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Office Design Tips.

As a design focused company, it is refreshing to find "mashable" delivering 'Design Tips from Experts' that closely resemble our own thinking.

A common theme embedded within these ideas remains to make sure the design process is structured to meet real organizational needs while understanding the elements of design to ensure a little magic.

We compare each of their five insights with our own expertise and thinking:

1. You can never have to much light or space

Our take remains that it is critical to ensure any office layout includes dedicated free space for passage, ventilation, fixtures, storage and quiet space.

This need must be balanced with the need for "buzz" or "vibrancy" and is a design challenge. This is achieved by grouping employees into task based groups and considering the space needs of each domain.

Employees engaged in analysis, accounting or research based roles require quiet and stability and as a general rule a little more space per head, and workstations offering better privacy.

A sales focused call centre team require "buzz" to keep motivation levels high and can be grouped together with less space per head and using more collaborative type workstations.

While allocated space per head versus domain may differ, a good utilization of open plan spacing still means ensuring the removal of unnecessary walls to maximize available natural light sources. This is critical and assists in reducing fatigue while improving employee morale.

2. Create break-out spaces

Break out, quiet or collaboration spaces are not new, but as more of the workforce moves towards open planing, and with rapid uptake of agile processes that now drive software, marketing teams and business development processes, smaller dedicated spaces that are capable of hosting project teams facilitating ideas, communications and innovation are an essential design consideration.

3. Keep things tidy

Good planning and integration is what keeps office spaces tidy. It is critical that everything works together, that offices can be kept tidy, that storage is available!

Integration is achieved by good planning, understanding the processes and roles of each department and their interdependence across an organization. Adequate storage and facilities per workstation, per department can then be designed.

3. Invest in furniture

Fittings & furniture are in our humble opinion the make or break between a functional office and an office that employees cant wait to escape.

Comfortable seating, dedicated desk space for customization and storage for personal belongings is the absolute bare minimum.

Opting for cheap furniture may save on immediate budget, but it doesn't win the hearts and minds of your workforce. It becomes costlier in the long run as heavily used items including workstations and chairs need to be replaced more often. Also the small things such as internal cabling for power & connectivity need to be considered.

5. Brand your workplace

Quality branding in workspaces drives morale and reminds employees of the company's mission and reassures customers they have come to the right place. From a design perspective this means ensuring that there is adequate space allocated to the plan for branded fixtures and fittings, it involves ensuring occasional furniture, walls, floors and furniture fit with not only the color scheme of the company's brand but the culture as well.

Office Space Design provides sustainable architectural and design services to companies undertaking complete office fitouts, relocations and refurbishment in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. We are specialist professional services providers engaging with clients across the full project life-cycle. From concept through to last commissioning. We deliver inspirational workspaces that are efficient, productive and customized to business needs. Visit our website to learn more about our Office Fitouts

By Darien P Tydeman