Color is a way to achieve a certain feel and look of the space which communicates the brand, the design and creates an atmosphere that suits the area’s purpose. For individual work rooms, we always choose a muted color palette in order to reduce distractions and create a calm, productive environment. In common areas such as a social or networking zone, we tend to move towards a more vibrant and lively use of color which makes the area more suitable for exchanging knowledge, creative meetings, and brainstorming.
color
In our projects the use of color is based on its intensity and saturation in different
areas. For us, color is a way to achieve a certain feel and look of the space which communicates the brand, the design and creates an atmosphere that suits the area’s purpose. For example, for individual work rooms, we always choose a muted color palette in order to reduce distractions and create a calm, productive environment. On the other hand, in common areas such as a social or networking zone, we tend to move towards a more vibrant and lively use of color which makes the area more suitable for exchanging knowledge, creative meetings, and brainstorming. Since human-centered design is a great value for us as designers we pay great attention to creating office spaces which feel safe and comfortable. One of the factors is choosing correct color schemes. Blues and greens help us relax and calm down, which is why they can be found in numerous of our projects.
right color palette
Many factors come into play when creating a comfortable and productive workspace. The most important ones would be designing the functional layout and providing the correct set of elements, which are the tools that allow the employees to be productive, enjoy their work and find a suitable area for each activity. Although a bad color scheme can significantly decrease the usability of each space (f.ex. dark walls and ceilings in work areas can make the rooms feel heavy and tiring), when a few base rules are kept, like saturated colors being limited to busy social spaces, there is still room for colorful creativity in each workplace design. We view choosing ‘the right color palette” as a complementary step to the functional design. It is important in terms of the final effect but the key to creating a comfortable and productive workplace lies in the groundwork – assessing needs and designing for flexibility and functionality.
Many factors come into play when creating a comfortable and productive workspace. The most important ones would be designing the functional layout and providing the correct set of elements, which are the tools that allow the employees to be productive, enjoy their work and find a suitable area for each activity.
role of colour in wayfinding and space branding systems
Let’s imagine an office. Walls painted in dull colours, simple design, few details. There are no unnecessary accessories, however, space is marked properly and clearly. Even though the premises serve their purpose, the place is anonymous, unfriendly and monotonous so people do not like spending time there. How come? How to solve this problem? Architectural and graphical details tell us the story of a place and emphasize or create its personality. In workspace design we define them as space branding. This is a graphical enhancement of architectural design and a chance to show a company’s culture and history through a visual presentation of it. It is implemented to present the key corporate values by means of simple graphical components.
Wayfinding navigates you through an office, railway station, museum or airport. It is a system of spatial orientation helping people determine their location and showing the right way. Identification and organization of a particular spot – a building or city – is made easier with the use of architectural and graphical landmarks. Wayfinding improves everyday experiences of the work environment. Furthermore, it enhances communication amongst employees and introduces integral terminology of space – meeting rooms, team zones or shared spaces. Besides the communicative aspects, wayfinding also proves crucial for administration. The marking and numbering of desks, chairs or cabinets is a basic tool for fixed assets management in a company.
