Commercial design and styling are so much more than an office, desk and a place for client meetings, phone conferences and traditional business operations. These days, many business owners are looking to make a statement with their office design, often as a reflection of their businesses’ brand or their personal ethos and sense of style. Here are four ways the commercial design process can transform a standard office environment into something funky yet functional that sheds the corporate feel and makes a statement about the business.
1. Developing an overall concept is the most important part to any design but particularly commercial design. It’s important that the concept links with the business branding and atheistic. Millennials are having a huge impact on how office spaces look and feel, with the focus being on natural light, fresh air and greenery.
2. The look and the feel is also a very important part of the design phase and needs to suit the owner. We spend so much of our day in our work environment why shouldn’t the space be a reflection of the owner? Working closely with the business owner in the design phase enables a designer to ensure a brief is fully captured.
3. Functionality is just as important with commercial design, as it is with residential. It’s always about looking at the over-all space and working to accommodate the needs of the business owner, while fully maximizing the available space. Office design now is about making offices, flexible and multi-functional. This office layout needed to function as three different zones, including a workshop space, consultation area and a general office for day to day business.
4. Commercial doesn’t have to mean boring and doesn’t have to be limited to just a desk and chair. More and more companies and businesses are incorporating themes into their business spaces, including well-known global giants like Google, Shopify and Airtasker. This business owner had a dream of a Mexican bohemian atheistic and the swinging chairs, cacti, rattan features and white walls capture the boho spirit.
Just as a residential design is all about capturing the personal look and feel of the owner, commercial design should be no different.
Kelly Donougher, Creator and Director, 13 Interiors
