If your office currently resembles the gray concrete of a prison cell or a bland oatmeal mush, then it’s probably due for an update. Along with a new coat of paint, decals from Brooklyn Signs are one of the best ways to spruce up any workspace. Just ask the experts.
Why Use Wall Decals in Your Offices?
“Everything in your office sends a message, whether you want it to or not,” Lisa Marie Luccioni, an adjunct professor of communication at the University of Cincinnati, was quoted as saying in a recent Monster article.
Decals and wall wraps are two of the best ways to easily showcase a variety of images to match that new paint job and make it “pop”. Wall graphics help to both improves and enhance the welcoming atmosphere of a workspace — and boost the mood of employees. According to many design pros, accomplishing this often involves photographs of people, rather than just things.
“Things like an open door, candy, a comfortable guest chair and photos of people — but not pictures of objects — signal an extroverted workspace that people will feel free to linger in,” stated Sam Gosling, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas and author of Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You, in the same piece.
As workplaces evolve for a younger generation, many still mirror the uninspiring, cubicled workspaces of the past.
“In some ways [today’s workplace] resembles the office landscape of years ago in that you sit by one another at desks, but in many ways it is completely different. What makes it different is the evolution of humans at work, what we are trying to achieve… and our understanding of what the human body needs throughout the day,” Natalie Engels, Design Director at architectural design firm Gensler’s San Jose, told Office Snapshots.
While it’s a great idea to use printed graphics to promote your brand with a cool logo, such as behind a lobby reception desk or as a centerpiece for office bullpen areas, it should come in measured amounts — without sacrificing the kinds of interesting wall art that can improve employee morale and creativity.
“Some companies have very rigid branding guidelines which can stifle a designer’s creativity and can often result in a rather monotone or duotone corporate-land,” Jim Fidler, senior partner at office interior decorator Spectrum Workplace, said in a recent interview with Office Genie UK.
Expert Décor Tips for Big and Small Workplaces
After examining industry trends from top interior designers, as well as drawing on our own expertise helping to design graphics for thousands of locations in the New York City area — from small offices occupied by a single-digit workforce to the expansive spaces of Fortune 500 companies — we have put together a definitive list of how to get your office up to snuff.
Our ideas help to keep the process both simple and affordable, using economically-minded wall murals consisting of a variety of wraps and decals — with the occasional backlit sign, fabric lightbox or raised letter logo to punctuate your look.
The List of Follow-ups While Decorating your Work Place
After much thought and discussion, we present the following. These are the five main guidelines you should follow when decorating your workplace:
Strengthen Your Brand
While you shouldn’t get too carried away with making everything in your office follow your logo color scheme, the first and most overarching reason to have an attractive workplace is that it will galvanize your team behind your brand identity. At the end of the day, your office décor will tell the story of your organization. What kind of culture would your ideal creative space, sales floor, or call center have? How would you go about this with some minor yet high-impact renovations (e.g. a new paint job and some attractive signage/ murals)? Your goal should be to have people associate your space with a place where new trends are set — instead of merely being followed — and by extension, associate that groundbreaking look with your business name.
Enhance Your Employee Productivity
Even an enjoyable, rewarding job or career can turn into a grind after a while. By creating thoughtful temporary distractions, you’ll actually help to keep your employees more focused on the big picture. Study after study shows that a more attractive work environment — with decorations may seem on their face to encourage longer pauses from work — actually boosts employee happiness and by extension, worker productivity, rather than detracting from it. Be creative about it. As long as you keep things non-controversial and inoffensive, you’ll have a lot of leeway. Just remember what we mentioned earlier about focusing on interesting designs and images of living things instead of lone objects. Even someone who proudly designs sprockets for a living doesn’t want to be surrounded by anything but photos of gears all day. Instead of just showing a picture of something, a photo of a person using one of your products might be a great way to accomplish this. If you’re unsure about a particular idea or searching for examples, feel free to check out our interior signage photo galleries or consult with our graphics design department for the perfect look.
Recruit the Best People (and Retain the Ones You Have)
By using custom wall decals and other graphics to help decorate your office you’ll make it the kind of place that smart, talented, hardworking people will want to come and more importantly, stay. A more comfortable workplace means a more content workforce. You will also want an office space that matches your brand identity. If your company sells copiers, a photo of your founder with an early model copy machine will help employees both internalize your business’s history, as well as imagine their place in its future. For older established companies, a historic timeline wall mural is also a great way to contextualize the organization’s story. This allows your team an imagistic way to place themselves into that history — in addition to impressing visiting clients and even competing firms.
Dazzle Your Clients
If you plan on having clients visit your offices, it’s even more crucial to have a cutting edge design in those crucial spots where the first impressions are made. You want potential clients to get excited about doing business with your company the second they step off the elevator or into the building. Reception desks, lobbies, and conference rooms are particularly important places to use wall graphics that inform, entertain and impress. This includes the display of your logo, in addition to thoughtful wall wraps and decals featuring a smart collection of wall art that wows. Where employee work areas will often require motivational quotes or pleasantly distracting art, client areas will need to incorporate more branding, especially in creative ways. Does your company sell auto parts? Exciting wall art featuring famous race car drivers will help to both thrill visitors and keep their focus on automotive-centric topics.
Impress Your Competitors
Even if your largest competitors never step foot in your offices, word gets around. From chatty clients and former employees to publicized photos of your gorgeous new workplace, the competition will inevitably learn about your space’s improvements — as well as take careful note and act accordingly. For start-ups going up against the big boys, a trendsetting décor will help to establish your business as a force to be reckoned with. Established brands can likewise reap benefits with a freshly updated look that doesn’t stray too far from their identity and culture.
In order to learn more about inspiring your workforce and promoting your brand, contact the design pros at Brooklyn Signs anytime by emailing info@brooklynsigns.com or calling (718) 252-7575. Together we can collaborate on a workplace both you and your employees can be proud of.