The Future of Work (and Workspaces)

January 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment

PSFK just published a new report, The Future Of The Workplace that predicts how workspaces may look, and function, in the not-too-distant future. At a glance you’ll see sound-proofed pods instead of cubicles and more spaces meant for creative collaboration. Other common trends include:

  • Fluid Technology – allowing workers to complete their tasks from almost anywhere at any time.
  • Co-Working spaces will help to facilitate innovation in a variety of industries.
  • Pop Up Workspaces – Furniture and office designs are becoming more flexible to facilitate the needs of the mobile business
  • The Work(out) Workspace – More and more companies and encouraging healthier lifestyles for their employees.
  • Collaboration Through The Cloud – Workers have the ability to collaborate on the same projects in real-time through multiple cloud services.
  • Telepresence – More advanced communications methods will be adopted to connect workers from all over the world
  • Higher Learning – Employees will be encouraged to continure learning by doing.
Get a sneak peek of the full report on Business Insider
PSFK also hosted their annual conference in London to bring together innovators from various backgrounds and share ideas. One of our favorite presentations came from the Rockwell Group. James Tichenor and Josh Walton presented their ideas on combining assets from the digital and physical worlds in public spaces. (See their talk below)

Some highlights from the talk:

  • The physical and digital realms are not resistant to one another.
  • Learning through making is what builds innovation.
  • Interactive spaces are designed through a series of inputs and outputs.
  • Technology transfer occurs through architecture, place-making, networking and the world wide web.

 

Filed Under: The Future of Work, workplace design, Workspace Design, Workspace Planning, Workspace Trends Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Does Your Workspace Fit Your Brand?

January 5, 2013 By 1 Comment

Does your work environment fit your culture? When you walk into work everyday does it feel like your company or just like a place to work? These are all questions that company’s need to be asking on a fairly regular basis. Your workspace should be the “living” version of your brand. Your brand is essentially the personality of your company, so your workspace should share the same personality right?  LUNAR had this same thought and acted on it.

If your ready to bring your brand to life in the form of your workspace check out these three tips.

1. Express Your Voice – Set the stage for by surrounding yourself with the personality and character of your company. Give every aspect of your workspace a purpose.

2. Embody your values – If you value the art of collaboration, design a space that encourages and creates collaboration. If you value individuality, give everyone the opportunity to personalize their own space.

3.Leave room for improvement – Your company and your brand will change over time so set the stage instead of building a set. The difference is the ability to adapt.

More Workspace Design Tips Here.

Give us your tips in the comment box below and don’t forget to connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

Filed Under: Being Productive, Comfortable OFfice Chairs, Comfortable Office Furniture, Ergonomic Office Chairs, Ergonomic Office Furniture, Ergonomics, Office Chair Supplier, Office Furniture Supplier, workplace design Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Individual And Collaborative Genius In One Workspace

November 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

It’s hard to think of physical space as having the capabilities to multi-task. If you can get past the oddities of it you can actually open up a few new possibilities for your entire team. Traditionally, workspaces are either set up for productivity or creativity. The spaces set up for productivity tend to be closed, keeping the worker in their own little world. The workspaces designed for creativity tend to be designed with more open space to encourage interaction and collaboration. (See our post on designing highly creative workspaces.)

As is true for most things in life, there is a grey area. In this case, the grey area is a workspace designed to encourage both individual productivity and creativity as well as team collaboration. Here are six of the most important elements of this workspace.

  • Everyone has their own area with separate spaces for organization and ideas.

  • Individuality and personalization are REQUIRED

  • There are blocked out times for focus and for open brainstorming

  • There’s always at least one channel of communication open to everyone. (We recommend Skype)

  • There is a place for everyone to work on one idea. (Paint an entire wall with something like Idea Paint)

  • Create an alternative and more comfortable room where workers can escape their own spaces.

Filed Under: Tips For Entrepreneurs, Work/Life Balance, workplace design, Workspace Design, Workspace Planning Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Why Work Doesn’t Always Happen At Work

October 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment

So Where’s The Best Place To Work?

Below is a great Ted Talks from Jason Fried but let’s cover a couple ideas first. There are certain chemicals that your body releases that help your brain function and some that come close to turning it off. If your workspace encourages creativity and allows you to relax and breathe, your brain will cooperate. If you’re stuck in a stressful environment with nothing to look at besides fluorescent lights and grey cubicle walls, it won’t.  Now, everyone is different and performs better in different environments but one thing we all have in common is that high levels of stress and lack of stimulation prevent us from doing our best. Check out the video for more thoughts on this.

We strongly believe that the right environment starts with the right chair. When you think about it, many of us spend the majority of our work week in our chairs. That’s why we make sure every design promotes ergonomics and comfort, so you can get your productive and creative juices flowing. Check out our brand new venice for the perfectly crafted chair to inspire your creativity. 

Filed Under: Productivity Tips, Work/Life Balance, workplace design Tagged With: , , , , , ,

3 Essentials For A Highly Creative Workplace

October 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment

This topic breaks down a little bit into the duality of nature and nurture. You can have the most creative office in the world, but without the right people you won’t be getting the ideas you’re really after. At the same time, you can have all of best creatives in your industry under one roof and, without the right environment, still no creative sparks will fly.

Today we wanted to spend a little time identifying the best, and easiest, ways to promote  creativity in your workspace.

 

Rule #1 – Design a space where people can’t help but run in to each other.

All businesses tend to segregate their departments assuming that the best ideas for marketing will come from within the marketing department and the best ideas for accounting will come from within the accounting department. This couldn’t be further from the truth. When you get people from different projects and departments running into each other and sharing their thoughts and goals with each other you get multiple perspectives. Disney Pixar studios has their bathrooms in a central location so that every single employee is forced to interact with others who are working of different projects multiple times a day. On a more extremem level 3M is famous for moving their employees around to different projects and even industries within the brand on a regular basis.

Rule #2 – Leave room for personality and personalization.

Encourage each person not just to hold on to their individuality, but to share and spread it like a virus. If everyone on your team contributes to the workplace with their favorite musings and inspirations the overall creative energy will grow exponentially. A great way to do this is by giving your team a canvas that can grow and change as often as needed. Check out Idea paint for an easy and incredibly helpful solution.

Rule #3 – Ergonomics matter.

Here’s a simple and true statement. The more comfortable someone is in their workspace the less distracted they will be. There’s nothing worse than getting the creative flow going and then having to stop because your eyes or strained or your back hurts. Every employee should have an ergonomic chair that is adjustable to their needs. Their computer screen should be eye level so they don’t have to tip their heads and strain their necks and their mouse and keyboards should allow them to rest their wrists and forearms comfortably. Many associate ergonomics with productivity and it definitely factors in, but you should underestimate its power over creativity as well.

If you’re looking for the perfect chair to get the creative juices flowing in your office check out our brand new Venice!

Filed Under: Comfortable OFfice Chairs, Comfortable Office Furniture, Creative Workspaces, Ergonomic Office Chairs, Ergonomic Office Furniture, Ergonomics Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Productive and Happy Windows For Your Office

July 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment

There have been countless gizmos and gadgets created to improve productivity in your workspace. It turns out that one of the best ways to make the people working in your office happier, more productive and even more focused may be to change out your window panes. A recent article in Fast Company elaborates on the discovery.

Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research in Germany have invented a new type of window that has a special .1-micrometer-thick inorganic coating that is optimized to transmit wavelengths between 450 and 500 nanometers, where the effects of blue light are most pronounced. Blue light is the part of the spectrum which promotes the balance of biorhythm-moderating hormones (and which traditional glass largely blocks). “The coating we’ve developed helps people to feel they can perform better and makes it less likely they will fall ill,” Dr. Jörn Probst says.

You could get more of this mood boosting light by taking a break and going outside, but a study shows that most Americans spend 90% of their time inside. The effects of the blue light can even be felt through a small window in a nearly sunless location.

The patent-pending Uniglas | Vital feel-good glass isn’t on the market yet, and still requires some tinkering. Says researcher Walther Glaubitt: “Up to now we’ve only applied our special coating to the side of the glass facing into the cavity between panes. In future we will also be coating the glazing’s exposed surfaces–in other words, the outside and the inside of the window. That will allow us to achieve around 95 percent light transmissivity at 460 nanometers.”

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Filed Under: Office Chair Supplier, Office Design, Office Furniture Supplier, Office Organization, Work/Life Balance, workplace design Tagged With: , , ,
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