How to Create an Effective Office Design Brief
4 minute read
When you’re staring at a blank page and looking to fill it with your dream office refurbishment, the question is where do you start?
Key Components of an Office Design Brief
There are eight areas to explore when putting together a workplace design strategy. From objectives to timeline, sustainability and functional aspects, each plays a vital role as part of the bigger picture.
Company Overview
When embarking on a workplace construction project, whatever the scale, aligning the decisions with your strategy is crucial to ensure that every area is designed with purpose. What are your brand values, how does your team currently work and what atmosphere do you want to create? This is a good starting point when committing to a refit and how it’ll benefit you in the future.
Project Scope and Objectives
Now that you’ve looked inwards, it’s time to look outwards. Reviewing the needs of the workspace will give you an indication of the scale of project required and allow you to prioritise what’s important. Questions to yourself include:
- What type of space plan will best support your business needs?
- Will you be expanding in the next 5 years?
- Does the environment support employee performance?
- How far are amenities for employees and clients?
- What new spaces will you need to get the most out of your teams?
Space Requirements
The amount of space you have to play with is a big factor in your office design planning. As part of your brief, detail the number of employees and departments you have within the company and specify the types of spaces you need. This could range from meeting rooms to open areas for collaborative working, private offices to host clients or wellness areas for employees. This will also influence what extra furniture and technology you need to invest in.
Budget and Timeline
A top priority is budget and the amount of time you have to achieve the desired outcome. Be realistic when it comes to how much money you have available, and Remember that variables such as design, size, furniture selection and location will all have a major impact on your final cost.
Design Preferences
The fun part. Do you have a corporate design brief that is used for your outbound marketing or logos and colour schemes that follow the same theme? All these aspects can be incorporated within your interior design preferences as part of your brand guidelines. This could range from materials, to colour and furnishings to transform your office space into one that is bold, vibrant and inspiring.
Functional Requirements
All office spaces are designed for productivity and achieving daily operational outputs. Therefore assessing the functional requirements during office layout planning is key. As well as all the design aspects, think about technology integration and storage solutions to help make your workforce as efficient as possible. Also, with today’s hybrid working do you need to implement flexible layouts to support alternate work patterns?
Sustainability and Wellbeing
We all want to become more sustainable in the workplace, with many offering different initiatives. During the office design process, carefully consider how you can enhance your sustainability with energy-efficient lighting, recycled or eco-friendly furniture and indoor plants to improve your green credentials. Employee wellbeing is also a factor to include as employers are stepping up and ensuring their team’s wellness at work is cared for.
Engage a Professional Design Partner
An office refurbishment can be a daunting experience, especially when you want to focus on the day job and keep the company operating smoothly. By working with a reputable design and fit-out specialist you’ll be collaborating with a team of designers, architects and project managers that are specialists in this area and can excel in bringing your vision to life.
With much to think about during the entire office design process, having a brief where you can detail each area with careful planning and consideration is a recipe for success. At Cobus Spaces we help to enhance productivity and reflect your brand identity through our expert design service. With years of experience in the industry transforming a wide variety of office spaces, we’re passionate about giving offices a new lease of life with our leading portfolio of styles and designs to suit your brand. We manage each project from start to finish with immaculate detail. Find out how Cobus Spaces can revolutionise your office.
