You might think that working offices shouldn’t be in any way fun as – arguably – they merely provide a space in which to get set tasks completed. The more attractive that your office is however, the more likely that potential clients (individuals and/or businesses) will want to work with you in the future. Your business will also attract employees that may otherwise be lured in by your competitors.
Making an effort with the aesthetics of your working environment also gives the impression that you care for the happiness of your staff and this alone can be enough to boost spirits – and we all know that happier staff members work harder!
Morale is important in office environments and so offering several spaces for your employees that are not intended for purposes of work is important, particularly if your business’s competing companies offer such spaces for their own workforce. Such spaces can include (but are not limited to) a separate cafe/eating zone, a gym area, a chill out room or a videogames room. Those businesses with larger budgets to work with can go one step further and install insane features such a swimming pool (as Google have done so at their renowned Googleplex) or a slide like Red Bull has at their headquarters:
The use of colour is also important for interior office design – staring at the same plain coloured walls day in, day out is hardly going to inspire your staff, particular if yours is a company that encourages creativity! If at all possible, colour should be used to match that of your branding. Featuring your company logo within your interior design can in fact also be an effective way of portraying the confidence that your business has in the services it provides its customers.
Glass is a great medium to use should you have many rooms to include within a small space as it not only adds a post-modern element to your office aesthetic but in addition, it prevents areas from appearing closed off – and open spaces provide open, calm minds! Bringing the outdoors into your internal space can also have a positive effect on staff (who are often confined to the office for 40+ hours a week) so be sure to include many plants within your environment. Effective use of lighting can also make your office space look larger than it actually is. Several, less harsh lighting rigs are more effective than a couple which emit huge amounts of light!
Contemporary furniture is also important to complete the look of a fashionable office. Just because tables, chairs and cupboards are functional items it does not mean that they need to lack in the way of style. The efforts put into the other areas of your interior design can be rendered pointless should you fill the space with outdated, wooden furniture. Plastic pieces are not only cheap but are available in a wide variety of colours (which makes coordination much easier) and they are manufactured to be more durable than ever.
I stumbled across a blog recently which showcased how one online marketing company has integrated all of these elements into its stunning new office (located in Worthing), which they recently moved to. The company is called Fresh Egg and they specialise in online marketing strategies. Here are just a few pictures of their attractive new working environment (posted with permission).
The two murals included in the new office:
Mural 1
Mural 2
An effective use of glass:
Central glass meeting room...
And finally…the gym!
The place to pump!
Alexandra Woor has seen many different office designs in her time working as an assistant at a serviced offices Victoria design business. Alex therefore knows a thing or two about effective Easy Offices design!
Authors bio is coming up shortly.
