Encouraging creativity is vital in just about industry. Creativity drives your employees to come up with new ideas, innovative solutions and more efficient ways of performing in their job. Creativity is not limited so-called “eccentric” companies, so even an office filled with accountants is deserving of some encouragement through creative office design.
Here’s how to encourage creativity among your staff through office design:
Allow your staff to add a touch of personal flair without cluttering their desks.
Think about children and their ‘blankies’ – these are personal and comforting items that make toddlers feel more at ease in their environment. We don’t ever really grow out of this need for comfort; we simply change the object of our affection from ‘blankies’ or teddies to photos, coffee mugs and gifted succulents. Allowing your employees to bring in personal items gives them comfort, adds colour and interest to the office environment and allows the staff to relax. When people feel comfortable they will be more confident about taking risks and being creative.
Designate easily identified areas for specific activities.
For instance, consider your office design as you would consider the design of a mall or a city. Designated areas for specific activities will result in office design that fully supports all activities and even creates hubs for innovation and creativity. You might look to creating a ‘collaboration station’ where you have sitting and standing desks, with white boards or giant note pads, colourful stationary and mobile office partitions (using glass office partitions that have been frosted with window film means your staff will feel less isolated but still have the required amount of privacy, see here). This means that your employees will know to go there to meet with their colleagues for a brainstorming session.
Create internal marketing campaigns and brand your space.
Internal marketing campaigns and the branding of the office space will do wonders to inspire and motivate your staff. They provide a constant reminder of the corporate culture of your business and represent the brand. Internal marketing campaigns and branding can be in the form of corporate art, toys or gimmicks. However, as glass is such a popular building material in modern offices it can be used really creatively and adorned with bespoke designs that underpin your company ethos and culture. The easiest way to create this type of designer glass is through the use of vinyl decals.
Give your staff a sunny outlook.
We have mentioned it numerous times, but natural lighting goes a long way in enhancing employee wellbeing. Feelings of wellbeing will underpin creativity in any environment and this should be prioritised in office design. By uncovering your windows, making use of glass partitioning and installing glass doors you are able to maximise the natural lighting in the office and what’s more, you allow the outdoors inside. You can achieve the level of privacy you need by making use of frosted vinyl decals as they allow for up to 93% of the sunlight to penetrate the interior space while still remaining opaque. Added benefits are that they ward off irritating glare and they have insulating properties.
If you would like to know more about the use of glass and frosted vinyl in office design, then have a look through our Office Design and Corporate Branding Guide. In this guide we unpack the many ways in which you can create inspired office design and implement corporate branding successfully.
