What Microsoft and other corporates can teach us about office design and branding

Selling luxury is no longer about simply talking up the product or service on offer. As marketing expert Nigel Hollis, chief global analyst at Millward Brown, says, there are mechanisms for building credibility around a brand’s premium positioning, making it easier for consumers to justify paying a higher price.

For companies where a sale is pitched within their office premises, design is one of the tools. For instance, UK headquartered Jacada Travel wants to sell holidays to clients in Hong Kong. Founder Alex Malcolm reasoned that “the experience should start at first contact”, so he visualised an immersive space where people could surround themselves in the sights, sounds and smells of, say, an African safari, without leaving Central.

When they walk in the door of the company’s Explorer Lounge on Lyndhurst Terrace, “guests can make themselves comfortable over a coffee, tea, or glass of wine,” Malcom said. Staff them regale them with tales of their own travel to impressive destinations, aided by maps and mementos.

Candace Campos, from ID-entity Design, a Hong Kong-based design practice, took care of the interior creative planning and execution, decking out the space with vintage maps and trinkets gathered from around the world, such as traditional Khmer scarves from Cambodia, hand-carved Maasai statues from Tanzania, Turkish rugs, a shadow puppet from Vietnam, African artefacts, and more. For a luxury feel, Campos topped the lot with hand-woven tapestries, French lighting fixtures by Serge Mouille and a pair of leather sling-back armchairs by the late Brazillian architect and designer Sergio Rodrigues.

Campos sees investing in high-end commercial premises as an emerging trend. “With so much competition design has become another element that gives businesses an edge,” she said. “For Jacada Travel that was creating a space you want to explore. It becomes the first step in your journey.”

To celebrate its first 25 years in Hong Kong, Microsoft opened a new concept office and “experience zone” several months ago. Situated at Cyberport, the office is more like a laboratory than a traditional workplace, while the Experience Zone is designed to nurture collaboration with commercial customers and partners. M Moser Associates was responsible for the design for both, led by associates Yvonne Chow Ngai-hung and Johan Cammareri.