The Creative Cubicle

   

Question: 
Does the physical environment you work in affect your creativity and productivity?

   

Answer: 
YOU’RE GOD DAMN RIGHT IT DOES!!!!!!!! 
Some people / companies take this idea very seriously Joel Spoisky for one and having set up a ’studio’ at home I’m beginning to see the benefits myself. Let me set the scene with my two main work environments.

  

The Office
My 9-5 lead creative role sees me sat on a pretty uncomfortable chair at a pretty standard smallish wood effect office desk. On said desk is a tatty old phone, some very bleak grey dividers separating me from the people sat next to me, not high enough so I can’t see them but annoyingly high enough so I can’t see their screen when they want to show me something, it is essentially a cubicle. I have a Mr Potato Head who watches out for the security of my monster 24″ Apple cinema display which is hooked up to a G5 under the desk. I sit near a window with some grey office blinds which when opened reveal some grey steel framed windows which overlook some grey air conditioning units which some grey pigeons sometimes land on. I’m sure you’re getting the idea by now, there’s a lot of grey.

    

The Studio
In my studio at home I have a good size ‘real’ wooden desk, a comfy aesthetically pleasing chair, a laptop which I can move around with, which is soon to be accompanied by a 20″ iMac, there’s a comfy sofa where I can sit and sketch out ideas, I have a large flat screen TV which plays MTV and various other channels (on mute) for some creative inspiration, a Wii for those dull moments and creative blocks, background music with some occasional radio. And one of the most important elements, a mood wall, which is not only amazingly helpful at getting you in the right mindset when working on a project and a good source of inspiration, but also provides a change of scenery with every project worked on, (you never have to re-decorate).

 

As I’m sure you can imagine, the studio is a nicer place to be and the fact i call it a ’studio’ makes it feel instantly more creative. Whilst the projects I work on in the office tend to be larger and for more recognisable brands, in my opinion the designs  and creative work that comes out of the studio is better, more informed and stylized. I have more fun doing it and it comes so much more naturally and quickly, the only thing it doesn’t have for me and I miss is the office banter.

 

Everyone seems to work in different ways and prefer different working environments as we are all individuals, I’ve worked with designers who need complete silence and I’ve sat alongisde creatives who love working to music, but don’t have a music taste eclectic enough to hack the odd power balled and trance tune I’d throw out on occasions.

 

So what’s the point of all this rambling I hear you cry. Well I think the majority of people would agree that your physical environment affects your creativity and productivity. So why do so many employers insist on fitting office out in such a bland manner, the only reason I can come up with is cost. Most of us spend more time at work than we do at home with our friends and family, and whilst I think this is a bad thing, it’s the way it is and why it’s crucial that the work environment is a place which makes you happy and comfortable. Alexander Kjerulf has aggregated 10 seeeeeriously cool workplaces which is a pretty good list of some companies who have either got it right or at least had a go, Red Bull HQ has a slide to get you between floors for gods sake, how cool is that!!!!! (hopefully they have stairs too, scrambling up 3 flights of slides every day would be a pain in the ass). One agency which I feel should have made it to the list is Mother London who have a pretty cool open and collaborative approach, where you can end up sitting next to someone different every day.

 

So having read this, if you feel your office / studio / lab or whatever you call it isn’t really a great place to be, take some inspiration from this flickr set and do something about it, create an environment that is personalised to you or your company, there is no one solution fits all to this problem. There will always be pesimists who will say the beanbags funky desks and all the ‘cool’ stuff is a waste of money, but in reply argue that the impact on your creativity and productivity will far outweigh the costs. But most importantly will improve your daytime happiness and I defy anyone to put a price on that.