The latest modern office design trends

Written by Admin on 07/10/2015. Posted in Workplace

This month, Evoke Projects brings you a series of articles about the latest trends in office design:

• The latest modern office design trends
• Space planning for the modern office
• What work styles work for your team?
• Hi-tech office design trends

The latest modern office design trends

If you have a new office refurbishment on the agenda for 2016, get ahead of the game! Evoke Projects looks at what’s currently trending in modern office design, starting this week with colours, materials and furniture.

Colour trends in office interior design

Bright accent and feature colours have been popular in 2015 and we expect this trend to continue into 2016. It has long been recognised that bright colours motivate people, so this office design trend is good news for productivity.

If you want to be particularly in vogue, check out the Pantone and Dulux websites. Earthy and rich ‘marsala’ is Pantone’s colour of the year for 2015, while Dulux is looking ahead to 2016 with a celebration of the ‘Design Age’. Find out more about the Design Age themes (Bio Fragility, Future Past, Retro Remix and Infinite Worlds) on the Dulux website.

Another modern office design trend is LED mood lighting that changes colour. We have seen clients use this effectively in breakout areas and offices that are illuminated overnight. You can pick multiple colours or several shades of the same colour that move through a cycle.

Materials used in office interior design

Natural and sustainable materials are understandably popular right now. These materials help to achieve ‘green’ ratings for offices and also contribute to corporate social responsibility. ‘See our previous sustainability article’ If you are undertaking a refurbishment, consider buying office furniture made from recycled materials or sustainable timber—Evoke Projects can advise you on options.

Staying on this theme, there is definitely a modern office design trend to ‘get back to nature’. At a basic level, this involves more plants and greenery around the office. Research has shown that workers are 15% more productive when pot plants are used in the office design.* Many businesses are going further and looking for ways to make good use of outdoor areas, particularly in high-rise buildings. Office fitout designs that merge the indoor space into the outdoors, with a deck or garden area, will remain popular in 2016 and beyond.

Tiles are often selected purely for their design potential and we have seen an increased demand for geometric wall and floor tiles. Geometric wall art is an alternative modern office design option for companies that want flexibility in their interior design: artwork is easier to change than tiles.

When it comes to glass, our designers are increasingly using frostless and frameless glass for office partitions. Frostless glass offices enable acoustic privacy but still give an open-plan feeling of space and light.

Office furniture and product trends

We have already mentioned sustainable furniture and LED mood lighting in office interior design trends.

For companies embracing flexible working solutions, smaller workstations are being installed in the office to suit a more mobile workforce. Desks are less of a ‘home away from home’ than they used to be.

Whiteboards are becoming not-so-white with coloured boards and glass adding a splash of colour to the office. Test the functionality of these alternatives to make sure words are visible from a distance. For example, a boardroom will have a different visibility requirement to a large open plan sales area.

Longevity plus style

Aesthetics are important for office interior design, but you want longevity combined with style. When you’re selecting colours, materials and office furniture, ask yourself whether this choice could be a fad that you’ll regret. Unless you refurbish your office space regularly, try to pick an interior design that is on-trend but with timeless elements. For example, feature walls can afford a modern colour, as they are easy to change, but ceramic tiles should be designed to withstand the test of fashion time.

Evoke Projects will help you plan a modern office design with style and longevity to suit your corporate objectives and budget. Please call us on 1300 720 692.

* Nieuwenhuis, M., Knight, C., Postmes, T., & Haslam, S. A. (2014, July 28). The Relative Benefits of Green Versus Lean Office Space: Three Field Experiments. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied. Advance online publication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xap0000024

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Tags: modern office design