Hughes Marino’s team suggests filling sitting areas with plush couches and adding meaningful accents such as coffee-table books and artwork that reflect a brand’s vibe. Fresh flowers are another room rejuvenator Hughes Marino has sprinkled throughout its offices, and an easy way to brighten and freshen up any work space. 

Indoor greenery may also enhance creative performance, according to a study by the University of Munich and the University of Rochester.

Hughes Marino interior design director Kristin Christensen advises any company looking to revamp its work space should do a “needs assessment,” which includes sketches and 2D and 3D concepts. “A lot of thought and inspiration goes into a quality design,” Christensen explains. “Business owners across the country and around the world are coming to realize the value a spirited and functional design brings to their organization, team members, and clients.”

While she adds that there are endless possibilities on how an office can be transformed, it’s crucial to stick with a color palette, lighting, and fabrics that mesh well with the company. “One of my favorite phases of a project is the way our team is always up for the challenge to reflect a company’s culture and brand,” she says. 

Since offices can often serve as a home away from home, Christensen emphasizes the importance of staying away from cubicles and keeping an open mind with that open floor plan. 

Hughes Marino offers planning and design services as well as space utilization planning, test furniture fits, and a full analysis of how space is being used and if it’s being optimized. 

Hughes Marino: Making Scents of a Work Space

Hughes Marino leadership recommends adding clean, bold scents via diffusers to an office to boost the senses and lower stress levels. In-office aromatherapy can energize team members and promote better health, according to quill.com. Hughes Marino’s team suggests citrusy scents to recharge a working atmosphere. 

Displaying personal photos is another way to get the most out of a workspace, according to the Hughes Marino team. Throughout its offices in cities including San Francisco, Seattle, and Denver, Hughes Marino features images of team members’ spouses, children, parents, friends, and pets to maintain a touch of home. 

Curb Midday Snack Attacks With Healthy Options

Gone are the days of sugary afternoon coffees and morning doughnuts. Hughes Marino keeps nutritious snacks stocked in its gourmet kitchens to provide the right fuel for team members craving a bite during a productive day. Hughes Marino also has groceries delivered each week and team members also have dual espresso machines for a caffeine boost. 

When it comes to the proper placement of an office kitchen, leadership says building it front and center and keeping it immaculate will make a memorable (and welcoming) first impression on office visitors. 

Hughes Marino Suggests Selecting a Space That Reflects Company Culture

Company culture and core values remain a key facet of the Hughes Marino mission. The tenant representation company advises choosing a corporate work space where the brand could envision growth and alignment with company values. Throughout its offices, the decor reflects the flavor of the host city. For example, a giant art piece of Ghirardelli chocolate adorns a wall in its San Francisco offices. The whimsical wall candy by artist Gary Polonsky sits at the entrance to the office kitchen. 

Lift Office Morale With an On-Premises Gym

Forbes reports that 87% of workers want their current employer to offer healthier work space benefits. Hughes Marino provides a state-of-the-art gym at its San Diego headquarters, along with gym services at its other high-rise offices, and encourages team members to maintain healthy minds and bodies.

Get Your Game On

Hughes Marino not only recommends investing in open collaborative space areas, but adding a fun factor with gaming options such as a pool table or vintage video game machines. It comes back to the firm’s core value of “enjoying the journey.” The company aims to promote as much fun and camaraderie as possible daily and organizes various team-building activities from shuffleboard to ballgame outings. 

Evaluate the Current Space

If a company runs out of office space, Senior Vice President Scot Ginsburg recommends weighing the options. “As a rule of thumb, office tenants generally budget 250 square feet per person and biotech companies budget 250 to 300 square feet per person,” Ginsburg says. 

He says that businesses in need of expansion space to satisfy their growth spurts should contemplate comparing alternative market options and consider subleasing.

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On-line networks have now become a dominant force in the lives of web users. I donâ€t know about you, but of the couple hundred or so folks I call a friend in all my social networks, Iâ€ve probably only met half of them in person.

But Iâ€ve recently discovered a social network that, while new with quirks and facets, is going old school and creating an on-line network for an already established off-line group of people. LovinLounge.com is a San Diego, Calif.-based startup trying to take the active, club-hopping crowd there and plug them into one another on-line. The nightlifers not only have a place to find one another after hours of sweaty frolic, but somewhere to decide which club or deejay will be blessed with their presence next weekend.

The catch? Itâ€s invite-only, heavily screened to ensure only “real” people are involved and itâ€s local. (San Diego is up and running now. The company has plans to expand to Orange County and Los Angeles in California, plus Phoenix and Miami in early 2008.)

I spoke with CEO David Laurent Tuesday to get some clarification on some of the thinking behind it all. My primary concerns were the screening process, the potential negative backlash from those who canâ€t get in the members-only club and the potential monopolization by club owners and promoters should the site blossom.

The screening process isnâ€t complex, but fairly thoughtful. You have to be invited by other members (with an appropriate code) to have a free membership, otherwise you pay a nominal membership fee. Your profile is reviewed by company staffers to ensure you picture isnâ€t a fake (i.e. – celebrity, avatar, copyrighted image, etc.). The information you input is then checked for realism – email address-name match, location and background sound legit, etc. One PR person I spoke to indicated they may even go so far as to search for applicants on Facebook or MySpace just to compare information, pictures, etc.

So long as you donâ€t throw up red flags, youâ€re in. But then you have to validate your membership by taking a photo of yourself with your screen name written on a piece of paper or some such display in the image. This base-line photo will be used to compare with your future uploaded images and so on during ongoing “reality checks” by site editors.

The weeding out of riff-raff, Laurent assured me, had nothing to do with only picking the pretty people or violating any civil rights. You can pay to join if an invite cannot be had and, so long as you abide by the terms of service, validate your existence, etc., youâ€re in. Laurent did indicate, though, that riff-raff will weed themselves out. “If they donâ€t fit in, they wonâ€t enjoy the community and use all the features the site offers,” he said.

Fair point.

The site works on an advertising model where clubs and promoters, plus other interested parties, can purchase standard banner ads and preferred event placement. Laurent insisted, however, that when users enter the event search areas, all clubs and performers are treated equally. Plus, so long as the community develops influencers (San Diegoâ€s ultra-chic, I suppose), the community will dictate where the party goes, not the other way around.

Some not-yet live features of the site include community text messaging so if the ultra hip suddenly jump to another club, they can post a message that is immediately sent to their friends list. Laurent was also excited about the future launch of a camera phone-to-profile immediate post function so the Lounge lizards can let friends see how sweaty (or drunk) they are in (almost) real time. (Editorial sarcasm added by me.)

Obviously, there are some merits to the idea and I like several components of their approach. It will be interesting to see how the site continues to grow in San Diego and if it becomes the hip, trendy on-line stop for the hip, trendy off-line sect. The launch in other cities will be worth noting as well.

And even if Iâ€m too old, too married and too uncool to be in the little club … and would have despised it on principal 15 years ago when I was at least younger and single, I hope LovinLounge.com is on to something.

Hereâ€s what I want to know from you:

1. Are there holes in their approach and what are they?
2. Would you join (or would you have before life happened) such an animal?
3. What brands should keep an eye on this thing to see if the ultra cool, 18-to-32-year-old demographic buys in?

Other posts youâ€ll find interesting:

1. Social Networking With The Elite
2. MashMeet NYC Recap
3. The Nearly Never Ending Market For Niche Social Networks
4. Whatâ€s After Facebook Or Is The Migration Over?
5. Faceparty On

[tags]social networking, niche networking sites, nightlife, San Diego, LovinLounge, David Laurent, club scene, dance clubs, social elite[/tags]

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