Your office furniture is so much more than a means to an end. Yes, your team members will need chairs to sit on and desks to work at, but there is so much more to consider than just practicality.
Every element of your office fit out is a reflection of your business. The colours, materials and types of office furniture you use will convey a message to your clients and your team members, whether they even realise it or not. Your office fit out needs to accurately represent your brand as well as your company culture and values. Here’s a few tips on how to use your office furniture to make the right statement about your business.
COLOUR
There is so much psychology behind the use of colour and how it can impact the mind. By using the right combination of colours in your office fit out, you’ll be able to create an environment that expresses the identity of your business.
As you would expect, darker shades tend to indicate a more corporate and professional setting, while brighter shades can create a dynamic and creative space.
Consider how you want your clients to feel when they enter your office. Should they feel calm and at ease? If this is the case, cooler tones such as blues, greens and greys are more likely to soothe and encourage clarity of mind. Alternatively, if you want to promote excitement, energy and productivity, pops of red, pink and orange will do the trick.
Your reception or main foyer is the perfect space to make best use of your brand colours. As this is the first area that people will come into contact with when visiting your office, you should own this space with confidence and ensure it is consistent with your logo, website and other marketing collateral.
MATERIALS
It’s so important to select the most appropriate fabrics and materials for your office design. Whether it’s your chairs, desks, doors or even the walls of your office, every aspect of your fit out and every piece of furniture has something to say about your ways of doing business.
Polished wood and smooth surfaces can suggest sophistication, strength and stability, while the use of raw, exposed wood can promote warmth, comfort and trust through the use of natural, earthy textures.
By using glass panels throughout your walls, partitions and doors, your business will naturally seem to favour transparency and open communication, while leather, velvet and other luxurious materials can add a touch of class and indicate a commitment to quality.
Alternatively, if your brand needs to be perceived as modern and trendy, sleek polyurethane furnishings can communicate a bold sense of style.
LAYOUT
There are a few things to consider when choosing between individual offices and an open plan layout for your office fit out.
First of all, what kind of experience do you need to offer your clients? Will you be discussing private matters? Will you be reviewing a lot of detailed information that requires the client’s full concentration? Then naturally, separate cubicles will be the way to go. Aside from being more practical, individual offices will help your clients feel safe and well cared for, which will in turn build trust in your brand.
For other business types, this segregated workplace style could become oppressive and restrictive. If your brand is dynamic and you’re working within a creative field that requires a collaborative approach, then a large, welcoming workspace is a better way to go.
LIGHTING
When you get to work in a city as beautiful as Perth, it seems silly not to take full advantage of the large amount of natural sunlight that’s available. Well-lit spaces are always going to be preferable to dark and dank, but sometimes dim lighting can work to your advantage to create a certain type of mood.
But it’s not just your use of natural versus artificial light that’s going to make an impact. It’s also the lighting fixtures themselves. An elaborate chandelier is going to offer a very different impression to minimalist LED downlights recessed into the ceiling.
At the end of the day, every brand and every space is unique and varying combinations of colour, materials, layout and lighting will communicate different messages. To find the most effective ways to create the right office environment for your business, contact Perth’s specialists in office renovations and interior design, the Office Fitout Professionals.