When you view an office’s design and decoration scheme, do you think about what language you see? What do you see when you look at an office’s design? Does the design communicate professionalism, prestige, motivation, or something else entirely? What makes companies invest so much energy and money into developing their office designs? Is office design important to the success of a company?
The point of office designs
Most office designs are created to impress someone. Either the company wants to impress potential clients or they want to impress employees. An office design tells a lot about a company and what they are about. You can also tell where a company’s priorities lie by how their office is designed. This makes office design more important than most companies consider. Think about your office as it is now. What are you communicating to employees, clients, or competitors? Does your design communicate positive or negative things about your company?
How companies can benefit from good designs
A well designed office is more than simple office art on the walls. A good design incorporates the function and purpose of a company into the appearance of the office. Good designs offer many benefits to companies, such as improved employee motivation and morale, higher respect from clients and peers, and a sense of pride and accomplishment in the work that you do. A good design gives a visual representation of your brand to all who are watching, whether they work at the company or not.
What design communicates to customers and employees
Your design communicates a variety of messages to customers and employees. To a customer, your design may have a hand in helping the client decide whether to work with you or not. When a customer looks at your office, they can tell how professional the company is, where the priorities are, and where the money goes in the company. An employee sees something different. Employees notice who the important people are by the office design. If one department has better furniture or decorations than another, then the employee knows who is more important in the company. An employee will also look at a poorly designed office and feel like the company does not care enough about the employees or the appearance of the office to make changes. This makes employees feel like they should move to a new company as soon as possible in case of company collapse.
Using design as a marketing tool
Your company design can also be a marketing tool. Many famous companies around the world with spectacular office designs might not be as famous today if they worked in a plain, boring office. Your office design can make your company memorable, which will lead to extra business and higher profits. Communicate with your design the kind of company that you want to be, or that you want customers to believe you are. Use high-end decorations and designs to attract rich customers. Use homey touches to attract down-to-earth customers.
Office design and prestige
Office designs can obviously send the message of prestige, and even snobbery at times. Offices with large aquariums, bold art, and indoor fountains send a message that the company has confidence in itself and that customers should too. Some of the most successful companies around the world have some of the most over-the-top, prestigiously designed offices in the world. The nicer your office looks, the more prestige your company will have with employees, clients, and competitors.
Why you should invest in office design
The influence of office design is not to be ignored. It is clear that the way you design your office makes a powerful statement about your company and your business tactics. If you want clients and employees to take your business seriously, you will invest as much as possible into your office design. Using an art consultancy business or other design consulting firm can help you identify what you should do to improve your designs to bring in better employees and a larger customer base.
This is a guest post by Andras Deak, an occasional guest-blogger and a full-time green design enthusiast. He works for Acrylicize, a UK based design company building the best office arts out there. When not in office, Andras likes travel a lot, his favorite destinations are the hidden places of Asia and Polynesia.