In an age when the most valuable asset of a company is its workforce, generating a great culture can provide a crucial competitive advantage. Crucial to creating a great culture in your workplace is having people who are motivated and productive. By creating an on-brand, inspiring workspace, you can facilitate the wellbeing and productivity of your people, setting your company up for a successful future.
The changes we have all experienced in recent months have challenged almost all of the common assumptions about the workspace. In the age of hybrid working, the office is no longer the default location for many workers. Making your workspace a thought-provoking and inspiring environment is key to attracting your people back into your office, and art can play a crucial role in this.
Art can reflect and enhance your company brand and culture by providing a constant reminder of your company’s history, purpose, and vision. While art is a common sight in many offices, it tends to be a rushed afterthought that has little impact. However, choosing meaningful and impactful works of art in your workplace can elevate the performance and wellbeing of your people.
Reinforcing Brand and Culture
Art is an excellent opportunity to showcase your brand and culture to prospective staff and clients, as well as affirm it to your people every day. As a highly visual element of your workspace design, artwork has a key role to play in representing and affirming your company’s meaning.
Key messages can also be communicated through artwork. Companies with displays of awards and high prestige celebrities or destinations can convey a history of association with those celebrities or destinations. On the other hand, an unusual, abstract artwork will show your clients and staff that you are an innovative and disruptive company that does things differently.
Art in your office can create a cohesive experience that can make a real difference for your people every day, reflecting and enhancing the ethos of your company. Your goals, identity and beliefs can be communicated to staff and clients alike through careful art design and curation.
Improving Performance & Wellbeing
At a time when we are more stressed than ever before, the constant tension that many office workers face has an inevitable impact on their productivity. Prolonged periods of focused work can also lead to mental exhaustion. Biophilic artwork can help your people de-stress and restore their mental energy.
While the role that art plays in improving wellbeing indirectly improves performance, it can also have a more direct impact. When situated in an environment with thought-provoking and inspiring works of art, your people become more creative and innovative, which enables far greater levels of collaboration and problem-solving.
While it may seem that art in the workplace is merely nice to have, it can have a significant return on investment by helping to create an engaged and motivated workforce. Given that engaged workers are up to 22% more productive than their unengaged counterparts, which will have a significant impact on your profitability.
Art in Your Office
There are countless ways to incorporate art into your workplace, and they don’t have to cost a fortune. Whether you choose to commission a local artist to create a series of custom artworks for your office, or curate art that is meaningful to your company, you don’t have to go and spend large amounts on traditional artworks.
Dare Trading’s new London headquarters was inspired by their cultural and sporting heroes of the 20th and 21st centuries. To reflect this, we worked with local graffiti artists to create inspiring murals of iconic figures throughout their workspace, from Mohammed Ali to Neville Cardus. The result? A workplace that instantly communicates their values of excellence, curiosity, and meritocracy. Everyone in the space is immersed in a spatial embodiment of the culture, increasing collaboration and innovation.
Artwork doesn’t have to stay on the wall. Global data analytics giant Alteryx required an office that reminded staff of their Californian roots as well as their London location. To achieve this, we incorporated multiple design features, from bowler hat feature lights to acoustic pods designed in the style of traditional London phoneboxes and a phenomenal underground carriage including 2 meeting rooms!
The most important element of art in your workplace is that it is meaningful to your company and people. whether reminding them of your prestigious past, a promising future, or your driving purpose, when your art reflects and enhances the culture of your company, it will have a positive impact on your people.
Not sure how to incorporate art in your office? Speak to one of our workplace design experts today to find out how you can integrate meaningful, inspiring works of art in your workplace. By getting a thorough understanding of the culture of your organisation and its objectives, we are able to creatively design a workspace that enhances productivity, attracts and retains key talent, and improves business performance.
