Extend Your Brand Into Your Interior Design

Posted on May 21, 2014

OK. I’m about the make a statement that may have some of you in shock.

Ready? Here it is:

Interior design and branding should go hand in hand when designing or redesigning your office space.

Surprised? You really shouldn’t be. Consider this: “branding” by definition is the act of imprinting some sort of mark or unique identity to something in order to make it stand out or be memorable. Companies in general aim to brand their products and/or services with colours, artsy images, logos, a slogan or any combination of these so that the outside world will remember them…but what about when the outside world or even your staff comes into your office space? Consistency both inside and outside of the office can only further enhance your branding efforts.

So how can a company incorporate elements of its brand into the interior design of an office space?

First, consider your walls. Walls are the main canvas of interior design. Any or all components of your brand can be displayed on your walls. So if colour, for example, is a key component to your brand, you can either paint all the walls your brand colour, create an accent wall with your brand colour, or paint portions of your wall the brand colour.   A logo can be painted or mounted on one of the walls in a reception area or boardroom.   Artsy images such as waves, stripes or bubbles that may be related to your brand can be painted or stenciled as accents to your wall design.   Even a slogan or mission statement can be stencilled or mounted on a wall of your office space in order to reinforce your branding efforts.

Now, consider your floors. Similar to walls, colour, logos, slogans or artsy images can be incorporated right into your floor or carpet design, budget permitting. Most companies that incorporate aspects of their branding into their floor design would primarily have this in their main reception area. (Of course, the floors would need a special coating to ensure such images remain intact in high traffic areas.) A smaller budget option would be to have welcome mats in your brand colour either with or without your logo or artsy image intact.

Finally, consider your non-fixed items such as desks, furniture, and accent items such as table mats, coasters, pillows, flower pots or other accent décor items. A simple application would be to purchase such items in your brand colours and have them placed in key areas of your office space. Some companies may take this step further and add their mission statement, logo or branding image on some of these items.

Branding is not just for outside the office. Whether you own or lease your office space, there is always a way to extend your brand into the interior design of your office.