Brand Matters: 5 Ways We Branded the New UL Office Lobby
The look and feel of an office is the number one place to express and market a brand. By presenting clients, visitors, and employees with an office space that reflects who you are as a company, you are encouraging everyone who enters your space to sync their behaviors with how you work.
Take for example the lobby area we designed in the new office space of science safety solution innovation company UL. The company has two key elements embedded in their brand: innovation and safety.
We wanted to express these ideas throughout the entirety of our design, starting with the lobby. Here are five ways we helped UL express their brand and culture in this entry area.
1. Signage
The most obvious way to include brand in any design is to incorporate a sign. The bright blue of the signage wall we designed for UL catches the eye of anyone entering through the lobby doors, while the white draws the eye to the logo information. We also reflected the logo from the sign out onto the entryway doors, where we chose a bright red to pull the eye through the circular design and into the lobby space.
2. Color
UL’s work is all about promoting innovation and safety. We chose to use a neutral backdrop of grey, steel and white with bright pops primary colors to highlight the main features of the design and convey the notion of modernism. Standing outside of the entrance, visitors are greeted by bold accents of blue, yellow and red immediately creating interest and drawing the eye to the company’s logo that is subtly placed throughout the space.
3. Lighting
We worked to incorporate the UL symbol in every aspect of our design. This unique lighting feature using 3M’s “Flex” product line, resides in the seating area of the lobby. Notice how the shape subtly spells out UL as it snakes from the overhead soffit to the freestanding barrier wall. The pendant fixture not only plays a key role in defining the space, but it also reinforces the company name to all visitors, clients and partners who make their way through the space.
4. Graphics
Since UL tests and creates safety manuals for new technologies, we decided to turn some of their safety illustrations into branding opportunities for the space. This graphic both adds visual interest to the lobby and expresses the type of work being done in the office areas beyond.
5. Clean Aesthetic
The overall feel of the UL lobby is clean, modern, and in general reminiscent of a scientific laboratory. The culmination of these elements sets the stage for every person who enters through the company doors. As you can see, branding a space does not end in hanging a sign over a reception desk. It is the totality of every element coming together to reflect the brand and what it stands for, starting with company culture and carrying through every feature from color to lighting to the overall aesthetic displayed in the final space.