Capstone Project: Introduction
The issue that I want to address is the
effect of flexible and collaborative working in the workplace. Collaborative
working should not just occur in meeting rooms, in a long massive table but
also in each employee’s desk.
Offices were designed to support its
occupants to be productive at its best. However, most work place provides desks
that are not designed for collaboration instead for individual tasks. Workers
are often assigned in each individual work desk or a work a cubicle to isolate
them from everybody. This perspective displays an orthodox viewpoint which
started from the Romans to Elizabethan era, era of Industrial revolution to 20th
century. They thought that it would encourage productivity and creativity.
Previous design of work desks displays formality, suggests work, evokes sense
of isolation and also needed to fit in the traditional office interior.
In the 21st century,
people, place and technology plays great role in inevitability of change in
workplace design. Flexible and collaborative working is significant issues that
will affect the performance of a company. It is one of the present and future
demands of a company from its workers and the workers from its workplace. In
2012 Microsoft did a survey about work place and came up with a result that:
70% of workers in Europe demands flexible working that will allow them to work
from home, from outdoor places or being able to use their own digital devices
like laptops, tablets, or mobile phones. Collaboration will allow better
communication and come up with better of ideas from each other that if put
together can have a great one. Current workplace are getting less formal and
becoming more unorthodox. Technology expresses the idea of being able to work
anywhere, anytime and anyplace. also challenges everything in the workplace. Employers
believe that collaborative working is the answer for better work outcome.
My proposal is to make office furniture
that will promote collaboration and flexible working in the workplace without
compromising the company’s culture. It would benefit both the company and the
workers. It would address the needs of different kind of personality whether
individuals have introversion or extraversion traits. The need of privacy will
not be compromise. Through my proposal, it would also touch human senses that
would evoke sense of comfort. Furthermore, it will support the use of fast
evolving technology of the 21st century.
Capstone Project: Approach
This
project suits my abilities in terms of skills and knowledge about furniture and
lighting design and theory which I have studied at COFA for a year and
integrating it towards all the things I learned from studying Industrial design
which gave me deeper understanding about design process itself. The topic
interests me because it is a challenge to put individuals together especially
if they have different traits like introversion and extroversion. It is
interesting how baby boomers and millennial would share each other’s perception
and be productive.
The topic that I want to do requires
a lot of investigation and understanding in able to come up with a perfect
design concept that will benefit everyone in the workplace. In able to do this
I would need to do plenty of research from reliable sources, interviews from
furniture industry or someone with experience, and follow the Australian
standard requirements in designing the workplace and office furniture.
Furthermore, concept development through sketching and model making would greatly
explore the overall design.
