How to Create a Badass Workplace That Aligns With Your Brand

Whether you’re a large business or a lone entrepreneur, your brand defines who you are. It is the first impression people have of you. It shows them what you’re about, your values, and what they can expect from you. Your brand is your story.

Your branding should be part of everything you do. It should run through your veins. And that goes for your surroundings too. Your workplace, whether a massive office building or a home studio, is a reflection of your brand identity. It’s more than just a snappy logo and a colour scheme. It’s your company’s personality. A well-branded workplace gives people a sense of who you are before you’ve even opened your mouth.

Branding is an essential part of any office, especially if you conduct regular client meetings on site. A consistently on-brand workspace makes you look professional, trustworthy, and efficient. At the very least, it'll show them you know what you're doing. And even if a customer never sets foot in the office, it creates a sense of community and teamwork amongst your staff. Make them feel they are working together towards shared goals rather than clocking in and out to get a monthly paycheck.

A sterile, uniform office with generic pictures on the wall and miserable staff will undoubtedly give an impression of your brand. But it won’t be a positive one. The big tech players like Google and Facebook are all about the branding. And they are an excellent example of how to do it well. You get the sense that every single thing in their offices has been designed with their brand in mind, even down to the last scrap of toilet paper. If it works for the big dogs, it can work for you too. And you don’t need to spend the budget of a Marvel movie either. There are loads of quick and easy ways to brand up a workplace.

So how can you make your workplace stand out from the crowd and become an integral part of your brand?

Take stock of your brand

Before you start cracking open the paint cans, make sure you clearly understand what your brand is. One of the biggest mistakes companies make is not having a clear picture of their brand identity before starting out.

Ask yourself what your brand stands for. Are you modern and casual, or are you a serious corporate player? Sleek and stylish or colourful and fun? Make sure your logo, colour scheme, website, marketing materials, and all other aspects of your business are in line with this. If you have employees, make sure everyone is on the same page in terms of your company philosophy and values.

This step will help you identify any doubts or concerns and act on them before you go making drastic changes to your workspace.

Use visual design

It’s time to get to work on your new workplace, and the best place to start is with powerful imagery. There are many ways to use visuals to reflect your brand identity, depending on the message you want to put across.

Text painted on the wall at eye-level will be hard to miss and impossible to ignore. Whether it’s your company’s mission statement, impressive statistics, or a choice motivational quote, text is the most direct way to share your philosophy throughout your office.

Images are even more powerful than the written word. To tell your story through graphics, try decorating your office with pictures that align with your brand. This could be images of your products, services, staff, or happy customers. It could even be a landscape or cool photo that gives a sense of the personality of your company. Depending on your brand, you could opt for anything from several small pictures to a gigantic mural taking up a whole wall. You can either have this done professionally or search for information about large format printers you can buy to give you more control over the job.  

You probably have a set colour scheme, and obviously, you should incorporate it into your new office design. If you want to, you could start drastically by repainting every single wall and installing new carpets. But for those on a budget, simply add some colour-specific accents or graphics around the office to ensure a seamless continuation of your brand.

Fill the space

Once your office has been redecorated, it's time to fill that empty space with furniture and accessories. Although things like desks and chairs fulfil essential functions, they also say a lot about your brand. Take chairs, for example. Is your brand more suited to futuristic, abstract, neon-yellow seating? Or should you go for the latest and most expensive range of professional, ergonomic, leather desk chairs? Only you can make that decision. The possibilities are endless. When choosing, make sure you take all relevant features such as style, material, and texture into account.

Have your brand in mind for every decision, from the conference room table to the pot plant in the corner. When choosing accessories like clocks and lamps, think about whether they should be quirky or serious, simple or flashy. Always be brand-conscious. 

Reward your staff

For any successful company, recruiting and retaining talent is a top priority. What can you do to your workplace to make employees happy and want to stick around? Loads of companies use perks like beer fridges, ping pong tables, breakout areas, and even workout rooms. But these are often just used as a gimmick to attract naive young graduates like a moth to a flame. Be honest with yourself about who you are. If you're a future-thinking tech startup that sees your staff as humans who can be trusted to think for themselves, give them all the perks you want. If you're a money-oriented recruitment agency that operates like a sweatshop, don't pretend you give a damn about your employees. There is no right or wrong answer, and even the most well-stocked beer fridge isn't going to keep a member of staff happy if there's a negative atmosphere.

All companies are wildly different, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach to branding your workplace. But by creating a unique space that stays true to your brand identity, your company’s personality will always shine through.