Good Office Design

Good office design is more than a first impression for your clients.

Gone are the days of office life comprising of brown carpet, fluorescent tube lighting and a pot plant on your desk. Many companies have recognized the benefit of creating clean, calm environments for their staff to work in. Bright and airy workspaces, modern flexible space and the use of colour all provoke reactions that can have a positive effect on your staff and their productivity.

Take Google for example; their London office comprises of breakout spaces, both inside and out, designed to encourage creativity, promote inspiration and keep staff motivated and working within the office environment for longer.

Good design need not be expensive. Even the most basic of products can be ‘design-led’ with the correct adaptation of spec. Swap wood laminate and traditional beech worktops for clean white surfaces. Where possible ask for colour options for desk legs and accessories - often white powder coated options are available for little or no extra cost. Creating seamless simple office solutions allows for an injection of colour and style in other cheap, often simpler ways. For example, a stylish desk lamp, coloured task chair or designer prop can create style without being overpowering or permenant. Design can be fun. Don’t be afraid to experiment.
British based furniture designers, Naughtone, have constructed a large shed within their office space to act as a meeting room – a fun, original solution to an otherwise traditional space.

Where possible opt for block coloured carpets, dark greys are stylish and resistant. Unless a heavy foot flow is expected, airports corridors for example, avoid heavy patterned options. This allows furniture to float on a background rather than be absorbed into it.

Wall vinyls and decals are a simple cheap and graphically stylish way of adding detail to walls. Large format artwork can also inject good design into dull spaces.

All of these rules can be applied to live/work spaces too.