I think about this all the time, maybe not always consciously, but I'm sure it influences how I feel, whether I'm relaxed, feel comfortable, welcome, happy, at ease with myself.
I think you do too!
Design is everywhere - think about it...
Our Home
(Image credit: Simpson door company)
A lot of people don't realise how your home and surrounding areas are designed can have a vital influence on your mood, stress level, energy level, family dynamic and ability to focus if you work from home. So, the design considerations that have gone into all aspects to do with your home such as
the architecture of your home, the flow of your rooms
interior design - the colours, the layout, lighting, shapes, acoustic, materials
furniture and soft furnishings, wall art, accessories - how are they positioned and how does it make you feel?
space utilisation and organisation.
the outside space surrounding your home, your entrance, garden, landscape.
will all play a part in how much you enjoy being at home, overall wellbeing and whether it really represents you as a person or family.
My home has a Scandinavian influence with calm colours (mostly light colours) that runs through the house, a simplistic layout (although the house is very old), minimal clutter, everything has a purpose and a reason to be there, plants are important, the rooms link together and merge with the garden. One my favourite things about our house now that I've finally managed to renovate it is that we can see straight into the garden from the kitchen which links with a glass covered patio area and an open patio area. Although we have only added a small extension, the house feels so much bigger as it flows with the garden.
This makes me feel calm and happy and also reflects the designs I create in my work - clean and simplistic designs - and I like negative space in design, I don't like clutter, busy or overcrowded design - it's too 'loud' and makes me feel stressed.
Don't get me wrong, my home is not by any means a perfect show home and it gets messy of course and having dog running around in the house and garden also leaves its signs - but we love her so much, of course, and she's part of the family and puts a smile on our face all the time.
How does your home make you feel?
Here she is - our dog, Nelli, in the kitchen by the patio door.
Our Workplace
To feel good in our workplace is really important and directly influences our productivity, wellbeing and satisfaction. Since the pandemic many people are now permanently or semi-permanently working from home (even more important that the design of your home works for both your private and work life).
Ideally, if you work in an office the workspace should be divided into zones of social, collaborative and individual activities. This will promote concentration, productivity, knowledge sharing and stronger collaborations. This is where your company's brand personality is very relevant as this should be reflected in the environment and design of your headquarter/offices/workspace/studio.
Some great examples of this:
Danish furniture brand Fritz Hansen recently revamped their headquarter in Denmark - very aligned with their brand - form, function, timeless elegance and quality craftsmanship through visionary design:
Bark - their office is designed for maximum interaction with dogs - to reflect the company's business in dog product design with lots of comfortable areas for human workers and their dogs side-by-side.
A simple design of a plant wall can have a great effect.Greenery in the workspace can help boost moods and creativity as well help clean the air.
(Image credit: Avanti Systems)
Need to mention this - Acoustic wall panels
So many public spaces especially have a really bad acoustic which I feel is very uncomfortable and I want to promote the great Danish design and idea of acoustic wall panels. Wood panels or wood veneer panels mounted onto an acoustic felt material design to absorb sound. They come in various sizes and can easily be mounted onto walls or ceilings - and I think they look great too.
I found this company in Yorkshire who sells them Off The Grain Yorkshire
Design is everywhere we go...
Whenever we go somewhere we're influenced by how things are designed - for instance why do you choose to go to certain restaurants and not to others?
Yes, the food is very important and so it the service but the atmosphere is equally important to me.
Is it cosy, can we have a private conversation and hear each other but still feel the vibe in the restaurant?
Do I feel relaxed and can be myself?
And I want real candles, of course!
Think about it next time you go out.
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