What is workplace design actually about?

Let's clear something up first. Workplace design isn't simply choosing a nice colour palette and finding some fashionable furnitureto go with it. If it were, we'd have some very strange walls and some very boring offices. Good workplace design connects how a business works with how its workplace looks, feels and functions. That means asking questions such as: What does the organisation stand for? How do people actually work? Where do they need to concentrate? Where do they collaborate? How should clients and visitors experience the business? Does the workplace feel welcoming? Does it support employee wellbeing? Does the design reflect the organisation's brand? Can the space adapt as the business changes? The answers influence everything from the floor plan to the furniture, finishes, lighting and meeting spaces. So while office design is certainly part of workplace design, the two aren't quite the same thing.

Why does workplace design matter to a large organisation?

Because your workplace is doing a job whether you have deliberately designed it to or not. Walk into a space and you immediately make assumptions. Is this organisation creative? Serious? Welcoming? Traditional? Innovative? Premium? Collaborative? Private? You might not consciously think any of those things. You just get a feeling. That's the interesting bit. Your workplace is communicating before anyone has introduced themselves. A reception desk, the route to a meeting room, the furniture in a breakout space, the artwork on the wall and even the materials under your feet all contribute to that impression. And for a large organisation, that impression can matter to employees, clients, candidates and visitors alike. Take Gresham Tech. When Gresham Tech moved into its London headquarters, the brief wasn't simply to put desks into a new floor. The organisation wanted a workplace that reflected its culture of innovation and collaboration while making the most of its London location.

What does workplace design change?

This is where workplace design becomes much more interesting than simply making an office look good. It changes how the workplace feels. Think about walking into a hotel, restaurant or shop you immediately recognise. The colours, materials, lighting, furniture and layout all contribute to a particular feeling. Your workplace can do the same. That doesn't mean covering every wall in your brand colours. In fact, please don't. Brand identity can be much more subtle. It can appear through materials, textures, furniture choices, artwork, lighting, signage, feature walls, meeting spaces and the overall character of the environment. A workplace should feel like an extension of the organisation, rather than a generic office with a logo stuck on afterwards. The Canadian-based investment firm project is a good example. Habit Action worked with the business to create a vibrant London workplace that supported collaboration and connectivity while fitting with its wider international presence. The design used natural tones and textures, including stone, wood and woven materials, alongside moss and foliage. The finished workplace included boardrooms, meeting rooms, collaboration space, a canteen,

Can workplace design improve employee experience?

Yes, but not because employees suddenly become happier when someone buys a nice sofa. It's about giving people an environment that makes their working day easier. If someone needs to concentrate, can they find somewhere suitable? If a team needs to collaborate, is there somewhere they can work together without disturbing everyone around them? If someone needs a private conversation, do they have somewhere to go? If employees want to take a break, is there somewhere that actually feels like a break? These are workplace design questions. A workplace that forces every activity to happen at the same desk is asking the space to do too much.

What does workplace design have to do with employee engagement?

More than many organisations realise. Employee engagement isn't something you can manufacture with a brightly coloured breakout area. But the workplace can either support engagement or make everyday working unnecessarily difficult. Consider how much of the working day is shaped by the physical environment. People move through it. They meet colleagues in it. They have conversations in it. They concentrate in it. They host clients in it. They take breaks in it. If the environment makes those things easier, it is doing its job. If it constantly gets in the way, people notice that too. O'Connor Utilities is a useful example. Habit Action designed the company's 14,000 sq ft Stockport headquarters around the organisation's culture and growth. The workplace combines open-plan workstations, private meeting areas and relaxed breakout zones, giving people different settings for focused work, informal conversations and team interaction.

How should workplace design reflect your brand?

Start with the brand, but don't stop at the brand guidelines. A common mistake is to think: We have our colours. Let's put them on the walls. That's not really workplace design. Instead, ask what your brand actually feels like. Are you formal or relaxed? Technical or creative? Established or disruptive? Client-facing or highly private? Premium or deliberately informal? Fast-moving or methodical? Then consider how those characteristics could translate into physical space. That might influence: Materials – timber, stone, metal, textiles and other finishes can create very different impressions. Furniture – formal executive furniture communicates something very different from relaxed lounge seating. Lighting – bright, functional lighting creates a different atmosphere from layered, softer lighting. Spatial planning – a workplace designed around interaction will feel very different from one dominated by private offices.

How do you design a workplace around the people using it?

This is where workplace design needs to move beyond assumptions. Don't simply decide that everyone wants open-plan desks, collaboration areas and a coffee bar because that's what modern offices are supposed to have. Find out what your people actually need. Useful information can come from: Employee surveys Interviews and workshops Occupancy information Desk and meeting-room utilisation Workplace observations Heatmaps Existing floor plans Technology requirements Feedback from different teams and departments The aim isn't to collect data because data sounds impressive. It is to understand the gap between how the workplace was intended to be used and how people actually use it. Because those two things aren't always the same. A floor plan tells you where the desks are. It doesn't necessarily tell you why everyone keeps leaving them. That distinction can completely change a workplace design.

What should you consider when planning workplace design?

There are four questions worth keeping in mind.

1. What does the organisation need the workplace to say?

Your workplace should make sense alongside your brand. If the business is innovative, but the office feels dated and generic, there is a disconnect. If the organisation is highly client-focused, but visitors are squeezed into a random meeting room beside the printer, there is another disconnect. Start with the experience you want people to have.

2. What do people actually need to do?

List the activities rather than simply counting desks. People might need to: Focus Collaborate Meet clients Hold confidential conversations Present Socialise Take breaks Work remotely with colleagues Have informal conversations Host larger groups Then consider what physical settings support those activities. This creates a workplace that is based on behaviour rather than fashion.

3. How should the space feel?

This is where the design language comes in. Think about materials, furniture, lighting, colour, acoustics, artwork and planting. But consider them as a whole. A beautiful chair in the wrong environment is still just a chair.

4. Will the workplace still work in a few years?

A workplace isn't finished simply because the fit-out is finished. Teams change. Businesses grow. Technology changes. Working patterns change. Good workplace design leaves enough flexibility for the organisation to evolve without immediately needing another major transformation.

What does good workplace design look like in practice?

Sometimes the best way to understand workplace design is to look at what happens when all the pieces come together. Fulwell 73 Productions'12,000 sq ft London project was designed as a significant transformation for the production company, with facilities and spaces intended to encourage creativity and collaboration. Habit Action delivered the £2.8 million project over six months. That is a very different workplace requirement from an investment firm or an infrastructure engineering business. And that's the point. There is no single version of "good workplace design". Good workplace design is specific to the organisation. A workplace should not look like every other workplace because every business doesn't work in exactly the same way.

Is workplace design really necessary if the office already works?

This is probably the question many organisations are quietly asking. If people have desks, meeting rooms, Wi-Fi and somewhere to make coffee, isn't that enough? Technically, perhaps. But an office can function without being particularly good. The better question is: Is your workplace helping your organisation achieve what it needs to achieve? If employees struggle to find somewhere quiet, that's a design issue. If teams can't collaborate without booking a room three weeks in advance, that's a design issue. If clients walk into a space that bears little resemblance to your brand, that's a design issue. If your office looks like it could belong to almost any organisation, that's a design issue too. And if you regularly find yourself thinking, "this just doesn't feel like us," pay attention to that feeling. It is probably telling you something useful.

So, what should you do before starting a workplace design project?

Don't begin with the colour palette. Start with the business. Before choosing furniture or finishes, establish: What are we trying to achieve? Then understand: How are people working today? Next ask: What isn't working? Then: What should the workplace feel like? And finally: How does the design translate our brand and ways of working into physical space? That gives the design something to respond to. Without that thinking, it is very easy to end up with an attractive office that doesn't actually solve the problems you started with.

What is workplace design?

Workplace design is the process of creating a physical working environment around an organisation's people, ways of working, brand and business requirements. It covers more than appearance, including space planning, furniture, meeting spaces, lighting, materials, acoustics, technology and the overall employee experience.

Why is workplace design important?

Workplace design is important because the physical environment affects how people use the office, how the organisation is experienced and how well the space supports different types of work. A well-designed workplace can make it easier to focus, collaborate, meet clients and create an environment that reflects the organisation's identity.

Is workplace design the same as office design?

Not quite. Office design focuses primarily on the physical design of the office, while workplace design takes a broader view of how the space needs to support people, business objectives, brand identity and different ways of working.

How does workplace design affect employee experience?

Workplace design can affect employee experience by providing appropriate environments for different activities, including focused work, collaboration, meetings, informal conversations and downtime. The aim is to make the workplace easier and more comfortable to use rather than expecting one type of space to support everything.

How can workplace design reflect a company's brand?

Brand identity can be reflected through materials, furniture, lighting, artwork, finishes, signage, spatial planning and the overall atmosphere of the workplace. The strongest workplace designs interpret the character of the organisation rather than simply applying its logo and corporate colours throughout the office.

November 4, 2026

Mind, Body, Work: A Holistic Approach to Wellness in the Office

Candace Fowles · 3 minute read

Wellbeing at work is shaped by far more than wellness programmes. The office plays a part every day, through the air people breathe and the light they work in, how much noise they have to tune out and whether there’s somewhere to step away when they need to. Design can’t fix a heavy workload or a difficult manager, but it can stop the building from adding to the strain.

It’s a bigger issue than many organisations realise. HSE estimates that 22.1 million working days were lost to work-related stress, depression or anxiety in Great Britain in 2024/25, out of 40.1 million days lost to work-related ill health and injury overall.

How does office design affect mental health and wellbeing?

Most of it comes down to how much a space asks of the people in it. An office where it’s hard to concentrate or find a quiet room, or where the air feels stale by mid-afternoon, makes every day slightly harder. Over time, that friction adds up.

A space that works the other way gives people some control over their surroundings and somewhere to recover between demanding tasks.

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Give people a choice of where to work

Being able to choose a setting that suits the task is one of the simplest ways design supports wellbeing. Someone who needs to concentrate shouldn’t have to do it next to a team stand-up, and someone who needs a private conversation shouldn’t have to take it in a stairwell.

That means a mix of open areas, quiet rooms, booths and meeting spaces, planned around how people actually use the office. Good storage matters here too, because a cluttered space is harder to settle into. Our guide to office zoning for hybrid work explains how to get the balance right.

Get the light and air right

Daylight is one of the things people value most in a workplace, so keep desks and shared areas close to the windows where you can. Support it with good artificial lighting that avoids glare, and use task lighting where people need it.

Air quality is just as important, even though it’s far less visible. Stuffy, poorly ventilated rooms leave people tired and less able to focus. Ventilation needs to be designed around how many people will actually use each space, particularly meeting rooms, which fill up quickly. We explored indoor air quality with AirRated CEO Francesca Brady on our Designed to Work podcast.

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Keep noise under control

Constant background noise is tiring, even when people stop consciously noticing it. Acoustic panels and soft finishes help, along with sensible zoning and enough enclosed space for calls and video meetings, so they don’t spill across the open floor.

Make room to step away

A proper break is easier to take when there’s somewhere to take it. A kitchen people actually want to use, or a breakout area away from the desks, gives people a genuine pause in the day rather than lunch at the keyboard. Planting and natural materials help these spaces feel calmer, and our guide to biophilic design goes into that in more detail.

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Support the body as well as the mind

Physical comfort matters to wellbeing too. Adjustable desks and supportive chairs let people set up their workstation properly and change position through the day. Showers and bike storage make it easier for people to build activity into their commute.

Ask people what they need

The most reliable way to find out what affects wellbeing in your office is to ask. Surveys and conversations with staff, alongside data on how spaces are used, show where the building is helping and where it’s getting in the way. Repeat the exercise after any changes, so you know whether they’ve worked.

Where design stops

Design can support wellbeing, but it can’t replace good management or proper support for people who are struggling. The office works best as one part of a wider approach, alongside the policies and culture that sit with HR and leadership.

FAQs

How does office design affect mental health?

Design affects how much effort the working day takes. Noise, poor air, a lack of daylight and nowhere quiet to go all add strain, while a choice of settings and places to take a proper break help people manage their day.

What makes a healthy office?

Good daylight and ventilation, effective acoustics and comfortable, adjustable furniture, along with a choice of places to work and somewhere to take a break away from the desk.

Can office design reduce stress at work?

It can reduce the everyday stress the building itself causes, such as noise or the struggle to find a quiet room. It can’t remove stress caused by workload or management, so it works best alongside wider wellbeing support.