How to go about designing an office

Office Design Tips and Tricks

Office design is as much about you as it is about creating a great space for your clients. Include elements of your personal tastes as this will make it feel more homely and less stiff. Even a lawyer’s office needs to have a more human element that makes people feel at ease. Use photos, personal trophies, add your favorite cushions to the chairs and bring some plants into the space. Really decorate it like you would your own home, but keep the business factors in mind as well. The office should not be a neutral place – it should reflect your personality and be interesting, as this makes your customer, clients and employees feel at ease.

A large part of office design has to do with comfort. While this may seem unimportant, there are many aspects that go into designing which will make your employees and customers feel more comfortable and improve office performance and increase your potential of being successful. If you have employees sitting at a desk or computer all day, they will need to be comfortable so that they can do their job more effectively.

They will also need to be stimulated and inspired, so designs and color play an important role. If you have a clean, neat, well designed office space, it will make clients feel more welcome and help employees to work better. Textures and lines attract the eye and depending on the nature of your business, you will need to use the lines that most reflect your company and the type of clients you want. Choose fabrics, colors and furniture that suit the business. If you have a fashion agency, don’t go for dark antiques that are old fashioned and boring, rather use modern, trendy lines and colors on the walls that will show your clients how fashionable you are. If you are a professional law firm, painting your walls bright pink, may create the wrong impression.

Think about what you want to say as a company. Ask your employees what they feel when they walk into work every day. Find out from your closest friends and clients if they feel the space is too dark, to cold, too boring or what they feel will add more to the space. Do you want to be bold and modern, funky and personal, charismatic and professional, classy and stylish, or vintage and fun? Another office design tip is to use your space well. Have proper seating space for a reception area, supply tables and adequate room for people to be comfortable. Set your personal office spaces to be friendly and easy for clients to come in and sit without feeling uneasy. Everything should be well lit and welcoming.

Use lighting other than ceiling lights, as this created atmosphere and dimension to the room. Just because it is an office, does not mean you need to make it boring and only use the essentials. Bring in a large comfy sofa if you want to. Add some dressers and bookshelves to the walls, have large paintings and ornaments around the room. Even get rid of those clinical office blinds and hang some interesting drapes or curtains. Have fun with your office design and really make your business shine.

Wayne Helmore is the author of this article on office design. Find more information about office design here.

Article Source: http://greatarticlesformoms.com

This article can be printed in it’s entirety as long the author's bio box is intact and all links are live and clickable. Author reserves sole ownership of the article.

Please Rate this Article

5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5 

Not yet Rated