Software firm Sift enlisted street artists to elevate its office, and Goop created a yoga room. Here’s how to make your office reflect your unique culture and brand.
In the coastal California city of El Segundo, it’s pretty hard to miss the office of aerospace software company Sift.
While many companies might focus on the design and branding of the interior of their offices, Sift has taken a different approach. In August, the company hired Los Angeles street artists to reinvent the one-story brick building into an artistic masterpiece, depicting a one-story red astronaut hovering over the corner of one window, and near another, a rocket shooting off towards the moon.
The building reflects Sift’s brand and its business, which is delivering software to hardware companies with mission-critical hardware. Think: software for fighter jets, missiles, drones, robots and spaceships. The design also reflects its location, which is the heart of El Segundo, a California coastal town and hard tech hub for the space giants like Boeing, Northrup Grumman and Raytheon. (And luckily missed the recent L.A. fires.)
The vibrant mural aims to signal to potential employees that Sift is a creative and exciting place to work. It’s also been a conversation starter. Berger’s team regularly sees people taking selfies in front of the building, including a recent shoot for Northrup Grummond’s corporate magazine, says Tom Berger, Sift’s vice president of marketing.
-Sift
“It’s a way to bring life to what we’re doing on the screen in a more tangible way,” says Berger. “It elevates our brand in kind of more organic ways that would pay homage to the space heritage of the community, as well as to L.A. street art.”
Sift accomplished what many companies struggle to do: reflect a brand with an office space. How do you do this exactly beyond a wall with your logo?
Designing Beyond Logos
“A lot of leaders get the importance of branding, but bringing it to life in the workplace—especially with hybrid work—can be tricky,” says Betsy Graham, the Atlanta director of interiors for HOK, an international architecture, engineering and design firm.
It all starts with a brand story, and figuring out what makes the company unique and then letting that story guide everything—from textures and colors to how spaces are used, she says. She warns that companies shouldn’t treat branding in an office as an afterthought or something that’s layered on at the end of the design process.
HOK encourages clients to view the workplace experience through different perspectives, employees, visitors or leaders.
“To help leaders see beyond aesthetics, we take a Day in the Life Approach,” says Jeff Lancaster, creative director of HOK’s experiential design division, which works to identify touchpoints and ways to infuse a company’s brand values into the everyday experience.
An easy way to begin is to take a simple idea that grows in a meaningful way, says Graham. This could be tapping into real moments from a company’s past or creating new ones and bringing them to life with visuals, layout or material that reinforce a company’s values. Doing this can add authenticity and purpose to a space.
-HOK
Materials Matter
Choosing the right textures, colors, furniture, materials and creative details can help tell the story of a brand. Innovation, for instance, can be conveyed through sleek finishes, sustainability can be shown through recycled materials, and a sense of community can be expressed with warm textures, Graham says. “Materials play a huge role in telling that story,” she says.
Take, for instance, the Sandy Springs, Georgia headquarters of Graphic Packaging International, which makes cardboard packaging for consumer products. Its client innovation center features a striking installation of more than 2,700 suspended green acrylic leaves—each representing a patent and symbolizing its commitment to sustainability and innovation. The evolving display aims to inspire employees and clients and reflects the company’s impact. The workspace also incorporates sustainable materials like recycled paper, wood and metal, showcasing its ESG goals.
– HOK
Local art, too, can illustrate a sense of space, and more companies are hiring art consultants who can connect with local artists and create a space with true identity that speaks to inclusion and belonging.
– HOK
Getting Creative
Companies are finding creative ways to bring their brand identity to life through design. Think less about seeing a brand and more about feeling it.
Heineken’s U.S. headquarters has, not surprisingly, a bar where people can grab a beer after work. Goop uses soft colored woods, natural lights, and rounded furniture that conveys the company’s wellness brand—as well as a Goop test kitchen and yoga room.
Oppenheimer Group, the realtors from Netflix’s Selling Sunset, incorporates luxurious decor with chandeliers and dark rich woods to mirror the high-end properties it sells on the show. Booking.com’s 54,000-square-foot New York City office captures a sense of place and its headquarters in New York City with themes of New York streets and boroughs for offices, walls with street art and window films. Etsy uses handmade materials and micro-manufactured materials throughout its offices to illustrate the kinds of handcrafted goods sold on the platform. And INK Games, a mobile payment and game monetization studio in Austin, has old-school arcade video games and trippy colorful murals on walls.
Boosting Morale and More
A well-designed, branded workplace can do wonders for morale, connection, and company culture. Research shows that the quality of a workplace has a significant impact on people’s motivation, enthusiasm, creativity and efficiency. Gensler’s Workplace Performance Index concluded that good office design could boost employee productivity by 20%. “Thoughtful design helps people feel more connected to their work and each other, increasing motivation and pride,” Lancaster says.
“The impact goes beyond how employees feel—there are real, measurable benefits too. When people love their workspace, they share it on social media, invite friends and family, and proudly show it off to potential recruits,” Lancaster says. “A great office can even attract interest from clients and other companies who want to visit or hold meetings, reinforcing the brand and culture.”
A well-branded office can also be a powerful recruiting tool, demonstrating to new hires the company’s culture and values in a more tangible way, and it can leave a lasting impression on suppliers, guests and customers.
When a workplace truly reflects a company’s values and encourages interaction, it becomes more than just a place to work—it’s a hub for connection, collaboration, and belonging. While the cultural benefits are obvious, these tangible results prove how powerful workplace branding can be. “Your workplace isn’t just where you work—it’s where your brand comes to life,” says Graham.
