Whether alone or with a group, you never know when an idea or inspiration will come along and when it does, you’ll want to capture it right away. As a seasoned designer, I can appreciate the days of napkin sketches. According to New School of Architecture and Design, “Napkin sketches have been a go-to companion for those who find spur of the moment inspiration allowing for the exploration of thoughts and ideas with their hands.” Whatever is the closest means to get your idea down and visible will allow further exploration of that thought. As a matter of fact, I remember hearing stories of a Claridge legendary member, Terry McCutchen, who would build custom products from his napkin sketches after meeting with customers for coffee.
Workplaces and school campuses have evolved more so in recent years to accommodate the spur of the moment inspirations to share thoughts and collaborate with others on a larger scale by incorporating writing surfaces in designed spaces. SpaceIQ states: “Studies show that team members who work in collaborative workspaces are 17% more satisfied with their job. Additionally, companies that build a culture of collaboration through workspace designs reduce employee turnover by 50%. So, it’s no surprise that modern workplace design skews toward collaboration.” Whether it’s sketching, jotting notes, drawing diagrams, or pinning up a napkin sketch, it’s easier to do so now than ever before in close proximity to your workspace.
Corporate and educational environments are making full use of walls and open spaces to create areas for collaboration. It may involve turning a corridor wall to a marker wall; adding markerboards by bar tables and chairs or in personal cubicles. If wall space isn’t available, building out wall partitions with a writing surface and/or tack surface are an option. Add a sliding track to a wall partition and it becomes easily accessible on the side or in the center of a room.
The two premium writing surfaces commonly used are glass or porcelain and you can’t go wrong with either choice. Not only are they aesthetically pleasing from a design viewpoint, they are both scratch and stain resistant, easy to clean, and are non-porous, making them naturally bacteria resistant.
Any space can be built to allow collaboration for those spur of the moment ideas that may spark big results. Small or large, whatever the space may be, Claridge has been in the business of custom building products to turn workspaces into ideas places.
