Have you thought about redesigning your office space, but you don’t want to commit to the cost—and, frankly, you aren’t sure if it really matters?
Well, consider this helpful hint: the thoughtful, creative design of an office can help attract and retain employees. And you might even see a dramatic shift in productivity with a space that inspires.
At Novak Birch, we believe in the power of environmental design not only to weave your brand into the look-and-feel of your office space but also to engage people. An eye-catching and welcoming design can have a big (not to mention memorable) impact on employees and visitors.
Still not convinced about the value of a great office design? Let’s dive in deeper.
Here’s what a thoughtful design of your space can do for your business and employees:
1. Help employees feel like part of your team.
Adding interactive elements can freshen up your space and help employees actively engage with your mission and values.
We love LinkedIn’s wall encouraging employees to post an energetic selfie to share their life beyond work. Photo courtesy of SEGD, LinkedIn San Francisco, and IA Interior Architects.
Check out this interactive wall we designed and built for Greenspring Wealth Management. Employees periodically fill out cards sharing the ways they’ve seen others live out the company’s purpose and values—a way to encourage small acts of kindness while keeping the space fresh.
2. Increase collaboration among team members.
Take a cue from trending coworking spaces, like WeWork. Provide flexible, open areas that encourage collaboration and teamwork. If you have employees that mostly telecommute but pop by the office for meetings, these can be great alternatives to traditional “hot desking.”
The Microsoft offices include a shared workspace, allowing connection with colleagues for effective collaboration. These spaces add a social element that can positively contribute to your company’s culture. Photo courtesy of Office Snapshots, Microsoft PacWest Offices, GGLO, Studio8 Architects.
3. Foster creativity and boost brainstorming sessions.
Adding creative breakout spaces shifts away from the traditional conference room design to create a comfortable, relaxing environment. Provide inspirational spaces for your employees to gather—this enhances office culture and serves as an attractive recruiting tool for new hires.
Imagine the creative solutions that would come out of a brainstorming session held in this space. Photo courtesy of Office Snapshots, Splunk, and Revel Architecture & Design.
At Novak Birch, our open floor design allows everyone (even the dogs!) to work together on projects. The design encourages pop-up creative collaboration…and Nerf gun battles.
4. Connect employees and visitors with your brand.
Statement walls help people connect visually and emotionally with your brand.
The Coca-Cola headquarters features walls that not only pack a visual punch, but also make a statement about the brand’s value of delivering happiness. Photo courtesy of Office Snapshots, Coca-Cola, and figure3.
Milestone walls help visitors and employees celebrate the achievements of your brand. For Choice Hotels, we created a milestone wall that conveys their commitment to hospitality and technology, updating it over time with new achievements.
5. Visually communicate your commitment to innovation and high quality.
You don’t want to just slap your logo on everything, everywhere. Developing a visual theme and color palette can help unify a space while allowing for design tweaks to avoid numbing repetition.
The Wilson Sporting Goods office in Chicago uses this technique of a unified theme representative of the brand, while also distinguishing the spaces designated for different sports. A profile piece of this project says it best: “Subtle shifts in flooring material indicate the type of activity intended within that space—Move, Play, Experiment, Work.” Photo courtesy of Office Snapshots, Wilson, and Gensler.
We updated and branded the Procon Consulting office to welcome guests and visually represent their commitment to innovation and quality as soon as visitors walk through the door.
6. Add personality, color, and light to enhance a conference space.
Dressing up a glass conference room wall can add a layer of privacy while still allowing light to shine through. (Because who wants a group of employees or visitors falling asleep in a dark and boring conference room?)
This design allows light in, while also upping the color game to give the space a unique personality. Photo courtesy of Office Snapshots, Contract Workplaces, and Mercado Libre.
We designed a high-impact space for Procon Consulting, including privacy film and a clear, vinyl graphic of the Washington, DC, skyline for an eye-catching and sophisticated look.
7. Improve employees’ well-being and increase productivity.
What if you incorporated nature and green space into your office design from the very beginning, instead of making it an afterthought (you know, adding that little plant in the corner that everyone forgets to water)? A connection to nature enhances the well-being of your employees, increasing productivity and creativity.
Furbish, one of our Baltimore neighbors, makes beautiful biowalls, also known as vertical gardens. Their design of a living biowall at the Under Armour campus adds a unique connection to nature and a layered feeling to the space. Photo courtesy of Furbish, Under Armour.
Clearly, this unique combination of natural textures, light, imagery, and vegetation did not come as an afterthought. Photo courtesy of Office Snapshots, CA Technologies, Kaplan Architekti, and Horalik Atelier.
The design of your office space really matters. It’s a game changer for fostering creativity, increasing productivity, attracting top candidates to work for your company…and so much more.
We start all of our environmental design projects by first getting to know our clients. We want to know what makes you tick, how employees and visitors engage with your brand, and what you want to visually communicate with your space.
