· 6 min read
The Importance of Creative Spaces
As designers, we need an environment tailored to our creative needs to get through our days. We find inspiration in our surroundings, and those surroundings also need to act as a cozy place that makes us feel all warm on the inside. Many other professionals in the business world are given offices with furniture they did not pick (and cannot replace… even if they buy it themselves) with a stale wall color and little opportunity for natural light. Even worse… some people get a cubicle! We are really sorry if you are one of them. We empathize with you.
When your manager shows you to your new, drab work space on your first day they’re all like:
“Here’s your new space! You’re really lucky to get this one, a lot of employees are jealous of you already. Others would kill for this desk. Feel free to spruce it up how you want!”
Here’s a translation of that message: I gave you the retired guy's office because I didn’t want to distract a bunch of my employees by moving everyone around. Soooo good luck your new coworkers hate you! …and by spruce it up I mean ‘You can have 3 framed photos of your family, maybe a fun pencil holder.. but not too fun, one framed photo on the far wall, and your diploma behind you’.
Awesome… Thanks Todd!
As much as we want to scold this type of environment and give these companies an earful, we know that this is not something people even know is a problem. From a young age, we have been conditioned to believe that an office is a place where you go to work and only work. You leave your personality, wants, and needs at the door because for 8 hours a day you are a company robot. We strive to get older and work a 9-5 because that's the American dream. What we fail to realize is that the American dream leads us to a cold office with fluorescent lights that drain our energy by 11 am.
We will admit it, though, the business world is starting to wake up. Lots of office spaces are transforming with their employees' wants and needs in mind. We applaud that! Seriously. We’re hoping this positive change only continues until work is enjoyable for everyone. It will take a lot of work, but we believe it can get there one day.
Here at Ape Forge, we pride ourselves in making sure we're creating environments that fuel our teams creativity.
When explaining how we accomplish this, we like to go back into time when our very own Allie started as an intern in the long lost days of the summer of ‘23 (yes. last summer.). On her first day in the office, Matt did not hesitate to ask ‘Is there anything you need to make this space more comfortable for you?’. This threw her for a loop. She thought he was asking if she needed a new sketchbook and pencils, but she had no idea what he actually meant. This led her to decline his offer. Even though she said ‘no thanks!’ he kept asking. She was so confused as to why he was so persistent about it.
This confusion soon went away a month later on Tori’s first day back in office. That morning, Matt asked Tori that same question, ‘Is there anything you need to make this space more comfortable for you?’. The difference here was that Tori said yes. She had so many ideas to make their office space their own. Allie sat confused as to why Tori was so confident in her requests. That afternoon the team went to Hobby Lobby to fulfill those requests. That's when it clicked for Allie. All Matt wanted was for the team to feel comfortable in their spaces. Soon Allie joined in with her opinions and the rest was history. Now Allie and Tori’s office will forever be known as the calm, light, and relaxing bohemian style jungle room filled with red woods, lots of moody greens, bright whites, and many gold accents.
Though the vibes of each office are established now, they will never stop changing. Matt will never stop moving his space around and Allie will never stop thinking of a new project she wants to complete in order to make her and Tori’s space even more personalized. Her current project idea is making a frame for their TV. She is also waiting for her new white couch she bullied Matt into ordering for her… She just wanted to be able to chillax while doing her projects, and obviously a couch would solve that issue. We expect nothing less from her. Some may say Allie believes the company has endless amounts of money that is all invested in her outlandish requests.
All jokes aside, investing in your employees creative space means investing in your company’s success. We know, it's scary thinking about losing money on the fancier desk and chair (or in our case, a couch), but think about how amazing it will be when your employees are excited to come to work everyday and project execution quality is higher than it's ever been.
When re-inventing an office space to tailor to your employee’s needs, here is a list of questions we believe should be considered:
Additionally, we have created a list of categories that we believe should be considered when creating an uplifting space for your employees:
Thinking about this can be overwhelming, we know, but were hoping this helps a little. Re-Inventing these spaces will be something that takes time, but we will always encourage someone to start now instead of later. Starting today puts you on the fast track to success. Maybe even consider starting with conversation and try to understand these potential needs from your team’s perspective. Their thoughts might take this new understanding of creative spaces to the next level and open up doors you may have never thought existed.
Join us next week when we continue the conversation around creative needs as we unpack what ‘Enrichment Time’ is. Until then, stay wild.
When your manager shows you to your new, drab work space on your first day they’re all like:
“Here’s your new space! You’re really lucky to get this one, a lot of employees are jealous of you already. Others would kill for this desk. Feel free to spruce it up how you want!”
Here’s a translation of that message: I gave you the retired guy's office because I didn’t want to distract a bunch of my employees by moving everyone around. Soooo good luck your new coworkers hate you! …and by spruce it up I mean ‘You can have 3 framed photos of your family, maybe a fun pencil holder.. but not too fun, one framed photo on the far wall, and your diploma behind you’.
Awesome… Thanks Todd!
As much as we want to scold this type of environment and give these companies an earful, we know that this is not something people even know is a problem. From a young age, we have been conditioned to believe that an office is a place where you go to work and only work. You leave your personality, wants, and needs at the door because for 8 hours a day you are a company robot. We strive to get older and work a 9-5 because that's the American dream. What we fail to realize is that the American dream leads us to a cold office with fluorescent lights that drain our energy by 11 am.
We will admit it, though, the business world is starting to wake up. Lots of office spaces are transforming with their employees' wants and needs in mind. We applaud that! Seriously. We’re hoping this positive change only continues until work is enjoyable for everyone. It will take a lot of work, but we believe it can get there one day.
Here at Ape Forge, we pride ourselves in making sure we're creating environments that fuel our teams creativity.
When explaining how we accomplish this, we like to go back into time when our very own Allie started as an intern in the long lost days of the summer of ‘23 (yes. last summer.). On her first day in the office, Matt did not hesitate to ask ‘Is there anything you need to make this space more comfortable for you?’. This threw her for a loop. She thought he was asking if she needed a new sketchbook and pencils, but she had no idea what he actually meant. This led her to decline his offer. Even though she said ‘no thanks!’ he kept asking. She was so confused as to why he was so persistent about it.
This confusion soon went away a month later on Tori’s first day back in office. That morning, Matt asked Tori that same question, ‘Is there anything you need to make this space more comfortable for you?’. The difference here was that Tori said yes. She had so many ideas to make their office space their own. Allie sat confused as to why Tori was so confident in her requests. That afternoon the team went to Hobby Lobby to fulfill those requests. That's when it clicked for Allie. All Matt wanted was for the team to feel comfortable in their spaces. Soon Allie joined in with her opinions and the rest was history. Now Allie and Tori’s office will forever be known as the calm, light, and relaxing bohemian style jungle room filled with red woods, lots of moody greens, bright whites, and many gold accents.
Though the vibes of each office are established now, they will never stop changing. Matt will never stop moving his space around and Allie will never stop thinking of a new project she wants to complete in order to make her and Tori’s space even more personalized. Her current project idea is making a frame for their TV. She is also waiting for her new white couch she bullied Matt into ordering for her… She just wanted to be able to chillax while doing her projects, and obviously a couch would solve that issue. We expect nothing less from her. Some may say Allie believes the company has endless amounts of money that is all invested in her outlandish requests.
All jokes aside, investing in your employees creative space means investing in your company’s success. We know, it's scary thinking about losing money on the fancier desk and chair (or in our case, a couch), but think about how amazing it will be when your employees are excited to come to work everyday and project execution quality is higher than it's ever been.
When re-inventing an office space to tailor to your employee’s needs, here is a list of questions we believe should be considered:
- Are their spaces my employee(s) can function in with no distractions?
- Does this space reflect my employee(s) personality?
- Are my employee(s) physical needs accounted for?
- Are my employee(s) emotional needs accounted for?
Additionally, we have created a list of categories that we believe should be considered when creating an uplifting space for your employees:
- Emotional Needs
- Decorative pieces
- Wall decorations
- Table decorations
- Wall decorations
- Lighting
- Natural light
- Lamps
- Natural light
- Office Supplies
- Notepads
- Writing Utensils
- Notepads
- Technological devices
- TVs
- Laptops
- Monitors
- TVs
- Decorative pieces
- Physical needs
- Snacks and beverages
- Sanitary products
- Functional, yet comfortable pieces
- Desks
- Chairs
- Seating areas
- Desks
- Snacks and beverages
Thinking about this can be overwhelming, we know, but were hoping this helps a little. Re-Inventing these spaces will be something that takes time, but we will always encourage someone to start now instead of later. Starting today puts you on the fast track to success. Maybe even consider starting with conversation and try to understand these potential needs from your team’s perspective. Their thoughts might take this new understanding of creative spaces to the next level and open up doors you may have never thought existed.
Join us next week when we continue the conversation around creative needs as we unpack what ‘Enrichment Time’ is. Until then, stay wild.
