Design a Branded Space to give your Company a New Look for the New Year
Recently I had a chance to visit the famous Apple retail store on Fifth Avenue in New York. In a city that is entirely about vertical real estate value, this store is unthinkably flat. Approaching the store, you see a glass cube about 30 feet high with a luminous Apple logo suspended in the center. Obviously influenced by I.M. Pei’s glass pyramids at the Louvre, the interior of the store is flooded with natural light from the surface of the building’s cubic structure. There are no windows. The rest of the store is entirely underground like a bunker with Apple’s brand seeping out from every corner. Every product, big screen TV, salesperson, work and play stations, and signage integrate into a cohesive experience for Apple fanatics from 5 to 95 with a mantra of “think different”.
As a devoted Windows user, I thoroughly enjoyed this pinnacle store that rivals the Vatican and World of Coke for a thoroughly iconic experience.
These days, customers feel there is a disconnect if you have a vital brand that has a presence everywhere except your office, or showroom, brick and mortar store, or even your production/manufacturing area. Every space, even law and accounting offices, are in for major changes. In fact, one of our legal clients, hired an interior decorator to help develop a “Rescue Room” for their clients. This themed room offers a calm atmosphere, refreshments, and reassuring educational pieces for debt-stressed clients.
Orbit Design’s “Robot Room” is a toy dotted area with a comfortable sofa, lounge chairs and a wet bar with refreshments – not a conference table in sight. During long branding sessions, clients feel comfortable enough to kick off their shoes, curl up on the couch, and explore the toy robots, to help them ponder the future of their company.
Do you need expensive modifications requiring an interior designer? Not necessarily. But to avoid looking off-message or unintentionally tacky, a thorough brainstorming and careful implementation with someone whose taste you trust is necessary. When faced with boredom versus even the smallest attempt at fun, customers will choose and appreciate fun every time.
What does branding your space mean to your customer? There are three significant messages: First, you are demonstrating the authenticity of your brand; a branded space permeates your brand to every corner of your company, right down to the factory floor, and is not just on the surface. Second, you are clearly stating your commitment to your customer’s entire experience. And third, it underscores your brand’s separation from the run-of-the-mill competition.
Brand well and prosper!
Andy Cleary