How To Transform Your Business To Match Your Brand
Creating a meaningful brand identity means infusing your message and images into communications at every organisational level. In this article, we look at the role that space plays in branding, and how to use it to empower your brand towards success.
Capturing The Message
As an exercise in communication, great branding doesn’t begin and end with the logo, design, and mission statement. Although vital, these elements act as the packaging of the brand as succinct messages that are easy for audiences to engage with. However, as with any packaging, if the product inside does not match expectations, audiences will instantly feel the disconnect. Therefore, to achieve perfect branding, it is important to pay attention to every detail, especially office space.
Why Office Spaces Matter
Research[1] suggests that the work environment has a significant impact on corporate identity and culture. Employees fulfil the vision of the company much more successfully when they live and feel the culture, ethos, and ‘vibe’ of the organisation. [2] There are countless successful case studies of businesses that have taken the idea of redesigning the office space to the next level. The Google headquarters are one famous example, and Innocent Smoothies are also well-known for creating a workplace that reflects the values of the organisation, right down to the greenhouse style dining area.[3]
A Psychological Impact
Office spaces influence how employees think and feel and have a direct impact on team culture. For instance, dark, dingy spaces with cluttered wires are known to reduce productivity. In contrast, multiple studies have shown that techniques as simple as adding a few pot plants and creating sympathetic lighting can lift moods, boost efficiency, and enhance productivity.[4] With such a strong emotional impact, office spaces are therefore directly linked to employee engagement with their brand, influencing how empowered they are towards truly embracing the vision.
The Benefits
Office spaces send a direct message from an organisation to its employees about the meaning of the brand. As such, they can be used to develop a personal connection between the brand and employee. This powerful form of communication can help to foster a positive emotional connection to the business, which may improve morale, retention, and productivity. Additionally, infusing the space with the right messages may help employees to feel informed, included, and valued by the company, all of which can translate to greater empowerment for the brand.
How To Do It
Transforming an office space to reflect the brand doesn’t have to mean going all out like Google and Innocent. Instead, it can be as simple as adopting a carefully thought-out colour scheme or using office graphics to create a consistent visual design language. For instance, office branding that showcases the organisation’s logo, colours, and values can help to reinforce the message so that it is never far from employee’s minds. Quality is also important, with attention to tiny details such as font and colour matching across all platforms – including the office interior – helping to offer reassuring consistency.
What Next?
At TL Colour, we are specialists in helping companies achieve the full vision of their brands. For more information about simple ways to use your office space to grow your brand, please get in touch today.
Image Source: Pexels
[1] https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/QMR-03-2017-0076/full/html
[2] https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/S2398-391420190000004007/full/html
[3] https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Sdp3MFoNq9UC&oi=fnd&pg=PP2&dq=innocent+smoothies+%2B+branding+%2B+headquarters&ots=BnV-zQwEFL&sig=sqpUj7AIL1zW06d2dWWGpFLXpE8#v=onepage&q=innocent%20smoothies%20%2B%20branding%20%2B%20headquarters&f=false
[4] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2210670715300226