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Business owners have one of the toughest jobs on the planet. While setting goals and actually meeting them will help you grow your business over time, it also helps to have a comfortable and functional workspace when trying to create an environment of prosperity. When you are faced with a blank slate, however, it can be hard to know where to begin. That’s why working with professionals who are experts in helping business owners optimize their workspace is imperative when taking on such an important design project.
“We love it how the work we do is able to turn into life the designs of limitless imagination,” says Gevorg Hambardzumyan, CEO of Front Signs, a B2B signage company specialized in custom outdoor and interior signage. When you work with a company that is as passionate as Front Signs, it is easy to accomplish the goals you have set for your office environment.
Are you trying to make your workspace more functional and appealing? If so, here are some modern office design trends you should know about, and why incorporating them is beneficial to you and your business.
Brand Your Commercial Space With High-Quality Signage
Most business owners use their commercial space as a place to meet with existing and potential clients. When a customer drops by your office, you want them to find high levels of organization and appeal. If your commercial building is in a constant state of disarray and doesn’t feature branded signage, you will have a hard time impressing new clients. Once you get your workspace in order, it’s time to think about adding high-quality interior signage.
Ideally, you want the people walking into your commercial building to have no doubt or confusion about what business is operating there. Using high-quality and highly visible signage is the best way to achieve this. Working with professionals will help you determine the best design, style and colors for your business.
Before hiring a company to design your building’s interior signage, take some time to look at their previous work. Getting a look at a sign company’s portfolio can help you assess how skilled they are. With a bit of online research, finding the right signage company will be easy.
Provide Team Members With Well-Appointed Lounge Areas
There are approximately 28 million small businesses operating in the United States. If you want to remain competitive, you have to focus on putting together a team of motivated and loyal employees. When trying to keep your employees committed to you, you need to make sure you are providing an excellent work environment. One of the latest office design trends being embraced by business owners around the world is the construction of employee lounges.
These lounges should include comfortable seating, coffee and water machines and even a large refrigerator. Having one of these lounges allows employees to get a break from their workday in a relaxing environment. If your team has an area where they can decompress, they will come back to work energized and be more productive overall. Again, working with a professional design team is important to ensure you include all of the essential elements required for a stylish, comfortable and functional space.
These professionals can bring your vision of the perfect employee lounge to life in no time. The money paid for this professional help will be worth it, considering the ideas and expertise they can bring to the project.
Use an Interconnected and Transparent Design
Taking the time to figure out what goals you have for your office design is important. The more you know about what you hope to accomplish, the easier it will be to make these design decisions. For most business owners, finding a way to improve productivity levels is a top concern. If you want to make it easy for your team members to collaborate and be productive, then using an interconnected and transparent office design is a great idea.
In the past, office spaces were a place with lots of walls and closed-off cubicles. If all of your team members are separated by cubicles and walls, it will be hard to promote collaboration. In response to this common problem, many modern businesses have started to use clear wall panels and open workspaces. These clear panels can also make a smaller workspace feel much bigger.
If you use glass walls, you can also muffle the sounds coming from the various parts of your workspace, lessening the distraction of other meetings or gatherings taking place. Also, many people love being able to scan their entire office space with a quick glance. With these clear walls, you can provide your team members with the opportunity to work in a transparent environment.
Bring Nature Into Your Workspace
There is nothing as relaxing and enjoyable as taking a walk outside. Some entrepreneurs have the misconception that their workspace has to be dull and devoid of nature. In reality, having a dull and lifeless workplace design can put employees at a disadvantage. If employees dread coming into work because of the depressing work environment, you may start to lose valued team members.
If you want to give your workspace a blast of color and appeal, try incorporating nature into your office design. Using natural plants to fill in corners or to dress up a waiting room is a great idea. With the addition of plants, you can also improve the indoor air quality. Choose a variety of small and larger plants, along with some hanging plants for variety.
Be sure to choose low-maintenance plants and assign employees to water and care for these plants to make this work more manageable. Working with an experienced horticulturist may help you come up with some unique ideas when trying to select the best plants to put into your workspace.
Take a Multipurpose Approach
Are you operating out of a relatively small office space? If so, you need to find ways to optimize the amount of square footage you have at your disposal. This is why multipurpose work areas can help you maximize the space you have for your employees to use.
If your team members have everything they need to complete a job at their fingertips, they will be more productive. Consulting with your team members when designing these multipurpose workspaces is a smart move. Your employees can offer some unique insights regarding what these spaces need to have in order to help them work more productively. With their input, you can implement a successful office design and raise morale levels.
Focus On Comfort
The main goal you should have when designing your office space is to keep things comfortable. There are some workspaces that are modern to a fault. Instead of using rigid pieces of furniture that feature limited cushioning, make sure chairs, desks and other areas are comfortable to use on a regular basis.
You also need to make sure that the office furniture you purchase is ergonomically designed. Not only does this make for a more comfortable work day, it can also help prevent injuries from sitting for long periods of time. While you might have to pay more for higher-quality furniture, it is worth it as it will generally last longer than cheaper options.
Which Design Option Is Right for You?
Now that you know about the current trends in modern office design, you have a few decisions to make. The type of office design you choose will depend heavily on the type of work you perform. Allowing office design professionals to help you with this process is the best way to achieve the results you are after.