2020 Design trends from Steelcase
The Steelcase Global Design Studio Designer Kaitlyn Gillmor and Senior Interior Designer Jon Rooze share five design implications they are watching for the coming year.
The war for talent. Digital transformation. Sustainability. Three macro forces are driving dramatic change in the workplace evidenced by design implications for the coming year.
At a time when technology has saturated nearly every aspect of our lives, there’s a rising consciousness that HUMANS are at the core of an organization’s success. The organizations that rise to the top achieve clarity in terms of their values and are able to communicate how they are differentiated which attracts customers and employees. The workplace plays an important role since it can act as the body language of an organization.
Here are the major design implications, which runs through the WELLBEING.
1. ORIGIN STORIES
People are open to the stories behind products and methods. They want a deeper relationship with the products and designs they buy. In this way, connecting recycled products or the workplace with nature creates added value and a deeper connection for people
2. CONNECTED CULTURE
Workplace is an opportunity to build communities connected by a shared culture. Organizations are putting increased emphasis on how people feel and work better when wellbeing is supported holistically. Instead of just offering a gym or healthy food options, companies are looking at how lighting, materiality, color, social spaces and other elements of the work experience help people feel good.
3. SOCIAL MEDIUM
People are innately social animals. The office is the site of teamwork. Office design is moving away from gimmicks like ball pits and beer fridges, and toward impactful spaces and tools that encourage and enhance collaborative work.
4. FRICTIONLESS ENVIRONMENTS
Time is the new luxury. More and more, both analog and digital elements are being designed to make things effortlessly easy. Furniture is being created for the office that lets teams easily reconfigure it in the moment, office chair, which responds to the inputs your body or QR code added to a fitting room.
5. MAKE YOUR MARK
More and more designers are reimagining the workplace to be more personal and more seamlessly responsive to individuals and teams. Personalization is less about knick-knacks and more about performance — empowering people to move a table, chair or light to make the space more functional for their work style.
In 2020, keep an eye out for more design elements that support how people feel, think and move.
See Steelcase’s full research on the topic here.