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Lights, music, action... : The austere, timeless lines of the reception are reflect the Grid team's desire for an office that could look good in 25 years. -
Lights, music, action... : Most of the furniture, including the desks with raw mild-steel bases and fumed-oak tops, was custom-made by Tonic Design. -
Lights, music, action... : The tranquil outdoor space doubles up as a chill area for team members in need of time out, as well as an already popular client entertainment spot. -
Lights, music, action... : The light-grey epoxy screed floor sets off the red Mother and Child chair, which followed Grid form the company's previous white headquarters and has become a much-loved mascot. -
Lights, music, action... : Team members enjoy lunch in the company's dining area, which looks more like a restaurant than a staff eating space. -
Lights, music, action... : The client services team is accommodated in a separate yet equally stylish part of the office, allowing for privacy and a quiet work environment. The office chairs are from Vitra and are available at Twiice International. -
Lights, music, action... : Greg Gamble and Phillipe van der Merwe of Tonic Design. -
Lights, music, action... : Grid Worldwide Branding and Design has won numerous awards for its original ideas - an originality reflected in the individual look of the office.
PHOTOS: David Ross | PRODUCTION: Annemarie Meintjies and Klara van Wyngaarden | WORDS: Jacqueline Myburgh Chemaly
Some say work is more fun than fun itself. This simply has to be true at Grid Worldwide Branding and Design’s new Johannesburg head office.
Pressure to come up with something stupendous for your own working environment must be quite high when you are one of the most respected design specialists in South Africa.
This is why Nathan Reddy, who founded Grid in 2005 and is the company’s chief creative brain, called on Tonic Design to devise a concept that was less office and more nightclub when creating the work space he had in mind.
First impressions count
Nathan has worked with leading brands such as Converse, Virgin Mobile, South African Tourism and the Airports Company and so he knows more than anyone that, in the world of design, first impressions do count.
His intention was therefore to build a work space that would inspire both his team and clients. “I wanted it to have an element of luxurious tranquillity: to feel almost like a club/restaurant/bar where the people you meet do a bit of design on the side,” he half jokes.
Now clients don’t want to leave the Grid offices. In fact they always ask to arrange meetings there. “It’s a nice psychology for our business,” says Nathan with a smile. He has two work stations in the Grid “nightclub”: One in his glass-enclosed lounge/office and the other at the long work bench in the centre of the office where the creative pressure cooker does its thing.
It’s hard not to love an office without fluorescent lighting and where cool music permanently plays on the iPod. The bar area outside could easily belong to a trendy boutique hotel and the loos featuring Fornasetti wallpaper are quite compelling.
Team effort
Nathan says the staff did have a say on the design of the offices, particularly in terms of spatial planning. Grid’s creative team has always worked around one long table and so wanted to re-create that energetic brainstorming area where ideas are constantly exchanged. The client services department requested a little more privacy and so received glass walls, although staff are free to join the festive vibe outside at any stage.
While unconventional in many ways, the Grid offices are timeless enough to ensure that the design will not date easily. Grid creates designs for clients intended to last for the next 25 years so it makes sense for the company’s own look to be something classic that can be updated by, for example, simply introducing a new piece of art. After all, if you’re going to give good design, you have to live it, too.
• Grid Worldwide Branding and Design: 011 502 4600, www.gridworldwide.com
