Although it may sound weird, workspaces are very much a business tool. In addition to playing a key role in productivity, a proper office environment is a reflection of a business’s core values. Today’s professional world recognizes the importance of great office design, so here are 5 factors that truly make a workspace design ‘great’.
1. Keeping an eye on colors
There’s more to colors than preference, and I think that the majority of entrepreneurs are well aware of this. For example, let’s start with green and blue – these colors occur in nature very frequently, which is why they evoke calmness and tranquility. This aspect of office design is important for breaking tension. Yellow, however, tends to communicate happiness and joy, which plays a key role in keeping a mind unoccupied and is a great pick-me-up. On the other hand, none of the mentioned basic colors evokes creativity as red does. This creativity, however, comes at a price – red raises a room’s energy level and has a tendency to cause adrenaline surges, which isn’t always ideal, but can do wonders for new ideas.
Knowing how to use colors in your office design is a key factor in making things function properly.
2. Light
No matter how big a role colors tend to play in office design, they pale in significance if an area isn’t properly lit. The best way to make the most out of the colors you’ve opted for is to allow as much sunlight as possible inside. If you’re lucky enough to own a workspace on the sunny side, you probably won’t have to do too much, but an entrepreneur with a business on the opposite side of the equation will have to resort to larger windows, mirrors and skylights (if they’re lucky enough to be directly below the roof of the building). All this having been said, investing into more sunlight is definitely a worthwhile decision.
3. Lighting
Once the sun has set, every business is pretty much equal and if your building is busy during the night hours, you’ll have to play it smart here, too. Although there is no light like sunlight, the next best thing would be installing the LEDs. These are quite pricier than your regular fixtures, but the LED lights do tend to pay off in the long run and are more eco-friendly. If you are uncertain about going LED, go CFL instead – at least until you realize that the former are way better, that is.
4. Furniture
Bet you didn’t think it’s going to take this long to get to the office furniture design factor, right? Well, now we are here and it is very much worth mentioning that it does, indeed, play a crucial role in creating a great atmosphere. However, not everyone is an interior designer and, try as you may to come up with a true feng shui atmosphere, it will never feel as good as when arranged by experts in commercial office design, and this is a fact! When it comes to furniture, always resort to professionals.
5. Keep it open
There is nothing worse than feeling caged within an indoor area where you spend the majority of your working hours during the week. Now, of course that you can’t really expand the walls of an area, but cleaning all the clutter and trying to find a perfectly fitting place for everything from printers to drawers will go a long way in creating a more open atmosphere within your workspace.
Pro tip for your office: try to keep the couches and armchairs a foot or two away from the wall; contrary to the popular belief, this will make any space feel more comfortable!
Published by Emma Lawson