5 Office Design and Lighting Tips for Better Productivity

An office interior design has a highly significant influence on the productivity of your team and the success of your company. A professionally designed office interior not only optimizes the comfort of its users for the intended tasks, but also complements the company brand. From corporate to creative, funky, or vintage, every element that goes into the design of your office spaces should reflect the personality of your brand.

There is no one-design-fits-all when it comes to the design of office interiors. Since every company is different, and the operations of every business vary, a well-thought-out design should aim to create the best solutions for productivity, unique to the needs of the company. The following are some of the key principles that you should consider when designing a productive workspace.

1. Office Layout

One of the main aspects that drive the productivity of a workplace is the layout of the office. A productive office design incorporates private working rooms as well as collaborative spaces that allow teams to work together. Social spaces are also essential in the modern workplace, allowing employees to recharge during breaks, and thus stay productive throughout the day.

The interaction of different spaces should be in such a way as to allow for ease of workflow. For instance, having private workstations in the quieter side of the office and collaborative workstations and social spaces on a different end would minimize distractions for those working privately.  For a more dynamic workspace, you can design for an open layout office with movable and modular furniture, which allows for flexible use of the space.

First impressions are everything when it comes to business, and the design of your reception area can make or break your business. Still sticking to the brand, the reception area must be welcoming and cozy. Your clients will know the level of professionalism and quality they can expect from your company simply by looking at your reception. So, wow them.

2. The Color Scheme:

Color has a major impact on the psychological state of humans. Therefore, if you want to maximize productivity, you need to go with a color scheme that can energize your team and improve their productivity. Primarily, you should work around your brand colors to find a color palette that will grow your brand identity while improving how the employees and clients experience the office space.

Cool colors such as blue and green have a relaxing but mentally stimulating effect, making them perfect for private offices. A brilliant white color can be intimidating. Therefore, opt for an off-white wall instead, incorporating a little color.

Use reds to add energy in your conference rooms, and yellows to boost creativity in the collaborative workspaces. If you’re designing for a more masculine look, browns, blacks, and greys will evoke a feeling of authority.

If you’re still not sure how to incorporate these colors into your design, a pastel variation of your preferred color will generally have a calming and comforting effect thus great for reception areas, while a bolder version will have a vibrant and invigorating effect that works flawlessly for the workspaces. 

You can experiment with splashes of different colors in the break rooms and social spaces for a more fun look.

3. Furniture:

The ergonomics and comfort of your furniture will dictate the productivity of the employees working in that office. Repetitive strain injuries are more often caused by working long hours in uncomfortable furniture, therefore lowering the productivity of your team and putting their health at risk.

Invest in cozy ergonomic office chairs that rest the spine at a natural curve. The height of the worktops and desks should allow for a comfortable rest of the elbows when sitting or typing. Add comfy snug couches at the break rooms, allowing employees to take occasional breaks to lie down and stretch. It certainly is a small price to pay for the success and productivity of your team.

4. Art:

How can you increase productivity, communicate your brand values, and show your brand identity in your office décor? It is simply through the art you display. Whether a typographical artwork, an abstract art piece or a framed painting, the art in your office space speaks volumes about the brand culture and what your organization believes in.

Add the focal point to your office spaces, break rooms, and reception areas with a statement art piece that motivates and inspires creativity from your team to increase productivity. A remarkable artwork also serves to enhance the mood of the room.

1. Lighting Design:

Visual comfort is highly essential for employee productivity. Designing a workspace with adequate quality lighting for the intended purposes will therefore make all the difference. Research has shown that natural daylight is the best for optimum productivity and creativity in the workplace. Therefore, maximize daylight in your office design, opting for larger windows and doors for an airy and comfortable office design.

However, since natural daylight varies throughout the day, it is important to complement it with dimmable artificial lighting. This feature allows you to adjust the light levels proportionately throughout the day, ensuring consistency.

5. Layering of Light

The standard illumination for an office is approximately 500 lux. However, to avoid over-illuminating with harsh brilliant lighting in every corner of the office space, it is important to layer your office lighting into ambient lighting, task lighting, and accent lighting.

• Ambient Lighting

When designing for maximum productivity, ambient lighting creates the overall uniform lighting of the room. It provides adequate illumination for basic functionality and navigation in the space. For an office, go for LED downlights or ceiling lights for uniform ambient lighting.

• Task Lighting

Task lighting is often additional lighting designed purposely to aid in the performance of a specific task. Therefore, it is often more focused, designed with adequate light output for the intended task. Add table lamps for private working desks, pendant lights above reception desks and conference tables, and motion-sensitive direct-mount lighting to your shelves and cabinets to efficiently achieve this.

• Accent Lighting

Accent lighting highlights unique architectural and artistic features in a room, drawing attention to the focal point and creating the desired mood. The best way to add accent lighting to your office is through art lighting. Make an investment in quality art lights and accent lights with metallic and painted finishes perfect for every office interior. You can also draw attention to your company logo by backlighting it or add warm cove lighting to creating a relaxing mood in a space.

Quality Lighting

Considering the long hours spent in the office, quality office lighting should not only have adequate lighting levels, but should also be more diffused to ensure visual comfort. Diffused, indirect lighting creates a soft light with minimum glare and softer shadows. Additionally, a high color rendering index value of over 90, and a color temperature of between 3500K to 4500K will create a vibrant and energizing ambiance that will keep your team alert and productive. You can go for a warmer color temperature for reception and waiting areas to make them more welcoming.

Bottom Line

If you want to instantly increase the productivity in your office, accommodative interior design is the way to go. Rethinking your layouts, color scheme, furniture, artwork, and lighting might just be the much-needed uplift your business has been waiting for. Create a design that grows your brand identity, energizes the room, boosts employee productivity, and creates a happy, healthy work environment for all.

When it comes to office lighting, remember to invest in LED lamps with light adjustment settings, motion sensors, and automated switches to further save on your energy costs.