Top 10 Office Design Trends

Here are Hi Designs top 10 office trends and our solutions for them.

1. Businesses emphasize collaboration.
Workplaces are becoming flatter, with less hierarchy and more emphasis on working together. As a result, office furniture is being designed for more casual collaboration, like modular desks that can be arranged and rearranged in a number of different configurations.

2. Everyone is expected to get their hands dirty.
CEOs no longer rely on a secretary for their grunt work. Executives are more hands on, answering e-mails and checking their tablets. As a result, executive chairs are now being designed with tuck-away tablets for CEOs to work on their iPads and smart phones.

3. You’re always working. 
Whether you are on a break, eating lunch, or waiting in a lobby, you need to be able to answer a call, check your e-mail, or browse the Internet. As a result, comfortable seating options with arm rests are designed for even the break room.

4. Workplaces are more creative. 
In the old days, companies and organizations were focused on efficiency. With so many American businesses working on intellectual property, workplaces are now designed to encourage creativity. That means office furniture is becoming more colorful with more artistic options.

5. Everyone is using lots of different kinds of technology.
In the past, you might have had just a computer on your desk. Today, you’re liable to be using a computer, a tablet, and a smart phone, sometimes all at the same time. Many office desks are now designed with two tabletop grommets to keep all your tech wires organized and out of the way.

6. Companies are trying to be more spontaneous.
Businesses no longer need just a set of office chairs for a group meeting. They need seating that can be configured on a fly for an ad hoc group of employees from different departments working on a project. That means office furniture needs to have more than one purpose, like chairs that have a swivel tablet for meetings that can be stowed when not in use (this makes the chair an option in other settings too).

7. Each worker is more important. 
Companies today are smaller, meaning each individual employee is more important. Today’s managers work harder to prevent employees from leaving, and one way they do this is by offering a comfortable work environment. As a result, office chairs for the everyday employee are now made from things like molded form soft seating that is ergonomically designed.

8. Everyone is working longer hours.
The days of 9-to-5 with an hour for lunch and three breaks are in the past. Today, chairs need to be designed with ergonomics in mind to allow workers to sit in them for long periods of time. That means office chairs are being designed for more than eight hours of use per day and come with as many as 16 different ergonomic configurations for customization.

9. Companies want to show they value the environment.
Companies are working to show that they care about the environment regardless of the industry. Furniture with low chemical emissions and made from recyclable material is one way to show this corporate value. As a result, office furniture that is Greenguard certified is becoming popular with workplaces that want to demonstrate their commitment to the environment.

10. More people are working from home. 
With an increasing number of companies allowing employees to work from remote locations, more people are working from their home office, which means there is a greater need for office furniture designed for home use, many times to fit smaller spaces. There are now more options than ever to design a home office that is stylish, yet efficient and comfortable.

Uplifting Design

Add a little blue sky thinking to your office or business by installing a piece of aviation history to the boardroom. We love this idea and put it forward for our aviation client BBA.

The Californian company called MotoArt has come up with an uplifting solution for what to do with decommissioned aircraft  as it turns them into eye-catching office furniture.

The craftsmen takes wings, spoilers, stabilisers, ailerons and engines from iconic planes such as the DC-4, the Boeing 727 and Boeing 747, C-119 and Albatross Aileron's and turns them into custom-made, glass-topped conference and office tables. The company also sells airplane seats.

One design sees a Boeing 747 jet engine cowling transformed into a conference table with room for twelve people around it. Measuring 12ft across, the General Electric engine nacelle houses internal LED lighting in different colours as well as six pop-up connection ports, 

The engine table is then topped with a B-52 engine spinner.

How to Create a Productive Office Environment

At the office we need all the inspiration we can get. Working out of an uninspiring grey bull pen will simply not help generate that award winning idea; landing that deal to pave way for your boss to give you that promotion. So, what can you do to help boost personal productivity in the work space? Well, quite a lot really. So, let’s remodel your forty-five-shades-of-grey-of-an-office and start getting your employee’s creative juices flowing! Here are some top tips on how to create a productive office environment. 

What motivates an employee?

When a company tries to recruit employees, it pulls out all the stops to make them feel welcome. A recent study by the American Society of Interior design investigated how employees felt within a workplace. The study revealed: 

• 31% of employees felt that the positive physical aspects of their workspace impacted their job satisfaction. 
• 41% of potential employees felt that the workspace influenced their decision to accept a job. 
• 51% of workers felt that the workspace plays a part in their decision to leave the company. 
• When it came to benefits of the job, comfort and aesthetic of the workplace came in at second after compensation. 

This study just goes to show that an office which is warm, comfortable and welcoming will give employees a sense of satisfaction with their jobs. If this is ignored, an office can be full of resentful people who are always on the cusp of leaving. So, what steps can be taken to inspire greatness within the office? 

Comfort 

An employee spends as much time at work as he does sleeping; so coming into the office should be a pleasurable experience. The more comfortable an office is, the more the employee will enjoy the tasks at hand. Design your office space with plenty of natural light, ventilation and purposely picked colours to suitably enrich the working experience. In doing this, absenteeism levels will drop among workers, whilst willingness to work and self-value will increase.

Aesthetics

As much as each worker wants a big window by their desk to let plenty of light in and gaze out of; it is not always possible. So, take a look at your office aesthetics. This may be changing the lighting fixtures, bringing some new plants in or even finding ways to incorporate some art into the office. Conduct small surveys and ask your team how to improve on the space around them. The inclusion of your employees in this will not only help create a better workspace, but will help to build rapport between boss and employee. 

Furniture 

The average employee spends many hours sitting down either on the phone or tapping away at a keyboard. Find chairs which are not only modern, but provide adjustable back & neck support. Furniture which can be moved around easily is also ideal, for it symbolizes a changeable working environment. Temperature Workers that are too hot or too cold will spend a lot of time saying how hot or cold they are, preventing them from working. You are never going to please the whole office with one temperature, so if possible create localized temperature settings so that you can please more workers. 

In doing all this you will have constructed a workplace which not only provides comfort but inspires greatness. Remember to regularly check in with your employees to see what is working and what is not to get the best results. 

Happy working, the Hi Team! x