Elevating Small Business Brand Identity

It’s more important than ever for a small business to establish a brand story that identifies not only where you’ve been, but where you’re going. A well-designed office can boost employee morale, reel in top-tier talent, and leave a lasting impression on clients and visitors. When your office design aligns with your brand messaging, it solidifies your identity within the community and builds trust and loyalty among employees and clients alike.

ESTABLISHING BRAND IDENTITY

A brand is not just a logo. A logo is only one component. It should be entrusted to someone who understands the power of design to communicate, validate, and create an impression. It is deeply tied to your brand identity through the elements that make your brand recognizable. Brand identity establishes a dialog through color, typography, repetition, and images that speak to the values and feelings your business invokes. It helps establish a personality by making your small business identity bigger, more relatable, approachable, and memorable. Think of a strong brand identity like a catchy tune stuck in your head. It should be coherent, consistent, and unforgettable.

Elevating small business brand identity is a process. It begins by looking inward before projecting outward to the community. Deciphering how your team perceives your company values and culture is very important. It is especially important to a small business branching out into an established community. You’re at an advantage with a smaller office footprint to significantly impact branding through a well-planned interior design that projects brand identity both internally and externally. Focus on creating a  physical manifestation of your brand’s values, culture, and priorities:

• A company that values transparency and openness should opt for an open-plan office with glass partitions, exemplifying these values visually and functionally. 
• A brand that prides itself on creativity and innovation should incorporate flexible workspaces with moveable walls and room dividers to stimulate unrestricted creative thinking and open workspace collaboration. 
• Make a powerful first impression by embedding your brand identity into daily experiences. Integrate daily abstract activities like coffee breaks and meeting areas into the brand attributes for tangible, actionable, and accessible visibility throughout the office.
• Project professionalism and confidence to clients and investors with high-quality furnishings. An updated reception area with subtle branded elements, and advanced technology can convey your company’s expertise and reliability instantly.
• Become the place to be! If you are vying for top talent in competitive fields like tech, create spaces that reflect innovation and perks with free-range workstations, chill zones, cafe-style workspaces, and sleek, modern aesthetics that appeal to young professionals. 

ELEMENTS THAT COMMUNICATE BRAND IDENTITY

FURNITURE & LAYOUT: The backbone of your office style is the furniture and layout. Think of this as the DNA of your brand’s physical presence within a modern hybrid workspace design. You are inviting someone into your brand story, so you need to know your ‘why’ as a company. First-time clients may have no idea who you are, what you can offer them, and why they should choose you. So utilize everything you have to convey your ‘why’ to them:

• Encourage collaboration with casual open dialog spaces, communal tables, and flexible lounge seating areas. Initiate innovative discussions with a bold color story for flexible work areas and collaborative huddle spaces. 
• Provide unique privacy areas with strategic furniture arrangements that include collaborative spaces, privacy pods, and transition areas that subtly enforce brand identity without sacrificing style.
• Integrate ergonomic height adjustable desks & chair hubs that allow for creative impromptu brainstorming and conferencing.
• Utilize modular furniture which allows you to reconfigure the space as your needs evolve. 

COLOR IMPACT: Color not only impacts brand development, but it also sets a tone that identifies your brand’s personality. As you rebrand, understanding color psychology can help you pick a palette that speaks to your brand’s message. Workspace color stories create an ebb and flow that should lead your eye throughout the brand story effortlessly:

• Focus on brand color integration throughout your office design for heightened brand identity.
• Utilize complementary colors for impact in utilitarian areas like workstations and conference rooms.
• Consistency is key, your office colors should reflect and compliment your brand’s visual identity everywhere.
• Consider the intensity of the colors, softer shades for a calm, relaxed environment, and bolder tones to kick up the energy a notch:
  • Use complementary colors wisely, and pay attention to color pairings during logo development.
  • Working with a space planner + designer can help you make the most of color impact.
  • Blue and Green hues are great for evoking trust and stability in healthcare and financial institutions. 
  • Red, orange, and yellow inject energy into creative spaces where innovation is required.

BOLD DESIGN ELEMENTS

Any business rebrand or start-up brand development scenario should start with a designer and/or architect discussion. This will enable you to think outside of possibilities vs needs/wants for things you may not have considered. Creating bold textures within a lease property can be difficult. Through their expertise and guidance, you can design removable elements that can grow your brand vision alongside your business goals:

Custom-designed elements can take your office space from standard to stand out. Pay attention to your street-facing images to provide a visual snapshot of your brand at street level. A branded background mural can tell your company’s story or illustrate your brand’s journey. Make your reception area a spectacular storyteller with custom-designed reception desks, eye-catching graphics, and sleek digital displays that shout modernity and relevance.

Modular design elements can adapt to your changing needs while showcasing your brand’s adaptability and innovation. Temporary walls and room dividers can transform your office on a whim and can also serve as direct branding surfaces. Customize them with different colors, artwork, wall decals, and signage to turn them into display boards. Demountable glass walls can create dynamic private office spaces with surfaces for translucent bold graphics to make them semi-private.

Get creative with brand incorporation that makes the viewer want to delve deeper and find out more about you. Overloading the space with logos can feel like you’re beating visitors over the head with your brand while being too subtle might miss the chance to reinforce your identity. Your approach should reflect the nature of your business personality and the vibe you want to give off. Creative industries might go for bold, artistic icon displays that scream personality. A legal or financial firm might prefer a more sophisticated understated, professional-focused image with residential appeal. 

Art allows you to creatively project any image while telling your brand’s story. Choosing artwork that reflects your brand culture or community involvement can create a deeper connection with both employees and visitors. If your company has a rich history, creatively display vintage photos or heritage pieces in prominent spots to give your office a gallery vibe. A sleek, modern tech company might opt for contemporary art that screams innovation and progress. Utilize large art as a springboard for furniture colors, styles, placement, and selection. Our previous blog post on Exhibit Design might be worth a read! 

COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS

Nothing says more about forward momentum than redesigning an outdated office space that no longer reflects your brand identity. If you lease the space, let art, colorful furniture choices, and strategic placement tell your story without blowing the budget! It might seem like a tall order, but financial limitations can often spark bold creativity. To begin achieving a stylish office design on a shoestring budget:

• Prioritize key areas by focusing your resources on reception, meeting spaces, and workstations. These are the places that leave a lasting impression on visitors and employees, so investing in these zones can maximize your impact.
• Repurpose + reuse before heading out to buy new items. Many existing furniture pieces can be repurposed, refinished, or reinvented to fit your new design. Reupholster old chairs, repaint tables black, and rearrange existing furniture to give your space a modern look without the hefty price tag.
• Simplify design elements with clean minimalist shapes that can bridge styles. Clean, simple lines and a cohesive color palette can create a sophisticated look that’s easy on the wallet. Grouping similar styles and changing upholstery can create a fresh color pallet. 

OFFICE DESIGN INSPIRATION

Inspiration is everywhere. Visit Inspired Workspaces on our website for some ideas. A trip around the internet can yield some amazing results. But a drive around your community is a much better option! When you tune in to upgrading your small business brand identity, you will often see missed opportunities in others. This is a great place to start reimagining the next steps and elevate your business in the marketplace. Also, pay attention to the color stories and change your narrative accordingly.  Here are some local Austin businesses that took control of strong branding rhetoric to elevate their brand identity. Exciting things always happen when forward-thinking design meets a great brand story!

      

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OUR PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAM is experienced and educated in a variety of tools and methodologies to help you visualize your design, reconfiguration, or relocation project. Once you decide to rebrand we can help you visualize the changes. Contact us at 512-448-3769 or experts@officefurniturenow.com