colorado springs / Co usa

STUDIO

I’m Derek Bennion. GT11 is my design practice. Based in Colorado Springs, I design physical and digital products.

My work starts with curiosity and observation. I pay attention to what people enjoy about a product, what frustrates them, and what they’ve learned to put up with. That helps me decide what to simplify, what to preserve, and what’s worth taking further.I develop form and function together, working through the details with engineering and manufacturing. How a product looks, feels, and works should make sense as a whole. Design language is a central part of my work: giving products a recognizable identity that can carry across a family without making everything the same. I look for what makes a product recognizable, then decide what should remain and what can evolve.

I’m Principal Industrial Designer at Weber Blackstone, where I’ve helped shape Weber’s design language across product families including Traveler, Genesis, Spirit, and Searwood. My experience spans early concepts through development and production. Before Weber, I worked at consumer-product startups Plum and VSN Mobil. I hold a BFA in Industrial Design from the College for Creative Studies in DetroiT, MI.

Alongside GT11, I’m building THOP, a health and performance app designed to help people understand what matters and what to do next. It’s an extension of the same product thinking I bring to physical design—reducing friction, clarifying decisions, and shaping an experience that feels considered as a whole.

EXPERTISE

Industrial Design + Development

I develop physical products from early concepts through production, working across form, function, ergonomics, and architecture. Together with engineering and manufacturing, I resolve proportions, surfaces, materials, and construction, working through the practical constraints without losing what made the design worth pursuing.


Strategy + Design Language

I help define what a product should be, who it is for, and how it fits within a brand’s wider offering. User needs, existing products, and technical constraints inform that direction. I build and evolve design languages that connect products into a recognizable family, with enough flexibility for different functions, architectures, and generations without making everything the same.


Product Experience

I focus on how people understand and use physical and digital products, from first impressions to everyday use. What feels intuitive, what creates frustration, and what people enjoy all inform decisions about controls, interactions, and feedback. The aim is to remove unnecessary effort while building on what makes a product satisfying to use.


Visualization

I create product imagery that communicates form, material, and detail. Visualization serves both as a way to explore ideas during development and as finished work in its own right. Through lighting, composition, and context, I bring out what makes a product distinctive, whether I’m helping a team evaluate a direction or presenting a resolved design.

AWARDS

Core77 Design Awards

Design for Social Impact

Student Runner-Up · 2011

MOTOROLA Coral RASA

International Design Excellence Awards

IDSA IDEA

Bronze · 2011 · MOTOROLA Coral rasa

Finalist · 2012 · tri handle

Red Dot Design Award

Product Design

Winner · 2022

Weber SmokeFire Stealth Edition

PATENTS

US D1,149,881

US D1,036,964

US D1,013,439

US 11,808,072

US D996,134

US D979,317

US D972,888

US D972,887

US D972,360

US D971,661

US D959,905

US D959,904

US D959,779

US D959,153

US D958,545

US D953,792

US D951,000

US D943,350

US D926,408

US D925,265

US D925,264

US D920,740

US D915,824

US D915,812

US D915,139

US D915,138

US D915,137

US D915,136

US D915,120

US D914,429

US D914,428

US D902,515

US D899,852

US 10,519,703

US D805,829

US D805,340

EP 3,593,685

colorado springs / Co usa

STUDIO

I’m Derek Bennion. GT11 is my design practice. Based in Colorado Springs, I design physical and digital products.

My work starts with curiosity and observation. I pay attention to what people enjoy about a product, what frustrates them, and what they’ve learned to put up with. That helps me decide what to simplify, what to preserve, and what’s worth taking further.I develop form and function together, working through the details with engineering and manufacturing. How a product looks, feels, and works should make sense as a whole. Design language is a central part of my work: giving products a recognizable identity that can carry across a family without making everything the same. I look for what makes a product recognizable, then decide what should remain and what can evolve.

I’m Principal Industrial Designer at Weber Blackstone, where I’ve helped shape Weber’s design language across product families including Traveler, Genesis, Spirit, and Searwood. My experience spans early concepts through development and production. Before Weber, I worked at consumer-product startups Plum and VSN Mobil. I hold a BFA in Industrial Design from the College for Creative Studies in DetroiT, MI.

Alongside GT11, I’m building THOP, a health and performance app designed to help people understand what matters and what to do next. It’s an extension of the same product thinking I bring to physical design—reducing friction, clarifying decisions, and shaping an experience that feels considered as a whole.

EXPERTISE

Industrial Design + Development

I develop physical products from early concepts through production, working across form, function, ergonomics, and architecture. Together with engineering and manufacturing, I resolve proportions, surfaces, materials, and construction, working through the practical constraints without losing what made the design worth pursuing.


Strategy + Design Language

I help define what a product should be, who it is for, and how it fits within a brand’s wider offering. User needs, existing products, and technical constraints inform that direction. I build and evolve design languages that connect products into a recognizable family, with enough flexibility for different functions, architectures, and generations without making everything the same.


Product Experience

I focus on how people understand and use physical and digital products, from first impressions to everyday use. What feels intuitive, what creates frustration, and what people enjoy all inform decisions about controls, interactions, and feedback. The aim is to remove unnecessary effort while building on what makes a product satisfying to use.


Visualization

I create product imagery that communicates form, material, and detail. Visualization serves both as a way to explore ideas during development and as finished work in its own right. Through lighting, composition, and context, I bring out what makes a product distinctive, whether I’m helping a team evaluate a direction or presenting a resolved design.

AWARDS

Core77 Design Awards

Design for Social Impact

Student Runner-Up · 2011

MOTOROLA Coral RASA

International Design Excellence Awards

IDSA IDEA

Bronze · 2011 · MOTOROLA Coral rasa

Finalist · 2012 · tri handle

Red Dot Design Award

Product Design

Winner · 2022

Weber SmokeFire Stealth Edition

PATENTS

US D1,149,881

US D1,036,964

US D1,013,439

US 11,808,072

US D996,134

US D979,317

US D972,888

US D972,887

US D972,360

US D971,661

US D959,905

US D959,904

US D959,779

US D959,153

US D958,545

US D953,792

US D951,000

US D943,350

US D926,408

US D925,265

US D925,264

US D920,740

US D915,824

US D915,812

US D915,139

US D915,138

US D915,137

US D915,136

US D915,120

US D914,429

US D914,428

US D902,515

US D899,852

US 10,519,703

US D805,829

US D805,340

EP 3,593,685

colorado springs / Co usa

STUDIO

I’m Derek Bennion. GT11 is my design practice. Based in Colorado Springs, I design physical and digital products.

My work starts with curiosity and observation. I pay attention to what people enjoy about a product, what frustrates them, and what they’ve learned to put up with. That helps me decide what to simplify, what to preserve, and what’s worth taking further.I develop form and function together, working through the details with engineering and manufacturing. How a product looks, feels, and works should make sense as a whole. Design language is a central part of my work: giving products a recognizable identity that can carry across a family without making everything the same. I look for what makes a product recognizable, then decide what should remain and what can evolve.

I’m Principal Industrial Designer at Weber Blackstone, where I’ve helped shape Weber’s design language across product families including Traveler, Genesis, Spirit, and Searwood. My experience spans early concepts through development and production. Before Weber, I worked at consumer-product startups Plum and VSN Mobil. I hold a BFA in Industrial Design from the College for Creative Studies in DetroiT, MI.

Alongside GT11, I’m building THOP, a health and performance app designed to help people understand what matters and what to do next. It’s an extension of the same product thinking I bring to physical design—reducing friction, clarifying decisions, and shaping an experience that feels considered as a whole.

EXPERTISE

Industrial Design + Development

I develop physical products from early concepts through production, working across form, function, ergonomics, and architecture. Together with engineering and manufacturing, I resolve proportions, surfaces, materials, and construction, working through the practical constraints without losing what made the design worth pursuing.


Strategy + Design Language

I help define what a product should be, who it is for, and how it fits within a brand’s wider offering. User needs, existing products, and technical constraints inform that direction. I build and evolve design languages that connect products into a recognizable family, with enough flexibility for different functions, architectures, and generations without making everything the same.


Product Experience

I focus on how people understand and use physical and digital products, from first impressions to everyday use. What feels intuitive, what creates frustration, and what people enjoy all inform decisions about controls, interactions, and feedback. The aim is to remove unnecessary effort while building on what makes a product satisfying to use.


Visualization

I create product imagery that communicates form, material, and detail. Visualization serves both as a way to explore ideas during development and as finished work in its own right. Through lighting, composition, and context, I bring out what makes a product distinctive, whether I’m helping a team evaluate a direction or presenting a resolved design.

AWARDS

Core77 Design Awards

Design for Social Impact

Student Runner-Up · 2011

MOTOROLA Coral RASA

International Design Excellence Awards

IDSA IDEA

Bronze · 2011 · MOTOROLA Coral rasa

Finalist · 2012 · tri handle

Red Dot Design Award

Product Design

Winner · 2022

Weber SmokeFire Stealth Edition

PATENTS

US D1,149,881

US D1,036,964

US D1,013,439

US 11,808,072

US D996,134

US D979,317

US D972,888

US D972,887

US D972,360

US D971,661

US D959,905

US D959,904

US D959,779

US D959,153

US D958,545

US D953,792

US D951,000

US D943,350

US D926,408

US D925,265

US D925,264

US D920,740

US D915,824

US D915,812

US D915,139

US D915,138

US D915,137

US D915,136

US D915,120

US D914,429

US D914,428

US D902,515

US D899,852

US 10,519,703

US D805,829

US D805,340

EP 3,593,685

Colorado, USA

© 2026 GT11