We’ve recently taken a look at some millennial trends in the workplace to consider for your commercial remodel project, and among these trends is abundant natural lighting for your indoor space. There are plenty of reasons based in health and wellness that natural light is so sought after, but another huge factor in today’s workplace design is actually photographability. Think Instagram. The Selfie Generation has a need to share its experiences via photos on social media, and that need is influencing the design of modern businesses. “That’s how you know millennials are starting to open restaurants,” says Hannah Collins, the San Francisco designer whose firm has been responsible for some of the city’s most Instagram-friendly designs in recent years (Newton). Collins is referring to a recent upsurge in bright, ornate, even kitschy design that is catering to its customers’ next social media pose. “We literally think about framing our photographs, and how we can capture the essence of our experience within the square frame of Instagram specifically,” explains entrepreneur and restaurateur Varun Kataria of Turk’s Inn, New York. Photo-friendly design is this establishment’s (and many others) concept-driven social media strategy.
Customer-driven businesses are even instituting social media wall setups, a branded backdrop designed to draw guests to pose with for the specific purpose of posting to social media, with the brand’s hashtags, of course. (Check out the one we helped construct for SparkCycle Liberty Station!) This tactic was originated at trade shows to engage a live, interactive audience, but has landed for many business owners as an intentional, longer-term social media marketing solution. A related trend shows community businesses collaborating to commission local exterior murals to help draw Instagrammers to their locations. For these business owners, the increased traffic results in increased profits (Basha). Companies are branding their office spaces too, in order to embody their business ideology and market it to staff and clients. No business can be solely concerned with the effect its design choices have on just occupants anymore, because today, their occupants will blast out to the rest of the world with geotagged posts about their experience there… or not. The later is a missed opportunity.
In the art world, even museum exhibits and their creators are experiencing the social media effect. Now popular, more interactive exhibits weren’t designed for social media, but awesome exposure online (correlating with increased ticket sales) demonstrate a market waiting to be served. For instance, in some cities, people waited in line for as long as eight hours for their chance to get a photo inside the iconic Rain Room then blow it up on social media (Pardes).
Art and design are effective and lasting ways to communicate your brand identity, even if you remain unconvinced by the trends. If you’re ready to implement a social media wall, exterior mural, or corporate branding in your interior space, your own Hollywood sign if you will, APSGC offers design & install, ongoing support, and assistance with marketing tools on all of the above. Take action on both your redesign project (or improve upon your existing space) and social media strategy with one solution, and call us today for a design consultation!
Further Reading:
APSGC: Design & Fabrication Services
APSGC: SparkCycle Liberty Station in Portfolio
APSGC: Tenant Improvements for Offices: Today’s Millennial Trends
Article: Come for the art, leave with a coffee. Instagram walls are changing the way we do business. By Nathalie Basha
Article: Instagram is Pushing Restaurants to be Kitschy, Colorful, and Irresistible to Photographers by Casey Newton
Article: Selfie Factories: The Rise if the Made-for-Instagram Museum by Arielle Pardes
Gallery: Instagram Walls, Branded Offices, and other Workplace Designs
