In today’s competitive business landscape, strengthening your brand is more crucial than ever. With so many businesses striving to achieve the same goal, your unique approach and identity is what truly sets you apart. When thinking of establishing and enhancing a brand, most businesses confine their efforts to traditional marketing, advertising and social media. But there’s an important way to boost brand awareness that often gets overlooked: office design.
Thoughtfully weaving your brand into your office design will help to create an immersive space that truly exemplifies what you stand for. Branding in the workplace is also a great way to build community amongst employees, resonate with visitors and enhance your reputation in the market.
What is experiential branding?
Experiential branding is the practice of creating meaningful and memorable experiences that reflect your brand’s identity. Experiential branding goes beyond any specific product or service that you may offer and instead, aims to invoke a lasting feeling.
What does your brand truly feel like? Instead of telling people what your brand stands for, experiential branding lets them experience your brand through interaction, environment, and emotional connection. Effective experiential branding is:
Immersive
People engage with your brand using multiple senses like sight, sound, touch, even smell and taste. That’s why it’s important to identify the types of sensory experiences you want to create in your space and how each one can reinforce your brand identity.
Authentic
While experiential branding goes beyond the traditional, it should always maintain a strong connection to your true brand identity. Lean on your core values to ensure that the experiences you create feel genuine.
Emotional
Effective experiential branding tells a story. Whether it aims to evoke inspiration, relaxation, or excitement, the goal is to connect with the audience and spark a feeling.
“The visual representation of a client’s business, services and culture is essential in promoting a strong sense of identity and pride in the workspace.”
– Alison Rincon, Experiential Brand Designer
How experiential branding can influence your business
Experiential branding allows you to reflect your identity and values from the moment someone walks into your space. By approaching office design as a curated experience, you can create an environment that engages employees, strengthens your brand and sets you apart from your competition.
Reinforces your identity
Your employees are your first brand ambassadors. When your workspace embodies company values, your team will feel a more direct connection to your collective mission and vision.
For example, if your brand is dedicated to sustainability, you could incorporate recycled materials, biophilic design and smart energy solutions to truly embody what you stand for. If employees and visitors in your space can feel your values around them, they are much more likely to trust your vision.
Sets the tone
By definition, experiential branding aims to make people feel and respond a certain way. When graphics, signage and spaces are thoughtfully designed to reflect a company’s values and unique personality, they help create a cohesive environment that sets the tone for the entire experience and creates an emotional connection to a brand. Whether you’re an energetic brand that thrives on excitement, or a wellness brand that values tranquility, when your design choices reflect your identity, you can greatly affect the psychology of your environment.
Resonates with clients
When clients, investors or partners visit your workspace, they should understand your unique brand personality without an explanation. Your lighting, furniture, layout and design accents are an immediate reflection of what your business stands for.
The direct connection between brand image and environment can work in your favour. If you’re able to communicate your identity without words, your office will leave a lasting impression that sets you apart from your competition. By stimulating multiple senses, experiential branding evokes a feeling that truly resonates.
Creates a sense of community
Experiential branding isn’t just about impressing your customers or clients. It has a strong impact on your employees. An office with true personality can create a more inspiring work environment which boosts employee morale, productivity and retention.
How to bring experiential branding into your workspace
A simple logo on your wall doesn’t capture the true feeling of your brand. Successful experiential branding in the workplace includes designing an environment that reflects who you are, what you value, and how you want people to feel when they’re in your space. We’ve outlined some creative ways that can help you bring experiential branding into your office:
Mural walls
A mural isn’t just art – it tells a story, is an expression of identity and creates a memorable experience. Adding a mural to your workspace can be a powerful and cost effective way to show off your brand personality. Murals also create a defined space for employee engagement and collaboration, focused heads down work or even casual social interactions with selfies that can boost morale and drive social media engagement. Mayhew can design the wall mural for you that aligns with your vision and conveys your brand
Themed meeting rooms
Themed meeting rooms are a quick way to bring experiential branding into everyday office life. Creative room names strategically integrated into meeting or collaborative spaces through signage or window film design can add personality, spark creativity, and reinforce your brand story. For example, a sporting goods brand could name their meeting rooms after the different sports they cater to: the baseball room, the soccer room, the basketball room etc. Graphics, colours and creative typography that reflect the room’s theme will enhance spatial and brand recognition.
“My motivation is to create a positive experience for users of spaces through visually appealing graphics, compelling imagery, and powerful typography that communicates a company’s unique message.”
– Alison Rincon, Experiential Brand Designer
Custom signage
Custom signage is a great way to bring personality into your space and connect with the people in it. Whether you want to showcase your company values, share some inspiring words, or highlight employee achievements and community involvement, creative signs can really boost morale and tell your story.
Wayfinding signs and room identifications are very helpful for visitors—and they make your space feel more welcoming. At Mayhew, we make sure everything is clear, on-brand, easy to navigate, and meets all the accessibility and building code standards.
You can take your signage to the next level with 3-dimensional elements, refined materials, brand colours, lighting effects and unique graphics. These details can make a big impact and help your space stand out.
A defined colour palette
The colours you select for your office design have a huge impact on how your brand is perceived. Using colours that align with your brand’s identity creates a more cohesive and memorable workspace that reflects who you are. We’ve outlined some tips for incorporating colour into your office design effectively:
- Choose colours that align with your brand’s identity and values.
- Use your brand’s primary or secondary colours as accents for walls, graphics and signage, flooring and furniture throughout the office.
- Research and consider the psychological impact of different colours
- Use colours strategically to create visual interest and guide the eye.
- Don’t be afraid to experiment – a bold colour choice can create a lasting impression.
Branded moments
Interactive displays, exhibits and spaces are a great way to resonate with visitors and reinforce your brand messaging through action. You may opt to include a branded cafe where employees and visitors can enjoy branded products or create an immersive entryway with an interactive welcome kiosk. The opportunities are endless – this is a branding initiative where your creativity can really soar.
Cultural reinforcement
Creating a space that resonates with your unique company culture is a great way to bring your brand identity to life. For example, if your brand is wellness-focused, consider adding meditative or gym spaces with motivating quotes, brand colours or inspirational imagery. Introducing biophilic elements that align with your brand is also important for workplace health and wellness. Biophilia can be introduced to spaces, not only through the use of live or preserved plants, but also by incorporating graphic patterns found in nature, as well as textures and imagery that foster a connection to nature.
Integrated technology
Whether you’re adding interactive displays, screens with branded videos or using a welcome kiosk to create an immersive entryway, technology is a powerful tool in establishing your brand, incorporating wayfinding, and telling your unique story. Incorporating exciting new experiences like augmented reality (AR) can be a great way to not only build your brand, but truly resonate with visitors in your space.
We help offices bring their brand to life
At Mayhew, we understand the true value of experiential branding in a workspace. We help our clients incorporate their unique identity, values and personality throughout their office environment. Get in touch with our team to learn more. Together, we can create something great.
