Business Decor & Brand Image: What Does Your Office Art Say About Your Business?

“Consumers use visual cues to form their impression of retail brands and to anticipate the value of products and services, sometimes long before experiencing them firsthand.”  -Andrew Hetzel

Source: http://www.coffeestrategies.com/2009/03/30/coffee-shop-branding-with-decor-and-furniture

Business decor.  What does the decor at your place of business say about your company’s brand image?  Even if you are an employee, what does your cubicle or office say about your personal brand?

Now that I have my own business I have become more and more cognizant of  BRANDING.  I always think back to Kim Collins and her graphic design studio, blue tomato design.  “Live Your Brand,” she says.   Her passion for her work is apparent simply from the decor that she has chosen for her space.

Kim has many of her logo designs in frames all over the office, thereby making art out of her client’s final product.  Also, she has three square frames nailed to the wall with one word in each frame, EAT, SLEEP, DESIGN.  (See photo of Kim’s studio to the right).  Click here for other images of her space.  http://bluetomatodesign.com/space/.  Every item in the space appears strategically chosen and placed.

I think back to my former law firm Campbell and Levine (http://www.camlev.com) and their outstanding art collection related to the steel industry.  (As a kid originally from a steel mill town in WV, my heart warmed when I first interviewed with the firm and saw their gigantic, stunning, steel mill painting in their lobby).  The firm has also represents numerous industrial clients in commercial bankruptcy  matters.  (Photo to the left is one I took of my hometown steel mill, Weirton Steel now known as Arcelor Mittal).

This past Saturday, I walked into a coffee shop in Mount Lebanon.  Blue Horse Coffee.  http://www.bluehorsecoffee.com/ On the walls are black and white prints of horses.  They sell handbags and jewelry that are consistent with their Native American theme too.

Does the art in your place of business speak to your brand?  Will it resonate with your clients?  How strategic is every item in your work place?

Should you pay particularly attention to this issue, even if your business is not a retail business, even if you are not a coffee shop or restaurant?  I would say so.

I hope this post gets your wheels rolling.  Please share stories here.

OTHER SOURCES:

http://www.ehow.com/way_5163092_business-decorating-ideas.html

http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100516/business/business2.html