Sometimes I think that companies are going too far with the whole ‘branding’ malarkey. Honestly, within any given field, they’re all the same… aren’t they? I mean, I realise that that’s half the motivation to come out with a unique selling point and stand out from the crowd. But deep down, surely we all see it for what it is – namely, smoke and mirrors.
I’m open to being persuaded to think otherwise, but what can I say? I got to thinking about it when I went to see my dentist this morning, and saw that his office had undergone a significant overhaul since last I’d been there. Gone were the reassuring trappings of your standard 90s reception area – dog-eared magazines and a pile of second-hand toys in a wicker basket, and one of those tick-tocking, paw-waving mechanical cat figurines.
In their place were high-end furnishings and finishes, classy yet unobtrusive artwork and impeccable cable management systems for the all-new array of tech laid out on the reception desk. I’m aware that, here in Melbourne, office fitout ideas are passed around like air, and everyone has to work to keep up with the Joneses, not to mention big business. But I never would have expected this type of makeover of my unassuming dental clinic.
Look, maybe I’m being a tad judgemental here. Would I prefer this new office space to the old one if I had to work in it every day, not to mention if I’d been doing so for the past 20-odd years? The answer is yes. Of course I’d prefer more functional design, a more pleasing aesthetic and fewer chewed-up old copies of TV Nation littering ratty old vinyl chairs. It’s just that contemporary office design trends, Melbourne readers, freak out this curmudgeonly old retiree.
In all likelihood, I’m just jealous that I never got to work in a space like this. Things were different back then, though – we didn’t have internet pin boards to turn to for workspace branding inspiration, did we?