Monday, March 30, 2009

3/30- Preferential





“Experience Design” has had a great impact on the development of interiors and seeks to create a total experience for the user. This design process involves intense programming so as to create a design that reads as a seamlessly connected whole. In truth, the designer is aiming to create a brand for the entire environment so that all who live, work, and visit there will be able to understand the motives of the family, organization, or company by simply interpreting the interior space. Within the environment, the designer has chosen to use a brand to develop the design and thus, has chosen a preference. A chosen preference in design development can affect numerous facets of the actual design itself. The Google Office in Zurich used experience design to create an office environment that speaks the same language as the company’s mission speaks. The Google Company has become known for their technological innovation as a search engine and much more. This desire for innovation is combined with lightning-fast service and excellent products. Thus, innovative, speedy exploration in an endless variety subjects has become the mission of the Google Company. Thus, the design created for their office headquarters is based these preferences.
The Google office was designed to be an innovative encouragement to the employees working there on a daily basis. The designer wanted to create a space that would spark the imagination of worker at any point of the day or in any point of the design. By combining modern furniture and fixture pieces with novelty items and a fun, warm color scheme, the designer has successfully used preference of materials, color, and fixtures to create a space that welcomes creativity.
The Google lobby uses streamlined, modern components to create a sense of innovation while keeping the atmosphere fun, instead of stark, with colorful accents. The sharp edges of the wooden reception desk contrast with the soft plushness of the colorful seating arrangements, further demonstrating a sense of exploration of all things within the space and again, reflecting a core corporate value.
Various spaces within the Google headquarters have varying arrangements including small pod-like offices, which were originally research huts in Antarctica; egg-shaped meeting areas; a water room for relaxation of the mind and body in order to trigger an imaginative spark; and a sliver slide running from floor to floor to take employees downstairs in a type of creative transportation. Everything in the Google office is meant to spark creativity and innovative thinking. Consider the hierarchy usually associated with an office. How has Google avoided the typical office plan, but still provided enough clarity of status and territory for its employees? Does the truly branded atmosphere replace the need for status definition, or will there still be office power squabbles? How did designer deal with this important issue while still using a preferential concept?

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