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Not just a pretty picture! We all know that having a few pictures here and there in your workspace can liven up the walls, but did you know that artwork in the office can up your productivity? Investing in art doesn’t have to be a daunting or expensive process and the benefits can have a hugely positive impact on your business. Studies conducted by Exeter university found that people working in what they called ‘enriched’ spaces (that’s to say offices decorated with colour, art, plants etc) were 17% more productive than those working in the more sterile, functional ‘lean’ spaces that the study tested against, and it’s pretty obvious that an aesthetically pleasing and welcoming workspace leads to happier employees, this makes for a more engaged work force as well. But the benefits to having art in your office reach a lot deeper. So here’s 7 reasons why you should include artwork in your next refurb: 1) Connecting the artwork you choose to put up with your company’s ethos, history and image can really help create a sense of brand identity. By thoughtfully picking the artwork on your walls you can subtly convey to clients ‘what you’re all about’. A picture paints a thousand words and you want your office to tell both your staff, and your customers what you believe in. 2) Art can connect you with your local community. Images of nearby landscapes, city scenes or local points of interest brings together a sense of local awareness, both making your staff feel at home but also showing that you pay attention to the world around you outside the office. 3) On the flip side just as you can show local knowledge you can also show off your national or global outreach with images of or relating to other branches and their locations or even areas of the country or world that your company has business dealings with. It is especially important when considering this type of art work in a head office, you want to convey a sense of connectedness with other branches and show the staff working in them that they are just as important to the business. Using art to emphasise the spread of your company is a subtle way to show the extent of your authority and reach. 4) Getting your staff involved in the selection process can forge a greater bond between employer and employee, it gives a feeling of empowerment to the people that are working for you. In fact, the Exeter study mentioned above found that staff who actually had a say over their working environment worked a whole 30% more productively (than those who had no say and worked in ‘lean’ environments) that’s twice as productive as those who worked in the ‘enriched’ spaces. Letting staff pick the artwork on the walls is a way of helping engaging them with their own work space without having to compromise on office layout and other areas of design. 5) Artwork can help with client relationships as well, not only can it provide a talking point – art is of course subjective - in those pre meeting waiting areas and board rooms, but also shows that your company is culturally engaged. In more conservative sectors (such as finance or law) the line between a corporate image and a welcoming friendly atmosphere is sometimes hard to draw but having engaging pieces of artwork up on the walls helps your business show that it has character. It gives your office space a soul without sacrificing any professionalism. 6) You may be thinking ‘well won’t this be a distraction for my staff?’, well in truth being surrounded by visual stimuli is shown to boost creativity, your employees won’t be day dreaming instead studies show that working in a design aware environment leads to a more inspired output. 7) Distinct pieces of art can help staff and customers navigate your office space. Not only do key pieces of artwork make different areas of your workspace more distinguishable and easier to find (“I’ll meet you in the X room, or I’ll see you by the X painting”) but it can also be an aid to agile working. By adding different pieces of art (perhaps varying in media, texture, style etc) to your work environment in notably different areas of the office, you can easily give each space a unique feel and characteristic. If you’ve ever found yourself stuck on a task at work or if you just need a change of scenery to clear your head, bringing artwork into an agile office space (where you can easily switch up the space where you are working) is a simple way to create that refreshing feeling so needed to get your head back on track. How does this work for you? When people talk about ‘buying art’ there is a preconception that you have to spend a lot of money but this is far from what we are suggesting here. You don’t need some extravagant budget to brighten up your office. instead supporting your local community can both promote the bond between a business and its neighbours but also demonstrates your investment in local culture and supporting the local arts scene. Likewise you don’t have to buy a piece outright, you can rent artwork through companies such as ARTIQ, this allows you to dip your toe into the art world without having to commit straight away, a try before you buy idea. But equally renting pieces regularly can keep your office feeling fresh. By changing up your wall spaces you create talking points, provide a creative space for your staff to work in and keep your interior design up to date. This can also encourage employees to move around the office to see what’s new, in large companies where different departments don’t really mingle this encourages interaction and lets your staff get to know each other! Equally if you have already bought pieces, rotating them regularly can also keep things feeling fresh and new. It’s important to think about the tone you want to set with the art that you put up. For example large scale contemporary pieces can project a swish, modern high flying ideal or traditional antique pieces can emphasise a company’s heritage and long standing authority. It’s a good idea to get your staff involved at some level when deciding what goes on the walls. Whether this is shortlisting pieces and putting out a poll to see what people like and want to work around, or perhaps having a photography competitions where the winners get their work hung up. Or even if your business is centred around child care for example (or has strong family values) framing artwork done by kids can easily show the positive ethos that your company has. Art like this is a subtle way to covey to your clients that you’re business has strong values and cares about its employees and customers. Engaging with your staff and community like this can really encourage a sense of cohesion within your business and make people more invested in the place that they work. This is the key to retention as well, if your staff feel like they have a say or are include in the look and feel of their office space they’re much more likely to enjoy the working day! Yes taking the plunge and buying pieces of art can be scary but it should make for a happier, more productive office and we at Pidge believe that artwork forms an integral part of the design process and many of our clients take advantage of our dressing service to add the finishing touch to their new offices. If you need help picking the right pieces of art to breathe new life into your work space please don’t hesitate to ask.