the journey to experience design

 
Explain who we are to everybody — including ourselves
We learned from the dot.com era that making “cultural DNA” visible was marketable: The disruptive tech sector used their workplace to beta test culture as much as product. Our work was used to explain themselves to the marketplace, to the venture capitalists, to the recruited talent, but just as often explaining the newly launched enterprise to itself.
image
Fine art programs give way to art inspired by commerce
image
Workplace amenity becomes a designed reflection of work competencies
Employee amenities materialize in the new mixed use workplace
Another new wrinkle was the revolution in workplace amenity. Dot.com re-invention of workplace and re-definition of worklife had us designing retail like amenities for food and beverage, fitness and recreation, health and wellness. Each became opportunity for a logo-marked thematic, reinforcing that creativity lived here. Wit and word play tied these designs to business competencies. Even support services — security, mail, reprographics ­— began to ask for creative visibility and promotional presentation. The dot.com workplace wholeheartedly adopted the experience economy and we found ourselves applying retailing concepts to the knowledge work itself. Tour the workplace, see the success culture; tour the systemshouse, see the well-oiled manufacturing floor: each offers identity and story.
 
 

Identity Planning   |   Message Masterplanning   |   Branded Environments   |   Media Design   |   Placemaking Strategies