environmental graphics
creating the wow! factor
taking environmental graphics to the next level
Sure, graphics can make your office look cool, but there are many reasons behind the design decision to brand the architecture around you. In a world that is more remote than ever, it is definitely important to have environmental graphics that speak to your company values, your commitments to clients, strategic partners, and employees that call your office space home. The answer to the question, “where do you work?” is a little blurry these days and great design helps define the edges of the work place, whether that’s a shared co-work space, a private cubicle, or a storefront.
how valuable is it to have clients, actual humans, walk through your space, especially now?
what we really think
Office branding should be thought through on both a 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional level. Think not only about messaging on planes but about how the staff moves through the space. Think about traffic patterns: where are people moving quickly, where are they pausing and talking, sitting, eating, taking private phone calls. Even bathrooms are volumes of space that become (um, well…) pause points (how many times have you left a restaurant or bar and told your friends, check out the bathrooms, they’re cool!). Think about the “front of house” zone and the internal “employees only” zone. How do those areas overlap, and should they?
Avoid the temptation to simply add words to walls. A thoughtfully branded space blurs the line between good graphic design and good architectural design with colors, textures, patterns, and abstract imagery, adding to the subconscious “collectiveness” of an office.
A well implemented brand is talking to you without you always consciously realizing it is. Too much in your face “this is who we are and what we believe” can be a slippery slope to being talked at. You want your talent to feel like they are APART of something, not just IN it. And this is a tough one… try to avoid the temptation to brand EVERY wall. Just like good piece of art, our eyes need moments of rest, white space matters, even (especially) in 3-dimensional space.
To this point, when considering an office branding project, it’s important to look at the entire office as a whole. Branding one conference room at a time can create a choppy and often inconsistent aesthetic.
A cohesive branded space takes nuance to pull off. You want to hire professionals (like Sepia Studio!) that will take time to learn not only the brand colors and fonts, but the employee travel patterns, general rhythm of the day, and how a space is used, lived in, and seen by the outside world. Graphics themselves don’t need to be physically big in order to make a big impact, but they do need to be thoughtful, intentional, and executed well in order to make the messaging stick.
Environmental graphics don’t just apply to the interior space – exterior graphics can change a space just the same, and should always be considered when looking into branding. Sometimes you don’t always realize the inside of the orange is still perfectly juicy and fresh when the peel looks dry or moldy. Think big picture. Your environment is what you make it.
