Your business premises could take any number of forms; for some, they might even be non-existent due to a remote working model. However, when you do have a designated area, you might think more carefully about how this physical place reflects the image that audiences are going to have of your brand. A strong association will be drawn between the two, so you want to ensure that you’re presenting this place in as effective a manner as possible.
The intricacies of that image, though, and the exact message that you want to broadcast to your audiences are going to be unique to you, as will be the road you take to realizing them.
The Exterior and Entrance
It makes sense to think about this in the order that people are going to see your place of business. The first thing they will see is your entrance and the exterior surroundings of the building. Although not everyone will want to use this place for the same purposes, that’s not to say that presentation is less important, just that you’ll have different priorities.
Some are going to be open to customers, such as those in the hospitality industry, while others are going to be restricted more exclusively to people who actually work there. In either case, one common element that will need the same care and attention is the parking lot. You must keep it as accessible and presentable as possible; through commercial parking lot repair or the fresh painting of parking lines, the flair of the entrance will be different and make a great first impression on customers and keep employees happy.
A place that purely functions as a place of business might not see the need to try and draw in people through enticing signs and logos, but they will still have informative signs that effectively describe the building and where to go and to maintain an appearance of professionalism.
The Shop Floor
If you do have a place of business open to customers, you will be immediately faced with a few questions once you get to the interior. If this is a site of hospitality, you’re going to likely want to include some seating areas that can be both comfortable and practical with the space that you’re working with.
After all, as much as you might want to increase your customer capacity to be as high as possible, you still have to fit in things like the counter and other areas for your staff to do their jobs.
If it’s more of a retail situation than a hospitality one, you can design your shop floor so that the various stands and stalls guide audiences through the room. Just having the items for sale on the wall might not be the most imaginative approach, leaving a big gap in the middle of the room where people end up waiting to get closer to the stock.
Decorating this space with islands in the middle or walls you set up can help people navigate the area – you could create a natural current that most people might end up following, potentially ending and beginning at the till.
Think About What Your Staff Need
Obviously, when the interior of your place of business is going to be used for purely professional purposes, the needs become more practical by nature. That’s not to say that this space can’t be pleasantly designed, as you might find that a comfortable space is one that helps people to work more happily and effectively.
However, you might not be so concerned with creating an environment appealing to those passing by as you otherwise would. Here, you’re free to focus on what it is that your staff members need and how you’re going to give it to them. For typical office environments, this might mean desks and chairs arranged in a space that doesn’t feel too cramped or soulless, with enough space to feel relaxed but not so much where you’re being inefficient with what you have available.
Other times, your working environment will be more akin to a warehouse, in which case it takes on an even more practical appearance, with the needs of the items and space likely coming first. However, it is easy to think that even at this point, there’s nothing that you can do to deviate your own warehouse environment from what a competitor of yours might design. That’s not necessarily true, though, and you might find that doing your best to consider your employees’ needs can lead you to design a safer, cleaner, and more comfortable space for people to work in.
