The Top 10 Trends at NeoCon 2022
Office design is being reimagined after worldwide shutdowns prohibited working from the office. NeoCon is the world’s leading conference in commercial interior design — paving the way for innovative and emerging office design trends. Our team at Rightsize attended the conference, so we’ve compiled a list of this year’s top commercial design trends unveiled at NeoCon 2022:
1. Micro Spaces
The concept that offices should be open floor plans has changed. Micro spaces are becoming increasingly popular as employees shift from remote work to being back in the office. Incorporating micro spaces allows individuals flexibility and privacy — it’s the perfect combination of working from the office and home! You should expect to see more pods, dens, and booths inside office spaces.
2. Hotelification
Since most people have worked from home for the past couple of years, one central theme is ensuring office spaces feel warm and comfortable for employees to enjoy when they come to work. The hotelification of office spaces means incorporating comfortable collaboration spaces, cozy micro spaces, and relaxing color palettes.
3. Flexible Furniture
One of the biggest reasons that people enjoyed working from home was that they felt comfortable. The idea of returning to an office to sit at a desk all day doesn’t sound appealing to most employees anymore — that’s where flexible furniture comes in! Flexible furniture pieces are desks, chairs, and workstations placed throughout an office to accommodate different working styles and preferences.
4. Outdoor Spaces
If your office has available outdoor space, you should consider creating an idyllic outdoor space that staffers can utilize to spend working hours outside of the office’s four walls. Quite literally, outdoor spaces are a breath of fresh air! We recommend placing functional furniture outside, so employees have an opportunity to work in the sunlight or take a well-deserved break.
5. Biophilic Design
If you don’t have outdoor space you can utilize, you can opt to incorporate biophilic design to bring some of the best parts of the outdoors into the office! Biophilic design elements involve bringing plants and other-nature-inspired designs into the office to make it feel comfortable and airy.
6. Bold Colors
Would you prefer working in an office plastered with grey wallpaper or wallpaper offering a beautiful pop of color? Offices used to be designed with neutral colors — but those days are over! Innovative corporate design experts at NeoCon emphasized the newfound trend of bright, bold colors. The idea is to make office spaces feel more pleasant and cheerful.
7. Rounded Corners
Research has found that people perceive rounded corners to be more inviting. The goal is to make office employees and clients feel comfortable in the space, so positioning rounded tables and seats in an area will make it feel comfortable and look visually appealing.
8. Vertical Designs
Since office design trends are steering away from an open office design, vertical designs are becoming very popular. Vertical designs — like separation panels, vertical gardens, and beams — divide the available space. While you may think the office will feel smaller if vertical designs are used, the newly created areas will make the office feel like it has additional room.
9. Texture
Think about it: would you prefer working in an office with different textures or a one-dimensional texture that blends everything together? Adding materials composed of different textures will elevate and contemporize your space.
10. Wellness Spaces
Offices worldwide are choosing to transform a room (like a conference room) into a wellness space for employees. This innovative space will offer employees a designated place in the office to visit if they need a moment to breathe. While wellness rooms are ideal, you can create a wellness space in the office using vertical designs if you don’t have an available room. Try placing relaxing furniture, plants, and other calming design aspects to maximize the space!
