT – “Ultimate Interpretation” with Royal Enfield.
Robbins looks to photography, art and cinema for input, taking inspiration from films like Dune and the concept art that accompanies a sci-fi film’s release.
Robbins’ interest in motorcycles started at a young age and fostered by his father who bought him a Husqvarna 50cc and nurtured his interest in the design of cars and bikes throughout his youth until he decided to study design at university. Automotive and motorcycle design is a highly demanding and competitive field, and many try it, but few are really cut out for the rigours of what it takes to crack the industry.
“It’s very intense,” says Robbins, “highly competitive and with just how the industry is evolving the expectations on the designer have grown, if you go back 30 years before computers were being used professionally, designers were using wax pencils and doing these large artistic drawings and that was their remit. But as you go through the years, technology has evolved and now you have to competent in 3D modelling, photoshop rendering sketching, cinematic renders of your designs, so the expectations had exponentially grown”.
“I’ve always been more interested in the fully fared bikes rather than the naked ones,”
While Robbins has a foundational knowledge of engineering and understands how bikes work, he is clear to make the distinction between design and engineering.
“I’ve always been more interested in the fully fared bikes rather than the naked ones,” says Robbins. “And I think that’s to do with the aesthetics of it. I think, personally, a street fighter or a naked bike, the way they look, they seem incomplete to me. I like the way a bike is dressed and the forms that are associated with that.
“One of the things with design is that the number of people who confuse it for engineering is quite funny. While I have an appreciation of how things can be made and are made, I’m not an engineer by any means. I have a core understanding of knowledge but it’s very visual. It’s a tightrope between engineering and art, the cliché of form and function. It has to work, otherwise it’s just a sculpture.”
The BMIC would like to thank Luke for chatting with us and sharing his inspiring visions for motorcycle design. To enjoy more of Luke’s work for a future yet to be imagined, please go and check out his website and read his insights via LinkedIn