9 Office Design Ideas for 2025

Inspiring Office Design Ideas for 2025

We’ve compiled 9 creative office design ideas to inspire your next office fit out or refurbishment, regardless of the size or type. If you’re moving offices and looking for design ideas, or looking to renovate your existing office, there’s something in here for everyone. We hope you find these ideas useful and inspiring.

All the images shown in this article are completed projects of ours. If you see anything you like, bookmark it and get in touch with us. We will help you transform your office into an amazing workspace while managing the design and build from start to finish.

Idea #1 – Flexible Hybrid Workspaces

With the rise of hybrid working, companies have taken the initiative to implement major office design improvements. This shift has prompted a rethinking of how office spaces are utilised and optimised. Rishad Tobaccowala, the CEO of Publicis, likens the changes in hybrid working to software releases that take shape over time. Rather than being built and left to be, offices should be under constant review. When reviewing space plans and layout options, our office design team recommend including dedicated spaces for concentration, collaboration, and relaxation, in addition to allowing space for traditional workstations, which are equally important. For a full detailed review, see our 2024 definitive guide on hybrid office design

Idea #2 – Eye-Catching Office Entrances

If studies on first impressions are any guide, you only have 27 seconds to make a good first impression. Additionally, 70% of people form their first impressions before any communication takes place. Office entrances (reception areas, lobbies, entryways, and corridors) are key elements in creating first impressions for a company brand. Think about the snap judgments formed by visitors, clients, prospective candidates, and new starters as they are exposed for the first time to your office reception area or lobby. Reception desks should be more than a cosmetic afterthought, they should be a design-led centrepiece that expresses the corporate identity.

Our client, Instinctif Partners, is exemplary of this, with a reception desk that highlights the brand identity right at the point of entering the building. Waiting areas are equally important. A good example of this is the work we did for the International Security Forum (ISF). We wanted the reception and waiting area to have an immediate impact on visitors. We achieved this by using bold aluminium cast lettering of the ISF logo, which we positioned against a patterned wood wall. The whole feature was illuminated with directional spotlights.

Idea #3 – Maximise Natural Light

With 80-90% of our days spent indoors, it may not be surprising that natural light is an important factor in planning office spaces. In fact, an HR poll of 1,614 employees, published in the Harvard Business Review, shows access to natural light is the number one attribute workers want in their office environment. Further studies have shown that increasing natural light can have a significant impact on everything from mood to creativity and concentration.

Natural light is an important consideration in office design. Improving natural light can be achieved through effective space planning. For instance, creating open-plan workspaces optimises natural light. Similarly, including glazed partitioning allows light to filter throughout the workplace.

 

Idea #4 – Improve Fresh Air and Natural Ventilation

The benefits of fresh air are numerous. 20% of the air we breathe is used by the brain; so having fresh air ultimately leads to clearer thinking, focus and concentration. Studies have also proven that oxygenated blood can significantly elevate brain serotonin synthesis. This in turn can elevate a sense of happiness and well-being in the workplace. In fact, a Harvard study of 7 US cities found that doubling the acceptable rate of ventilation in office buildings led to an 8% increase in employee productivity.

In addition to the psychological advantage of fresh air, there are also physiological benefits. When working indoors breathing tends to be shallow (inhaling air into the top part of the lungs, or apical breathing). When you’re outdoors, moving around, either walking, jogging, or running, it encourages increased diaphragmatic breathing. This process of deep breathing not only helps you inhale more oxygen but also helps you exhale more toxins.

Breathing fresh air has other health benefits. Viruses and bacteria have a reduced survival rate when air is constantly circulating. Conversely, it thrives indoors where the air is warm and humid. Low-quality indoor air can lead to various ailments including headaches, fatigue, and sometimes chronic illness, such as allergies and respiratory illnesses.

Ventilation has also become particularly relevant in recent times following COVID-19. It is now part of government guidance to encourage the circulation of air in closed spaces. When someone with a cold breathes, coughs, or sneezes, they release particles (aerosols) containing viruses. In poorly ventilated office spaces these particles remain suspended in the air. As the particles gather, the chance of transmitting the virus increases. Letting fresh air into a confined office space significantly reduces the chance of airborne transmission.

Here are a couple of ideas for designing your office to maximise fresh air:

• Utilising existing outdoor spaces: providing easy access to outdoor spaces is a must, whether it’s gardens, terraces, balconies, or rooftop areas.
• Encourage Open-Air Team Meetings: provisioning outdoor spaces not just for lunch breaks but also for work activities is another way to encourage more engagement and productivity while keeping employees happy and healthy.

We anticipate that in line with health guidance, 2024 will involve a lot more use of open-air furniture and offices being designed to make more use of their outdoor areas.

Idea #5 – Optimise Office Space

Office space utilisation has become increasingly important. All workplaces contain a number of “in-between spaces” or “dead spaces”. Think corridors, under stairs and other nooks and crannies that have not previously been utilised for any purpose. One of the most prevalent current office design trends is the increasing use of these unconventional spaces which are transformed into functional work areas in the form of small huddle booths, informal meeting spaces or even private one-person pods.

As companies embrace a more flexible way of working, office design has endeavoured to be far more space-efficient. Giving serious consideration to how to optimise any space and thinking creatively about how to use otherwise dead space areas can be a thoroughly worthwhile task, and it can result in the inclusion of an array of new workspaces that allow staff to work effectively and in an increasingly agile manner. While the manual rationalising of space is a good first step, there are more technically advanced solutions.

Occupancy monitoring systems integrated into smart offices, like Irisys’s True Occupancy, acts as a single source of truth, by capturing and assimilating data on how the office is used on a day-to-day basis. This is achieved with state-of-the-art intelligence sensors that provide objective data on things like desk occupancy, and people counting sensors at entry and exit points (doorways, zones, and stairwell entries on various floorplates). The sensors only need to be installed at key locations, making the occupancy counting very scalable and cost-effective. Through integrated dashboards, occupancy data can also be brought together with other Smart Office technology such as HVAC and lighting control systems, and meeting room booking systems.

Idea #6 – Design for Workplace Wellbeing

Well-being in the workplace is crucial and it’s becoming increasingly important alongside growing health concerns (work-related stress and mental health) as well as the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic. However, according to the CIPD, only around 50% of the UK workplace has a formal well-being strategy. Mind (the UK’s leading mental health charity) may be a good place to start for any UK company looking to improve employee wellbeing. In addition to offering free advice and workplace surveys to companies of 20 employees and above, they also celebrate achievements with the Workplace Wellbeing Awards.

From a design perspective, workplace wellbeing has many different elements. Some of the workplace wellbeing initiatives currently used include:

• Showers to facilitate staff cycling or running to work
• Scheduling lunchtime yoga and staff massages
• Adequate bike storage and cycle parking areas to encourage cycle-to-work
• Including fruit and healthy snacks, and a range of healthy hot drinks

Designing for workplace wellbeing is likely to become more important as competition to attract and retain the very best staff intensifies. Many companies are creating staff-centric workplaces with well-being at their core. The benefits of designing any workplace with wellbeing as a key priority are numerous, and consequently, companies may find it useful to spend time thinking about how wellbeing can be improved.

Further reading on Workplace Wellbeing

• Harvard Business Review –The No 1 Office Perk – Natural Light
• Newday – Benefits of Natural Light in the Workplace
• Mind – Index Insight Report 
• Mind – Workplace Wellbeing Index 

Idea #7 – Ergonomics and The End of Endless Sitting

There is mounting scientific evidence of the detrimental health effects of prolonged sitting. As the trend towards health and workplace wellbeing continues, we may well see fundamental changes in the way offices are designed. For instance, Barbara Visser, a visual artist, has designed a conceptual working environment with surfaces that allow working without sitting (i.e. by leaning or standing). While we might be some way away from fully replacing conventional office chairs and desks, practical applications of this principle already exist.

Applications include:

• Ergonomic office chairs that accommodate natural movement and encourage good posture
• Sit-stand desks that allow better posture and avoid repetitive strain when sitting
• Tall tables to encourage standing meetings
• Breakout areas with motivational seating to avoid pure desk-based work
• Hybrid office spaces that encourage movement and reduce repetitive strain.

Idea #8 – The Use of Multiple Colours

Colour can make a big impression. While many companies look to just use their own brand palette, we always recommend considering other tones which subtly denote what certain spaces are designed for. For instance, soft colours improve concentration, and vibrant colours enhance collaboration and creativity. You can find out more in our dedicated article focusing on the relationship between Colour and Office Design.

Traditionally offices have included uniform furniture – chairs of one type, and all the same colours. The idea that everything must match perfectly is a dated one. Colour ultimately has a significant impact on the mood and productivity of employees. Using a mix of pantones in office furniture can lift the mood of an office and its staff. Different styles, brands, finishes and fabrics of office chairs, can help create a fun office environment to work in. In a recent fit out for the Cripplegate Foundation, we used eclectic seating to liven up their breakout and tea point areas. As the client puts it:

In the beginning, we were invited to see their new office which had many features we wanted for our space. A bit of colour, a less corporate look, and a more friendly/funky place where people can feel at ease. It’s a place to share ideas, enjoy lunch, and host formal meetings. 

Creating office interiors that feel fun, friendly, and relaxing places to work can be achieved by other means too, such as artwork.

Idea #9 – Artwork in the Workplace

Artwork in the workplace has numerous positive effects. It has a powerful impact on mental health and wellbeing by creating a sense of calmness. It also improves productivity and creativity and softens the mood in an office.

Art is also a crucial part of a company’s brand identity. It forms unique elements in the workplace that gives an office an authentic feel, a sense of community and belonging. A good example of this is Clyde & Co’s art programme which allows young and upcoming artists to exhibit their work in their various office locations across London and other global offices. Each year the company holds an art auction where members of the law firm and the general public get to bid on artwork. In addition, Clyde & Co have a partnership with the Perspective Project, a social enterprise that aims to tackle the mental health stigma through art and creativity.