The Power of Branding: How a Commercial Interior Designer Can Reinforce Your Company's Identity
Enhance your company's brand identity with the expertise of a commercial interior designer. Discover how their unique designs can transform your workspace and leave a lasting impression on clients and employees.
“Brand” is one of those words we throw around a lot: branded content, brand voice, “your brand here” promotional products. But if you’re not in marketing, the term itself can be a bit nebulous—isn’t a brand just a logo? And what does branding have to do with interior design, anyway?
What is a brand, anyway?
Companies with strong brands are instantly recognizable, from the yellow arches on the horizon to swoosh on the shoe box. They feel familiar to the consumer, even if they can’t fully identify why. It’s the reason you can identify a Target or Old Navy commercial before seeing the company name anywhere, or instinctively know you’re watching a Geico commercial over one for State Farm.
But what is it about these businesses that makes them so memorable, and what does this have to do with commercial interiors or interior design?
More than a Logo
Brands are made up of a few different building blocks. Logos and colors are part of that, of course, but it’s also about personality, tone of voice, values, and the story behind the business.
Is your company witty and loud? Do you use silly puns in your marketing? Are you saving ducklings, a la Dawn Dish Soap, or donating shoes, like TOMS Shoes?
These little nuances work together to create your company’s brand, and that is what we want reflected in your corporate interior design.
Our team designed a custom table for Vanee Foods that showcases their product — canned goods!
How can commercial interior design reinforce a company's identity
As a corporate interior design firm, it’s our job to create a design that reflects your brand. By using colors, fabrics, metals, photos, and even your company’s products, we can build your brand’s identity, making it as strong—or subtle—as you want.
How does commercial interior impact company culture?
Proper branding can create a great atmosphere, enhance company culture, and inspire employees. A lively work environment makes for lively employees—drab interiors make for sleepy workers.
On top of that, a space that’s been beautifully designed by an interior design firm will help make employees excited to start each day. They’ll arrive wanting to be there, stay longer, and increase productivity during work hours, adding toa positive company culture.
Rieke’s Approach: How we understand a company's brand identity before beginning a design project
Before we can create your dream space, we need to understand your company.
Here’s how we do that:
Step 1: Brand Packet
We start with the obvious: Your brand colors, fonts, tones, etc., to get an idea of your visual brand. We’ll ask how important your colors and branding are—some clients want heavily branded colors, others care more about conveying a particular kind of culture.
Either way, this helps our interior designers understand your aesthetic.
Step 2: Culture Conversation
At Rieke Interiors, we love hearing clients talk about their business. Your tone and passion help us understand your company, from the inside out.
Here’s where we dig into your company culture: Our interior designers will chat with you about who you are, and your story. Isthis a family business? A corporate environment? Does your office have down time? Fun time? Relax time? Or is it all go-go-go?
One of our biggest jobs is being a translator: You speak your company language and we translate it for the rest of the world. We take your thoughts, feelings, vision, and bring it to light in a modern way.
Your answers help us shape the environment we’re creating for your employees, and understand how your client should feel when they walk in your space.
Step 3: Palette Presentation
Based on all of the above, our interior design team will create two or three palettes for your approval.
Pro Tip:
Design palettes sample the colors, fabrics, and additional materials being proposed for use in your space.
Our favorite projects: Highlights of brand integration
Westside Tractor
Westside Tractor asked for big, bold, branding. We used digital graphics on the walls, but wanted more: We wanted yellow corrugated metal for the reception desk, color-matched to the John Deer equipment that they sell.
Finding someone to do that custom work was a challenge, but we made it happen.
Plote Construction
Full of family history and company culture, Plote Construction asked us to bring in textures and materials that would fit their 1970s building in a modern way.
In corporate design, there’s a story being told, but not necessarily to everyone. In the case of Plote Construction, we primarily worked with the granddaughters of the founder, selecting fabrics along the way that reminded them of their grandmother—who designed the original office.
Grandmother has since seen the new design and loves it.
Are you ready to bring branding into your corporate interior design?
Contact us and get started today.
This piece was created with the help and expertise of Jamie Leonard, Creative Director at Rieke Interiors.
