Define Your Office Style and Your Brand

Everyone knows that the first impression plays an important role in an employer’s hiring decision. The same holds true for those entering your office. Potential customers, partners and employees form an opinion of who you are and how you operate based on how your office looks, sounds and smells (yes, how it smells).

The right office style is very important. Not only can office design improve efficiency, but it can also communicate your brand. From your wall color and flooring choices to the art on the walls and the items on the counters and desks — it all creates an impression.

So what’s your brand? Are you a traditional company? Then a clutter-free, very organized space with conventional furniture and understated decorations might make sense. If your brand is modern, clean lines and bold colors will help communicate that image. For trendy brands, you have the freedom to be more whimsical, choosing the latest looks and colors and creating a more fashionable workspace.

You might want to pull colors or art styles from your logo or business cards. For example, if you’ve chosen the trendy 123Print “Business Card Beatdown” winner, Right Stripe business card, to represent you and your brand, then black-and-white checkerboard flooring might be a great foundation for your office look. Or if you represent yourself with the modern Suited for Business business card, your office design might include acrylic tables or chairs and silver accent pieces.

Now that you’re thinking about the visual appeal of your office, what about the sounds and smells? They, too, play an all-important role in establishing your brand experience inside the doors of your office. Traditional companies may opt for no sound and no smells. This means no music playing at the entry and doors closed to any offices where there might be music playing or phone conversations going on. You would also ban scented candles, restrict smoking in the office, declare it a perfume-free zone and require all food to be kept in the break room. (Depending on the size of your office, keeping food in the break room may be a good suggestion, no matter your brand.) Trendy companies, on the other hand, might have contemporary music playing at a low volume throughout the office and have employees sitting in cubes or sharing larger offices to encourage open discussion and collaboration. Incense or scented candles may entice the olfactory senses, or maybe a bit of vanilla rubbed on light bulbs with a cotton ball before turning them on each day. Whatever you do, make sure you take sound and smell into consideration.

Don’t have the budget for a complete office makeover? That’s OK; your decorating can be done in stages. Set a budget and make a plan and work toward the right office style for your brand!

Many of you have probably already conquered this dilemma. Please share your office style ideas by commenting here or even posting photos on the 123Print Facebook page. We’d love to hear from you!

And if you liked this blog, please come back the first Saturday of every month. We’re going to try to do a series of “style” blogs to help you consider your options for office fashion, workspace design and more.