Big Little ThingsComfort and creativity
The photo above is of our office space. It’s neither mine, nor Axel’s house (his is more spare, mine way messier) though it might look like it. It’s in a building in San Francisco’s Mission district, right above a kick-ass pizza place, and across the hall from a kick-ass tattoo parlor. You might be thinking: That’s an office? Where are the desks? The office supplies? The open office plan?
Not here. And for good reason. There’s a way people have come to understand what “office” means, and looks like. Offices are places where serious work gets done, where a clear line gets drawn between work and life, and where there’s always a sense that you’re being judged. The problem is that all that stuff is a barrier to creativity. To turn a tired phrase, it’s a box that automatically hinders lateral thinking.
So, back to the living room, the place we’re most comfortable, where we’re allowed to let our minds wander. This is one way to facilitate innovation (read: creative thinking) and better collaboration: create a place where people are free to be their best selves. Because when they’re comfortable and unafraid of breaking protocol—when they’re free to put their feet on the coffee table—their brains work better. And then the work itself works better too.
