Good interior design is an art.  Sometimes, when the pressure is on and the pace is fast, I forget the complexity of what I am creating – a place for a company’s intricate network of people to grow and thrive in.

A lot goes into creating great space. There is the obvious aesthetic connections between materials and colours, but a good designer will also have spent hours understanding your culture, the target market, the individual needs of your employees, the building’s architecture, the flow of a space, and much more. Visual stimulation is a huge part of design but good interior designers don’t just create spaces that look nice; it is your subconscious we aim to appeal to. Do you feel safe? Do you need to feel energised or subdued? Design is powerful. Each element of an office from its furniture layout, ergonomic design, lighting and finishes selection will impact how you work and what kind of work you can achieve there.

When we first started to design CAT A+ spaces, the rule book was flipped on its head. Suddenly we were thinking about offices without knowing who was going to be using them. Without being able to study their brand and people. We had to find new inspiration to ensure we were building environments that had purpose and, most importantly, people at the heart of them.

Seeking inspiration from the local area and understanding our target market is essential to how we design. As part of the Thirdway Group, we draw upon their track record of projects and we use insight and information from neighbouring tenants to support our design decisions. What we know about the type of companies that work in the neighbourhood provides us good steer to make sure we are designing spaces that engage occupiers, that are visually stimulating and designed with purpose. Our spaces connect with people on an emotional and cultural level. White walls simply don’t cut it anymore.

I chose a career in commercial interior design quite simply because the biggest reward I have ever experienced is walking into an office I’ve spent months imagining and seeing people enjoying being in that space. I had the ability to visualise it in 3D when it was still only an idea. TX gives other people the opportunity to experience that - to connect with their inner interior designer, see what their work-life could be like, and make the design decisions that shape their company and the people within it.