There are a surprising number of smaller companies that underestimate the power of brand. One of the main misconceptions about branding is that all you need is a logo and you’re away.
The real strength of brand, of course, is when it is consistent throughout every element of your company. That doesn’t just mean a custom built website and personalised stationary, but an entire space that is dedicated to the specific rules of your brand.
A dull grey office lined with the same desks is unlikely to inspire your clients into thinking you’re a forward thinking company. And your staff will undoubtedly appreciate a working space that is a little more interesting than conventional cubicles.
So how do you take your brand and apply it to an office space, infusing it with your company’s distinctive personality?
Office Furniture
Whilst signage is a good way to mark your territory in an office, the main thing populating office space is office furniture. This tends to come in fairly standard colours and styles, but it is the careful selection of this office furniture that can provide a space with the right atmosphere.
More often than not offices look plain and boring with rows of desks that offer up no personality whatsoever. This doesn’t inspire enthusiasm in people and it doesn’t encourage clients to see you as an effective brand. If your office doesn’t emanate the core values of your brand, why should the work your office produces live up to them?
Obviously portraying the values of your brand through office furniture is a lot easier said than done – there is nothing intrinsically tangible about values, so it is about representing them – or as some might say, showing, not telling.
Sharp design and clear, clean desks will ultimately inform any visiting clients that you are effective and meticulous, that you pay attention to detail, that you like to work in an organised manner. Whereas a number of shabby looking desks covered in old plastic paper files and wires is likely to send out the exact opposite message.
You have the option of using one type of desk throughout the whole office, and one type of chair to ensure that customers know you are consistent and uniformed, or alternatively you could arrange your office with a number of similar styled, but ultimately different desks that represent your brand as adaptable.
Used Office Furniture
Whilst you might want to go out and get a brand new set of furniture for your office in order to reinforce your in-house brand, the company budget might not always stretch that far. Sometimes you have to see what opportunities there are in previously owned office furniture, and sometimes you’ll be surprised of its quality.
There are many benefits of getting used office furniture, but primarily it is the reduced costs. A lot of used office furniture doesn’t get used quite as much as home based desks would, and as such retain most of their quality. It is possible to buy used office furniture in extremely good condition.
If you’re looking for one style of desk to populate your office with, you can sometime struggle to locate the amount you need from used furniture resellers, but for an office made of quirky and personality filled desks, there is no place better to look.
Ben Livings is the Director of a new and second-hand office furniture suppliers- Sadlers Farm Office Furniture. Ben truly believes that productivity increases when you have a bright and consistent environment for employees to work in.
Featured images: Royalty Free or iStock source
