Corporate Identity in the Office: How a Brand Becomes a Space
Alessandro Nicotra
Working Worlds
In short
— An office with its own identity fosters pride and loyalty. Employees who like their workplace are significantly more likely to be proud of their company.
— Identity emerges from a guiding idea, not from colours and logos. It is developed from the history, the culture, and the location.
— Guests read an office like a business card. The first impression is created in the space, long before the first conversation.
A logo on the wall does not make an identity. An office truly tells the story of a company when you can feel its history in the space: in the idea that organizes it, in the materials, in the light, and in the details that spark conversation. Such spaces have an impact both internally and externally.
A space that tells a company's story doesn't need a logo on the wall.
Why does an office need its own identity?
Because people identify with places. Researchers at the Academy of Management Review describe how functional, social, and aesthetic features of a workplace shape how strongly people feel connected to it. In the Gensler Global Workplace Survey 2025, 90 percent of employees who like their workplace are proud of their company. Among those who feel alienated from their environment, that figure is 47 percent. In Switzerland, too, the IAP study by ZHAW shows: Those who are very rarely on-site lose a sense of pride and team bonding.
An office that could belong to any company gives away this impact.
How do you translate a brand into a space?
With a central concept that comes from the company itself. At KAYAK in Zurich, the name provided the key: the word reads the same forwards and backwards, like a journey with an outward and return leg. From this, the layout of the office emerged, with departure at the entrance and return in the kitchen. The tiles follow the actual geographical direction; anyone walking through the office is moving across a map.
At HIAG on Bahnhofplatz, axes and rounded volumes bring the city inside: Europaallee, the Swiss National Museum, Bahnhofplatz. And at HIAG's suggestion, the former logo from the façade found a new place in reception. At Coop Rechtsschutz in Bellinzona, the design draws on anecdotes from within the company—present, yet unobtrusive.
KAYAK Office, Zurich
Where does the guiding idea come from?
From conversations, from the location, and from looking inward and outward. Marketing researcher Mary Jo Bitner described back in 1992 how significantly the built environment shapes a company's image among customers while simultaneously influencing employee satisfaction (Bitner, Journal of Marketing). That is why we ask both sides.
In Workplace Intelligence, we compare how employees view their company with how it is intended to be perceived externally. Where the internal and external images align lies the strength that the space should display. Where they diverge lies the story that the space can tell. From this emerges a spatial brief for material, light, and atmosphere.
What are the benefits of an office with identity?
Internal commitment and external trust. Gensler found that employees in very good work environments are almost three times as likely to stay with their company. And those who can help shape the office identify more strongly with their employer, as studies by the University of Exeter show.
Finding the right balance is key. A strong identity remains a framework within which people find their own place. The office belongs to the company and to the people who work in it.
What does this do for the company?
A stronger argument for talents and clients. Applicants and guests experience the office before they get to know the company. A space that credibly showcases the business supports both recruitment and sales. And because employees in very good work environments are nearly three times as likely to stay, according to Gensler, identity also pays off where turnover costs the most.
The path to getting there is efficient when the guiding concept is established early on. It provides direction for every subsequent decision regarding materials, lighting, and furniture, sparing long debates over personal taste.
Coop Legal Protection, Bellinzona
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between corporate design and corporate identity in physical space?
Corporate design encompasses the logo, colors, and typography. Corporate identity in a space is the underlying attitude, translated into spatial concept, materials, lighting, and details.
Doesn't a branded office quickly feel superficial?
If it relies on logos and slogans, yes. In contrast, a guiding concept drawn from the company's history and culture feels natural and endures longer.
Does this require a major renovation?
Not necessarily. Often, a strong reception area, a meeting point with character, and a cohesive material and lighting concept are enough.
How do you involve employees?
Through a brief survey on the company's internal perception and workshops where materials, samples, and models are laid out on the table.
Does an office with identity help with recruiting?
It is a compelling factor, as applicants experience the space during their first interview. An office that reflects the company makes its promises credible.
Sources
Global Workplace Survey 2025, Gensler, 2025
My place: How workers become identified with their workplaces, Ashforth, Caza and Meister, Academy of Management Review, 2024
IAP Study 2023, Factsheet, ZHAW IAP, 2023
Servicescapes, Mary Jo Bitner, Journal of Marketing, 1992
Designing your own workspace improves health, happiness and productivity, University of Exeter, 2010
Every company has a story. A great space tells it without saying a word.
Contact
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Every project begins with a conversation. Tell us what you have in mind: a new working environment, a restaurant, a space for the future. We bring an open mind, curiosity, and experience in strategy, interior design, and lighting. We'd love to meet at our studio on Gutstrasse in Zurich. Or wherever your project is coming to life.