Last week I had the opportunity to visit a "creative shop" in another city. I had heard that Glue Strategic Solutions, (http://www.fixesthatstick.com), had an unusual office but I was still very surprised when I walked in and actually saw it!
I should tell you that this office is not in a trendy loft space in a cool urban renewal area — it's in a recently built steel and glass office tower among investment firms and insurance companies.
Walk in the door and you're in the kitchen! Yes, the kitchen, complete with a vintage chrome set, stainless steel appliances, microwave, blender etc. You have to go through here to get to the actual offices! But it's a great tour as there's lots of really interesting stuff to look at — every door has a neat little plaque with the company's logo on it with one word that's nothing particular to do with who or what the space is used for. Words like: think, create, learn, design. Kinda gets you in the mood for a creative presentation!
The walls are green. Not just green, but GREEN. And it looks good!
Windows line one wall, and because we are on the 19th floor, the view is spectacular outside as well! The actual workspace is neat and efficient in a larger room shared by four creative collaborators who sit at matching desks with double screen monitors — all the equipment is top-notch and matching and the place is kept spotless.
Here's the point, and you may have been wondering when I'd get to one: no matter who comes through that door, they'd have to be extremely visually challenged not to know what calibre of work was produced in that office. I was ready to see great creative even before I removed my coat.
In these days, when many of us work in home offices, it was a refreshing change to experience a downtown office that was fun to be in. Not just a sterile box of cubicles. I'm sure the clients of this company love to visit and feel very at home there. The owner tells me clients just wander over to the fridge and grab a drink or a snack whenever they feel like it — the kitchen puts everybody at ease, kind of like when you throw a party and everyone hangs out in the kitchen all night.
I'll bet they have a lot easier time selling their creative concepts to clients who are already pre-sold by the creative environment and in a relaxed frame of mind. Does anyone have any thoughts on how your office affects your image and thus the way your clients deal with you?
0 comments:
Post a Comment