Archives: Design

When designing your office environment, it’s important to understand the effect colour can have on employees. Consider the atmosphere that will help staff to be as productive as possible, then choose paints and commercial flooring to stimulate them.

The colour of one’s surroundings can profoundly affect emotions and behaviour. Centuries of artistic and design experiments with different colours have enabled an understanding of which hues can influence human reactions. These principles can be applied to designing office space; colour can stimulate greater creativity and cooperation amongst employees.

A basic understanding of colour psychology can help with designing office space that really gets the best out of the staff who work there. The following is a guide to harnessing the power of colour to maximise office productivity.

Blue colour schemes inspire the most productivity

Studies have shown that a predominantly blue colour scheme promotes the greatest productivity from workers. Blue calms people and has been demonstrated to lower blood pressure and heart rate, which reduces stress levels. It is therefore best to apply a blue colour scheme in a busy, high-pressure office environment.

Having said this, keep in mind that the colour blue is often associated with feeling sad, so too much blue might generate feelings of depression and compromise workplace morale. Furthermore, blue is generally associated with cold, and temperature can impact productivity. Perhaps opt for blues in brighter, more uplifting shades rather than deep and dark tones, or introduce blue flooring rather than walls.

Green is helpful for getting through long work days

The colour green is closely associated with nature. Green is a symbol of growth, harmony, rejuvenation and equilibrium. Using a pleasant shade of green to decorate an office can assist in lowering anxiety and helping both staff and visitors feel more at ease.

Green has also been linked to improvements in creativity, so when innovation is important, green can be a real boon. What’s more, as the human eye is able to perceive green without making complex adjustments to its components, it doesn’t contribute to eye fatigue and can help people whose eyes feel strained from staring at a screen. This way, green can help employees get through long shifts more easily.

Red is good for physical activity

Red can be helpful to energise people by increasing the pulse rate and respiration. When the colour red is perceived, humans generally become quicker and more assertive. This is a great feature for environments that are filled with physical activity, like a gym, but a red colour scheme may not be so helpful for desk-based office environments. People will develop pent-up energy with no release.

However, employees who perform detail-oriented work such as proofreading may benefit from the increased focus red can impart. Memory retrieval can also be improved in a red environment. As a side note, red generally draws attention – if you want to make something stand out, paint it red.

A neutral hue can help to accent colours

White, cream and grey colours for floors and walls are not a particularly stimulating choice by themselves, but they are great at accentuating brighter colours. A monochromatic environment can result in employees losing focus, but white walls with coloured commercial flooring and other accents can be incredibly stimulating.

An abundance of natural light can also work well with neutral tones to create a sense of space. This makes a place seem larger than it really is, and it also imparts a sense of cleanliness to both employees and visitors.

The design of an environment is always intended to have an effect on the people inside it. For an office, promoting qualities like productivity, creativity and innovation are essential to getting the most out of your staff. Consider what type of colour scheme in flooring, paint and furniture will get the right results from your next office design project.

For the modern workplace, it’s not enough to just have a tech-savvy team; you need the office to match. Here are just a few reasons why a modern office needs modern design.

When it comes to the design of a modern, technology-savvy office, there are many things that need to be considered. It may seem easier to opt for the basic flooring, plain walls and simple design to save on costs, but if you’re looking to create an office that inspires productivity and a positive attitude, then a modern design is a must.

Brighten the walls

A simple and effective way to make the most of your office space is with vibrant, exciting and on-brand graphic design to adorn your walls. Not only does this appeal to visitors, it encourages productivity and business pride for your employees. Beautiful photography or imagery in frames can make all the difference to the space that your staff work in. The key is to steer away from dark woods and colours, in order to keep your general office space open and airy; and focus on matching existing branding and styles.

Think smart

For any tech-savvy office environment, smart technology is a must. From computerised air conditioning to remote control roller blinds, much of an office can be brought up to the current century with just a few change and tweaks. USB plugs, touch laptops, colour changing lighting and other tech elements and advancements can not only make your office appear more modern but also make it much more connected – both within your workplace and to the outside world.

Not only does a modern, connected office offer great advantages, it will improve the overall productivity level in the office – which will pay off in the long term. Keeping up with the latest in technology can only benefit your business in the long term.

Say it with flooring

Simply changing the colour of your commercial flooring can make any room seem more modern, and lighter colours and woods within smaller areas, in combination with glass walls and bright lights, can make even the smallest meeting rooms appear larger and more impressive.

Flooring that looks scruffy, threadbare or overused can age an office like nothing else; whereas shiny, new flooring can make an office look brand new.

Want your office to be impressive to visitors without impacting on employee health? We have some great ideas for you. Discover how to make your office Instagram-ready in just three steps.

One of the dilemmas of the modern office space is whether to opt for ergonomic care, or a great looking office. Often, when it comes to furniture and accessories, the two don’t mix – but there are some clever, crafty ways to make your office Instagram-worthy and attractive to visitors while ensuring your employees’ health remains at the heart of your office design.

Here are just a few things you can do so you can go modern while staying health-conscious:

Invest in better furniture

Cheaper ergonomic furniture tends to value function over fashion – and there’s no problem with that, but that style of furniture isn’t the type of thing that sits well in great office design. However, that doesn’t mean you should choose attractive decor over what’s usable – or you’ll soon find office productivity levels dropping.

Instead, invest in better furniture that will not only last longer but has been carefully designed to look beautiful for years to come. Think of attractive desk chairs, ergonomic and modern standing desks and even beautiful yet comfortable meeting room furniture that’s sure to impress your visitors.

Wellbeing first

There are multiple elements in the average workplace that can be improved by putting employee wellbeing first; it’s just a case of a little creative thinking. According to this recent article by People Management, many different things can affect the workplace; from space and freedom to move, to improving quality of air by using HVAC systems and no-emission products, alongside providing that all-important natural light, are all simple yet effective methods to improve well-being in no time.

Utilising plants, windows and softer carpeted flooring are other cheap yet effective ways to improve a workplace in next to no time, and are tried and tested methods for turning a drab office into a vibrant and productive place of work.

Opt for better walls

Walls are a fantastic way to customise any office space without any impact on the health of employees. Creative offices worldwide use their walls for any number of things – from giant blackboards to huge, inspiring graphics. Customising your office walls is a quick and easy way to upgrade a dated office quickly and with little cost, as well as proving wellbeing via reduced noise pollution. The ideal office uses every bit of space for a purpose, and walls are no exception to that rule. Using light and bright colours alongside large windows allow more natural light in – a much healthier form of light for your office than artificial lighting.

Choose subtle yet suitable flooring

Heavy wear flooring doesn’t have to be unattractive – by opting for beautiful wood-effect or patterned flooring that’s designed to last, you can ensure that your flooring is up to health and safety standards for longer, and can put up with a lot of traffic and use without wear and tear. An office that looks new is an office that looks modern – and flooring that looks new for longer is ideal for any office environment where style is key.

As we referred to earlier, an active and moving office is a happy office. If your office is open-plan but needs a little more definition, consider keeping the space open with glass partition walls or screens and utilising clever floor definition to separate spaces. For true fluidity, flooring can provide markers for areas that can be sectioned off temporarily, for meetings or privacy; not to mention offering different feels and styles between spaces.