The brilliance of a well-designed workplace is not always evident at first glance. While furniture, fixtures and the bare bones of a space can make a strong statement, sometimes the more subtle elements of design such as artwork or a colour scheme can contribute personality and impact without a high price tag. It’s even better when those elements have built-in durability and are easy to maintain.

Bartlett & Associates Ltd. designed the Toronto offices of three ad agencies – Rivet, Critical Mass and Fuel Advertising – that demonstrate this principle. All three benefited from having interesting industrial building sites with plenty of existing character. Beyond choosing the furniture, the design firm managed to enhance the spaces through detailing, colour and accent materials.

A central challenge in all three spaces was how best to work with the building to enhance the natural character of the space. Paint, fabric-covered panels and vinyl wall coverings were used to emphasize the agencies’ individual brands. Further, the agencies needed design that would enhance creativity and be great for both recruiting staff and client meetings.

Rivet
With Rivet, yellow brick walls anchoring the space functioned beautifully as a neutral backdrop to the agency’s logo in the reception area.

It’s an ad agency, so the centrally located lounge area needed to be full of accent colours and personality to mark it as a destination space for creative and account teams. However, this area also had to be durable since it would endure heavy use.

The agency’s logo in the lobby features two different shades of red, which became the accent colour that contrasted with the yellow brick and white expanses. Red was repeated throughout – in some of the seating, the large drum shade in the lounge and the circular pattern on translucent plexi panels in the lounge and a work area.

For added ease of maintenance, the chairs are washable stackers. They are the ultimate in flexibility as they can be pulled into any setting on demand.

Critical Mass and Fuel Advertising
In both, the industrial warehouse setting was a huge plus to set the creative tone and add lots of personality that enhanced the brands.

In the lounge area for Critical Mass, the striped vinyl wall covering by Maharam behind the banquette seating is used to add interest and energy.

Fuel Advertising’s prominently displayed mission statement is, “The power of the possible.” Colourful plexi panels against a largely white background effectively set off the account services area from the rest of the workspace, while bold cotton Marimekko graphics provide a punch in both the purple lounge and the green and white café space in very different ways, with the company’s signature Unikko poppy print and a calming green birch tree mural, respectively.

Considering design in conjunction with maintenance is a smart strategy. It simplifies the management of a facility and ensures a great-looking space will stay that way longer.

Inger Bartlett is president of Bartlett & Associates Ltd., a Toronto-based interior design and planning firm.