Regardless of the type of business you run, visually conveying its personality and mission to your customers the moment they walk in the door is tantamount. Remember, you only get one first impression! The key is to provoke an emotional response. Whether you want to create excitement, relaxation or inspiration to purchase, everything about your office interior design should work together to inspire that desired state of mind for your customer. It’s proven that the more senses you affect in an experience, directly affects how memorable that experience becomes. Think sight, sound, touch, aromas and even taste (if edible samples or treats are appropriate). That way, the visitor’s first impression becomes a lasting impression.
Working with a professional interior designer to coordinate all of the elements of your space will most assuredly create the perfect representation for your business and inevitably contribute to increased revenue. Here are just some of the things a professional will consider when creating your new office design:
Color
Color is crucial when it comes to setting the tone. A designer will work with your existing brand concept to best leverage appropriate colors — along with some unexpected pairings — to make sure your office evokes the desired emotional connection.
There’s a lot of education designers receive around color theory that is critical to consider when selecting colors or you could actually “turn off” your visitor.
Lighting
The correct combination of several types of lighting is important so you can properly set the mood for your space. Accent lighting, overhead lighting and ambient lighting all play key roles in achieving the comprehensive result that creates the noticeable difference for your customers.
“Feature lighting” the company’s branding or artwork high is a message you want your customers to notice right away. A professional designer is used to combining and balancing the many light sources in an area and can recommend what’s ideal for your scenario.
Branding
Is it important for your customers and/or employees to see your logo, motto or mission statement quickly and regularly? Signage and branded messaging on your walls and in other key elements of the space reinforces not only who the company is, but it’s confident expression of it’s worth.
Invest in a graphic designer to ensure your logo communicates exactly the things for which your company stands. Don’t underestimate that this could be the only thing that customers use to distinguish you from your competition!
Furniture
Picking out generic office furniture without the strategic intent of emotional connection or realistic functionality will likely fall short of the intended result. Carefully select the lobby furniture, since it makes the initial impression on your guests and will show them what to expect of their experience with your business. For example, if you’re a wealth management office seeking multi-million dollar investors, then your reception area or conference rooms ought to embody that aesthetic.
Secondly, the right workspace design for your staff (desks, task chairs, etc) needs to be planned with flexibility in mind (in anticipation of growth or other reorganizational events) as well as ergonomic criteria (for health reasons). Remember to consider each area’s functional needs to achieve the best balance between form and function.
All of this may seem overwhelming, and it should. You should be spending time doing what you do best…your business! So, allow us to help you do the aesthetic things that will drive that business. Nicole Arnold Interiors is proficient at working with companies to achieve all of these goals and more.
Call us today to schedule a consultation and let us help you discover the potential your business has to captivate and inspire your clientele!!
