Putting a space to a name – why your office space is key to your brand

28th June 2018

Director Eamonn Daly shares his insights as to why the right office space is so important.

They say don’t judge a book by its cover – but there’s a reason the design department is a key part of any publication company. The cover must capture the essence of the pages within and becomes intrinsically linked to the book’s identity. And it’s the exact same relationship between a workspace and a business.

For better or worse, all social interaction is based on making a series of conscious and subconscious judgements on the surrounding environment. Our attitude and behaviour is modified based on our perception of the people and features around us. And although we’re aware of the error in making hasty judgements, first impressions are hard to shake.

It’s a wonder, then, that many businesses don’t pay more attention to their office or work space. Your company’s built environment is as vital a part of your brand as your logo. Clients and potential clients (those passing your building on the street, those searching your location on satellite Google Maps) will have already reached a hundred conclusions about you as a company, based on your building. And that’s before they’ve even gone inside.

Companies have re-brands to reassess their messaging, but the same is even more vital for their built space in which those ideas are housed. You don’t want to have a work environment you’re embarrassed to bring your clients or business partners. You need to make your space match your brand.

ITC has a long history in helping companies do just that. Take, for example, award winning architects Jestico + Whiles, who had to relocate offices and consider a new office design upon an expiring lease. For an architectural firm, their office is a sample product for future clients so only the highest standard will do. Having had an insight into ITC’s collaborative working approach on a previous project J+W knew they could rely on ITC to deliver this very important project on time and to the highest of quality.

But creating a home that matches your brand doesn’t have to involve relocation. Want a design update but can’t afford to move your whole team off the premises in the interim? For good construction teams, that’s not an issue. Some of our best work has been done on live sites: we carried out a multi-phased project for Enfield Council, refurbishing 10,250 square feet of office space in the Enfield Civic Centre. To allow the centre to continue functioning throughout the 99 weeks of the project, we fitted-out two floors at a time, with each pair taking 14 weeks to complete.

Working in this occupied and public facing building, to this scale, was logistically challenging and a testament to our collaborative working approach, that the project was such a success. Exceeding client expectations is our mission and we achieved this, with the Head of Facilities Management for Enfield Council commenting:

“Working within an occupied building is a skillset in itself and I have found that ITC possess this ability. They have worked most flexibly with us and gone the extra mile to provide an end product that we are very happy with.”

Collaboration isn’t just key within the construction team, but also between the construction company and client. If the new space is truly to reflect the brand, everyone needs to be clear on what the company stands for and the project’s goals. Communication from beginning to end is vital – and for ITC, this is the cornerstone of our brand.