As a practicing interior designer, one of my personal pet-hates are over the top, tricked-up, gimmicky workplaces that try too hard and look outdated from the moment they are conceived. Yuck! Unfortunately I come across far too many examples of such interiors almost daily. Why oh WHY is this still happening?!

***Insert angry roar of frustration and rage here***

Look, I’ll be the first to admit that it is not easy to craft a workplace which is interesting, creative, takes a risk, pushes the boundaries of conventional beige-and-dead-boring-workplace-aesthetic, embodies the company brand etc, yet manages to deliver a fresh,  functional and relevant interior. This is NOT EASY at all! But it can be done dammit! Yes it can – we’ve seen it here on yellowtrace at least a dozen times.

Here’s another example which balances established brand values and company identity with relevant aesthetic, infuses a level of graphic wit, takes a risk and flirts with the idea of kitsch, yet manages to harmonise things with clean lines and geometric architectural forms, simple palette of materials and punchy but considered accents of colour and graphics.

Enter Red Bull HQ in Amsterdam by Sid Lee Architecture. Everything about this workplace screams Red Bull – youthful spirit, intensity of street sports, dynamic street culture… Looking at these images almost “gives me wings”.

[Photography by Ewout Huibers. Discovered via ArchDaily.]

amsterdam commercial design creative office spaces graphics interior branding interiors plywood tangents the netherlands thoughts workplace design