A while back, I visited an office where I was considering subleasing a space. It was stark, grey and devoid of any art. I knew straight away that it wouldn’t work for me.
The main lessee – let’s call him John – said: “I like to keep the office environment free of distractions so that people can concentrate on their work.” To me, it looked more like a prison cell than an office. Of course, I didn’t sign up to lease from John.
I’ve also been to cubicle farms in multi-national corporations that are little more than grey boxes with a few partitions separating workers from each other. These types of offices don’t look like the cool workspaces you see in movies or startups.
These businesses are missing a fundamental function of art: that it not only boosts creativity but also productivity.
It’s evidenced in research done by Dr Craig Knight from the University of Exeter who found that people who worked in an ‘enriched’ office – that is, one featuring art and plants which were already arranged – worked about 15% quicker than those in the lean office (one containing only what was needed to do the necessary tasks). They also had fewer health complaints!
And get this … This figure doubled for people who worked in an ‘empowered space’, where they could choose where the art and plants could go themselves.
Some offices understand the power of art. And you can aspire to the lovely hipster-like pics of these kinds of offices on Instagram. Or you can keep pinning inspo pics of workspaces to your Pinterest.
But rather than waiting until you create your #dreamoffice to buy art, how about investing in your creativity and productivity right now? If you do, chances are you’ll achieve the goal of your #dreamoffice quicker!
Look, I get it. Maybe you do want to wait till you have the ideal space before you splash some cash on a big art investment. But, in the meantime, you can still use beautiful prints to lift your space.
In fact, I’m zhuzhing my home workspace soon. And I’m going to be dedicating some walls to the fancy art. But I’m allocating some walls to feature fine art prints that I’m going to replace every so often – so that I can have a moving feast of fresh artwork on my walls.
Beautiful Artwork + Your Workspace = Increased Creativity and Productivity.
It’s an equation that makes perfect sense.
Beautiful, affordable fine art prints
I’m passionate about making artwork affordable for art lovers. So I’ve partnered with the wonderful people at Minus Art on a series of fine art prints that range from $30 to $150 depending on the size you order. They are passionate art lovers who go above and beyond for the artists they represent and the customers who buy from them.
They even offer interest-free payment options and can frame the print for you!
You can find the prints featured in this blog post (and much more) here.
