Design Guidelines to Facilitate Creativity in Workplace 
 
by 
 
Zhan Zhang 
 
 
 
 
A thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty of 
Auburn University 
in partial fulfillment of the 
requirements for the Degree of 
Master of Industrial Design 
 
Auburn, Alabama 
December 12, 2011 
 
 
 
 
Keywords: workplace, furniture design, designer,  
creativity, facilitate creativity 
 
 
Copyright 2011 by Zhan Zhang 
 
 
 
 
Approved by 
 
Tin Man Lau, Chair, Professor of Industrial and Graphic Design 
Shuwen Tzeng, Assistant Professor of Industrial and Graphic Design 
Shea Thomas Tillman, Assistant Professor of Industrial and Graphic Design 
Gary Smith, Director of Design Facilitation in Herman Miller 
 
 
 
 
 
ii 
Abstract 
 
 
This thesis is aimed at helping designers to build a workplace that could facilitate 
creativity during work. It also tries to help readers to understand designers? creativity in the 
workplace. And through acquisition of such knowledge, a set of guidelines is developed to help 
designers to design such a place.  
The guidelines are formed of an analysis on secondary research of cognitive science 
documents and a synthesis of research composed of qualitative interviews and observation 
shadowing. It gives ten general features to consider before setting up the floor plan when 
designing the workplace.  
To apply the guidelines, a set of five pieces of furniture is introduced. They are designed 
based on different guidelines, and their layout configurations are also based on the guidelines.  
 
 
iii 
Acknowledgments 
 
 
 The author would like to thank her fianc?, Linjun Lu, for his full support and love all 
through the process. Thanks for all the phone calls, urges; without you I could not make it by any 
means. Thanks for my parents, for your kindness and love through the years while I have been 
away.  
To my committee members, chair Professor Tin Man Lau, thanks a lot for your advice 
and your generosity for the past 12 months. I really learnt a lot from you, not only for academic, 
but also for other aspects of my life. Professor Shuwen Tzeng and Professor Shea Tillman, thank 
you for your feedback on my thesis, and also thank you for your help throughout the year. I 
appreciate your attitudes both as designers and teachers. I truly benefit a lot from you.  
To all designers who participated in the research part, thank you very much for sparing 
your time and effort to help me with the survey. Your knowledge and experiences have been 
very useful and helpful for me. 
Special thanks to Gary Smith. Thank you for helping me connect with the designers and 
sharing with me your knowledge and experience of design career. That has been very moving for 
me. Many thanks to my colleagues in Herman Miller, Doug Bauzuin, Chris Hoyt, Carolyn 
Maalouf, Brian Green, Laura Potter, Ruth Ann Visser, and especially Gretchen Gscheidle. It has 
been a wonderful year spent with you and I received so many benefits that will last throughout 
my life. Many thanks to all of you! I am truly blessed to enjoy my life with you around in the 
States.  
 
iv 
 
 
 
 
 
Table of Contents 
 
 
Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... ii 
Acknowledgments ....................................................................................................................... iii 
List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... vi 
List of Figures ............................................................................................................................. vii 
Chapter One: Introduction   .......................................................................................................... 1 
 1.1 Problem Statement ...................................................................................................... 1 
 1.2 Need for Study ............................................................................................................ 2 
 1.3 Objectives of Study ..................................................................................................... 2 
 1.4 Definitions of Terms ................................................................................................... 3 
 1.5 Assumptions ................................................................................................................ 4 
 1.6 Scopes and Limits ....................................................................................................... 5 
 1.7 Procedure of Study ...................................................................................................... 5 
Chapter Two: Introduction to Research   ...................................................................................... 7 
 2.1 Pattern of Creativity .................................................................................................... 7 
 2.2 Pattern of Workplace ................................................................................................ 13 
 2.3 Hypothesis of Facilitating Creativity in Designers? Workplace ............................... 19 
Chapter Three: Research of Designers? Creativity in Workplace   ............................................ 21 
 3.1 Research Method ...................................................................................................... 21 
 3.2 Synthesis Results ...................................................................................................... 25 
 
v 
Chapter Four: Develop Guidelines   ........................................................................................... 43 
 4.1 Analysis..................................................................................................................... 43 
 4.2 Guidelines ................................................................................................................. 50 
Chapter Five: Design Application .............................................................................................. 59 
 5.1 Furniture Design Development ................................................................................. 57 
 5.2 Layout Scenario Configuration ................................................................................. 73 
Chapter Six: Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 78 
 6.1 Conclusion of Thesis................................................................................................. 78 
 6.2 Next Step ................................................................................................................... 79 
References  .................................................................................................................................. 80 
Appendices  ................................................................................................................................. 84 
 
  
 
vi 
 
 
 
 
 
List of Tables 
 
 
Table 1 Subjects Configuration .................................................................................................. 21 
Table 2 Matrix of Applied Facilities of Guidelines .................................................................... 54 
Chart 1 Percentage Distribution of Definition of Creativity from designers .............................. 27 
Chart 2 Work Environments that Support Creativity Best ......................................................... 28 
Chart 3 Methods of Maintain Creativity  .................................................................................... 29 
Chart 4 Reasons for Depressing Creativity in Workplace .......................................................... 31 
Chart 5 New Design Ideas for Stimulated Creativity by Subjects .............................................. 33 
Chart 6 Verification of Five Hypotheses .................................................................................... 45 
Chart 7 Verification of the New Findings  .................................................................................. 48 
 
 
  
 
vii 
 
 
 
 
 
List of Figures 
 
 
Figure 1 Organizational ecology: The basis of an integrated workplace strategy ...................... 14 
Figure 2 Comparisons of Hypothesis and Research Results ...................................................... 43 
Figure 3 Sketch Development of White Boards and Tackables ................................................. 58 
Figure 4 Sketch Development of Training Table ....................................................................... 58 
Figure 5 Rendering of Training Table ........................................................................................ 59 
Figure 6 Dimensions of the Training Table ................................................................................ 59 
Figure 7 Sketches of Chair-Stool ................................................................................................ 61 
Figure 8 Rendering of Chair-Stool ............................................................................................. 61 
Figure 9 User Scenario of Final Design ...................................................................................... 63 
Figure 10 Dimensions of Chair-Stool ......................................................................................... 63 
Figure 11 Sketches of Swivel Table ........................................................................................... 64 
Figure 12 Rendering of Swivel Table ......................................................................................... 65 
Figure 13 Axle Pole of Swivel Table .......................................................................................... 65 
Figure 14 User Scenario of Swivel Table ................................................................................... 66 
Figure 15 Dimensions of Swivel Table ...................................................................................... 67 
Figure 16 Sketches of Acoustic Screen ...................................................................................... 68 
Figure 17 Rendering of Acoustic Screen .................................................................................... 69 
Figure 18 Dimensions of Acoustic Screen.................................................................................. 70 
Figure 19 Sketches of Storage-Display ....................................................................................... 71 
 
viii 
Figure 20 Rendering of Storage ?Display .................................................................................. 72 
Figure 21 Dimensions of Storage-Display  ................................................................................. 73 
Figure 22 Layout Configuration 1 .............................................................................................. 74 
Figure 23 Layout Configuration 2 .............................................................................................. 75 
Figure 24 Layout Configuration 3 .............................................................................................. 76 
Figure 25 Flip Training Table Scale Model (1:8)  ...................................................................... 84 
Figure 26 Flip Training Table Scale Model (1:8) ....................................................................... 84 
Figure 27 Convertible Chair-Stool Scale Model (1:8) ................................................................ 85 
Figure 28 Convertible Chair-Stool Scale Model (1:8)  ............................................................... 85 
Figure 29 Spin Tri-Table Scale Model (1:8)  ............................................................................. 86 
Figure 30 Spin Tri-Table Scale Model (1:8)  ............................................................................. 86 
Figure 31 Acoustic Screen Scale Model (1:8)  ........................................................................... 87 
Figure 32 Acoustic Screen Scale Model (1:8) ............................................................................ 87 
Figure 33 Display Storage Scale Model (1:8) ............................................................................. 88 
Figure 34 Display Storage Scale Model (1:8) ............................................................................. 88 
Figure 35 Spin Tri-Table and Convertible Chair-Stool Configuration ....................................... 89 
Figure 36 Training Table, Chair-Stool and Screen Configuration ............................................. 89 
Figure 37 Training Table and Chair-Stool Configuration .......................................................... 90 
Figure 38 Display Storage, Chair- Stool and Training Table Configuration  ............................. 90 
Figure 39 The Whole Set Configuration ..................................................................................... 91 
Figure 40 The Whole Set Configuration ..................................................................................... 91 
Figure 41 The Whole Set Configuration ..................................................................................... 92 
Figure 42 The Whole Set Configuration ..................................................................................... 92
 
1 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter One:  Introduction 
 
1.1 Problem Statement  
During the recent decades, many companies have realized that in a dynamic economic 
environment, producing more products in less time using fewer resources does not equal higher 
profit. That the economic-efficiency-oriented giant Nokia has been exceeded by Apple in cell 
phone market within only four years has elaborated that. At the same time, as much of the 
manufacturing process has been outsourced abroad, labor workers in the office have gradually 
been replaced by knowledge workers. Creativity, the key of innovation, is critical to keeping 
companies motivated to run in today?s extremely competitive market.  
As for companies, employees are its most precious assets, while the workplace is the 
second. The workplace provides a safe, supportive environment for people to work individually 
or interact with each other. It greatly influences the culture of the company, as well as the 
activity in the office. Unfortunately, even though many company leaders have realized the 
importance of a properly designed workplace, the application of the creative workplace is still far 
from widely spread. Many offices have carefully designed configurations that facilitate 
productivity, but not creativity. Productivity indeed is important, but merely fostering 
productivity in workplace will not necessarily facilitate creativity well, and in some ways may 
even impair it.  
Designers are generally considered creative individuals, because they work most of their 
career in the innovation industry.  It is a designer?s job responsibility to be creative, thus their 
workplaces need to foster creativity more than other elements.  Many designers use their offices 
 
2 
as showcases to convince their clients that they are innovative, and to show the creative culture 
of their company.  In this way, designers? offices are an ideal subject to study creativity in the 
workplace. Nonetheless, it?s easy to find many glamorous photos about designers? workplace, 
but rarely serious studies.  
 
1.2 Need for Study  
Scholars have noted the positive effects of creative activity in work. They have authored 
many books about managing skills and work style as well as the psychological and sociological 
patterns that may contribute to creativity.  However, very few of them are mentioned relative to 
workplace design.  Physical environmental factors have often been neglected in creativity 
psychological and sociological research as if all the subjective elements are counted for enough 
in building up a creative environment.  
Generally the design of workplaces is focused on improving productivity; thus 
historically the main concern has been effective and convenient layout. Many issues on 
workplace design involving human activity are about dynamic workflow, organization 
arrangement, etc., which do not directly relate to creativity. Considering the current importance 
of creativity in the industry, there is a need to study about how to design a workplace that could 
facilitate creativity in addition to productivity.  
 
1.3 Objectives of Study  
This study examines designers? workplaces, to study their creative work patterns and 
workplace patterns. Research will be conducted to have a close view of designers? work patterns 
and workplace. Next, a synthesis work will be done to sort out the factors that may influence 
 
3 
creativity in designers? workplaces. Through understanding the factors that contribute to 
facilitating a creative culture in a company, guidelines will be developed to help build 
knowledge of design criteria for office furniture, which may foster creativity in designers? 
workplaces.  
A set of office furniture will be designed as an example of applying these guidelines.  
Models will be built for better demonstration.  
In addition, it may also be possible that the guidelines could be applied to contract 
furniture for companies other than design firms.   
 
1.4 Definitions of Terms  
Creativity is the ability to approach the situation at hand with a fresh perspective, and link 
together previously unrelated or uncombined concepts, to generate new and unexpected ideas 
that solve a problem or capture an opportunity (Stegmeier, 2008). 
Collaboration is a the act of a group or a team in the organization working together for a 
shared objective.  
Designers mentioned in this research are exclusively industrial designers.  
Energy flow is the abstract energy stream existing in human activities. It is generated by 
group activities like collaboration, conflict, teamwork, and tension. 
Organization is a social group that distributes tasks for a collaborative goal.  
Work environment refers to the qualitative characteristics of the experience of working in 
certain agency. It includes employer-employee relationships as well as the physical work setting.  
Workplace is a planned, designed and managed physical environment that supports and 
facilitates employees to do their work.  
 
4 
 
 
1.5 Assumptions  
In many economies and innovative organizations, creativity has become a key factor for a 
wide range of productive activities, within large corporations or in small-scale social enterprises 
anywhere in the world. Creativity in today?s economy has firmly  ?arrived? and most businesses 
are recognizing that creativity has gained a strategic function in the innovation?competitiveness 
ladder. It has been noted as a type of ?survival skill? that will be required for the next decades 
(Mirranda, 2009). 
The foundation of creative activity is that participants need to obtain creative 
characteristics. Studies on creativity show that it is not exclusively a cognitive phenomenon 
(Cropley, 1994); that is: it is not a divine gift of a given person presenting certain abilities. 
Rather, creativity, as a productive factor, involves high preparation, discipline and conscious 
effort by an individual (Mirranda, 2009). 
Innovation is considered the successful implementation of creative ideas within an 
organization. In this view, creativity by individuals and teams is a starting point for innovation 
(West, 2000). Although creativity and innovation represent different stages in the process of 
developing novel solutions, most factors that influence the process at one stage are likely to have 
a similar impact at another stage (e.g. support for risk taking) (Shalley, 2000). Sometimes, these 
factors will be discussed as well as creativity, but they will not be the core issue of this thesis.  
The workplace, on the other hand, is often considered an organization?s second most 
costly asset (Becker, Steele, 1995).  It needs to support the work of individuals and teams, as 
well as the whole organization. People find it difficult to overcome their surroundings, whether 
 
5 
conscious or unconscious. So it is important to design a positive working environment before the 
workers move in.  
Despite this, well-designed facilities will not guarantee success, nor will poorly designed 
ones guarantee failure, similar to management, equipment and employees (Becker, Steele, 1995). 
They are each a part of an integrated system that needs to work in harmony. Hence, it is 
ineffective to only look at the office setting and ignore the subjective factors. The people and 
their activities need to be considered in context. 
Designers often work in the innovative industry, and train themselves to be creative as a 
part of their job requirements. In this study, they are used as subjects since they represent a 
profession whose success is tied directly to creative outputs. 
 
1.6 Scopes and Limits  
The qualitative research conducted in this study covers some designers in the Midwest 
area of the US. Twenty-five designers participated in the research, which is a comparatively 
small amount of samples.  
Designers? personalities, experiences and characteristics will greatly influence their 
creative output, which may cause inaccuracy of the results.  
 
1.7 Procedure of study 
Firstly, a literature review  to gather information related to the creativity and workplace 
will help to better understand the needs and requirements of facilitating creativity in workplace. 
The hypothesis  for later research use directly results from this research. 
 
6 
Secondly, research will be conducted to observe the designers? workplace by shadowing 
designers? work patterns. Subjects will be recruited for qualitative interviews at the same time. 
Thirdly, data collected within last step will go through synthesis work, and a set of 
factors that contribute to creativity of the workplace will be sorted out and categorized.  
Fourthly, the factors listed from last step will be used for building guidelines that may 
better facilitate creativity in workplace. 
Fifthly, a design based on the guidelines will be executed to indicate how the guidelines 
will be used in real conditions. 
 
7 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Two:  Introduction to Research 
 
2.1 Pattern of Creativity 
2.1.1 Definition of Creativity 
The most common definition of creativity is that it ?involves the production, 
conceptualization, or development of novel and useful ideas, processes, or procedures by an 
individual or by a group of individuals working together? (Amabile, 1988&   Shalley, 
1991). ?The definition of a creative strategy or solution varies by the field or job involved, but all 
creative behaviors result to some degree in identifying original and better ways to accomplish 
some purpose? (Shalley, 2000).  
Guilford (1967) proposed four basic categories of divergent thinking which have been 
generally accepted by the psychological field:  
1) Fluency is the ability to generate a large number of ideas.  
2) Flexibility is the ability to generate a wide variety of ideas.  
3) Originality is the production of unusual ideas.  
4) Elaboration involves developing or building on other ideas.  
These categories are viewed as the main component of creative thinking.  
 
2.1.2 Factors Affect Creativity 
Because of its perceived unpredictability, creativity may seem difficult to study 
scientifically and systematically. However, psychological literature now reveals evidence of 
factors that contribute to creativity; ?elements of personality, affect, cognition, and motivation 
 
8 
can either facilitate or impair creativity? (Amabile, 1996; Csikszentmihalyi, 1996; Sawyer, 
2006).  
According to the componential model of creativity and innovation in organizations, ?five 
environmental components will affect creativity? (Amabile, 1999):  
5) Encouragement of creativity (which encompasses open information flow and 
support for new ideas at all levels of the organization, from top management, 
through immediate supervisors, to work groups).  
6) Autonomy or freedom (autonomy in the day-to-day conduct of work; a sense 
of individual ownership of and control over work).  
7) Resources (the materials, information, and general resources available for 
work); pressures (including both positive challenge and negative workload 
pressure).  
8) Organizational impediments to creativity (including conservatism and internal 
strife).  
 
2.1.3 Individual Creativity  
?Personality studies have demonstrated that creative people tend to be nonconforming, 
independent, intrinsically motivated, open to new experiences, and risk seeking? (Simonton, 
2000, 2003). Large-scale studies and meta-analyses have found that intelligence, tolerance of 
ambiguity, self-confidence, and cognitive flexibility also tend to be found in creative people 
(Feist, 1998); MacKinnon, 1978). 
 West (2000) pointed out that innovative people have different thinking styles. There are 
people who have a preference of thinking in novel ways; who think globally instead of locally, 
 
9 
distinguishing the wood from the trees; who have intellectual abilities which include synthetic 
abilities (to see problems in new ways and escape the bounds of conventional thinking), 
?analytic abilities to recognize which ideas are worth pursuing, and the practical contextual 
abilities to persuade others of the value of their ideas? (Sternberg & Lubart, 1996). ?People who 
are creative need to obtain sufficient knowledge of the field to be able to move it forward, they 
need to be confident about themselves.? ?Tolerance of ambiguity, widely associated with 
creativity, enables individuals to avoid the problems of following only mental ruts, and increases 
the chances of unusual Reponses and the discovery of novelty? (Barron & Harrington, 1981).  
 ?Creative people tend to be self-directed, enjoying and requiring freedom in their work? 
(Mumford & Gustafson, 1988). ?They have a high need of freedom, control and discretion in the 
workplace and appear to find bureaucratic limitations or the exercise of control by managers 
frustrating? (West, 1987). ?Creative people require clear work objectives along with high 
autonomy to perform well in the work? (West, 2000).  
Hemlin (2006) has developed a framework called Creative Knowledge Environment 
(CKE), which he used to explain the relationship between individual, team and work 
environment. He said:  
?Individuals are arguably the main components of CKEs; without them, no 
knowledge would be produced and creativity would not exist? C reativity is enhanced in 
environments where individual autonomy is stimulated (at least up to a certain degree, 
although generally linked to some collective goal), where individuals feel motivated and 
are rewarded (in some way), where communication with other individuals flows easily 
and an individual feels secure to express almost any view, where individuals have expert 
knowledge in at least one domain, and where individuals are left alone to fulfill tasks that 
 
10 
are not better done in a group. ?Individuals? creativity may also be enhanced by contact 
with researchers in neighboring research areas? (Hollingsworth & Hollingsworth, 2000). 
2.1.4 Group and Team Creativity  
According to Gulford?s (1967) four categories of divergent thinking, ?group creativity 
can be defined as divergent thinking in groups as reflected in ideational fluency? (Brown, 
Tumeo, Larey, & Paulus, 1998). ?In groups, divergent thinking will be affected by both 
associational and social processes? (Paulus, Larey, & Dzindolet, 2000).  
Pressman's (2009) research on the employees at his architecture firm concludes that 
architects who collaborate in the workplace create novel outcomes by engaging in constructive 
and inspiring conversations and creative brainstorming that reinforce respect, trust, and 
appreciation. ?Working together in collaboration stimulates and develops individual creativity, 
which can significantly enhance the cost effectiveness and quality of the project? (Watson,2007). 
West (2000) indicates that group creativity occurs when a diverse group, in terms of task 
relevant knowledge, skills and abilities, experiences both high external demands and high levels 
of internal integration and psychosocial safety. ?These would largely be determined by the 
knowledge skills and abilities members have for working in terms. Groups will be creative 
primarily when their task is sufficiently interesting, motivating and challenging and when the 
group?s internal environment or processes are experienced as safe? (West, 1994, 1996). 
?Diversity is necessary to ensure there is sufficient difference and richness of input to encourage 
creative and innovative outputs? (Jackson, 1996). 
Current research has shown a shared objective in teams is also important to creativity, as 
is a high level of participation, for instance, transparent information sharing, shared influence 
over decision making, etc. Also, ?team reflexivity is considered another key indicator, which is 
 
11 
the extent to whoever team member collectively reflect upon team?s objectives, strategies and 
processes as well as their wider organizations, and adapt them accordingly? (West, 1996).  As a 
consequence of reflexivity, the group needs to continually re-negotiate during team interaction. 
In fact, ?the most creative discussion happened within those negotiations for transforming 
information as well as develops mental models? (West, 2000).   
Leadership and management are also important to team performance and creativity. ?It is 
easy but also dangerous for leader to influence group activities, like directive chairs inhibit teams 
from achieving shared mental models and inhibit innovation by restricting the multiplicity of 
interactions in free flowing teams? (West, 2000). However, in this thesis, we are not going to 
discuss management skills very much.  
 
2.1.5 Designers? Creativity 
?Design is one of the most promising areas in which to study creativity,? says Simon 
(1981) because of the following features of design problems: 
1) Designers tackling the same problem are likely to come up with different 
solutions (Jacob, 1977). 
2) Good designers break rules all the time. 
3) Design deals with ill-defined (Simon, 1981) and wicked problems (Rittel, 
1984) (i.e. problems that are intrinsically open-ended, situation specific and 
controversial.) 
4) In design there are no optimal solutions, but only trade-offs. 
In the research of Fischer and Nakakoji (1994), they found out that for a typical design 
process,designers start with a vague design goal, and go back and forth between different 
 
12 
component in the environment. A typical cycle of events in the environment includes the 
following: 
1) Designers create a partial specification or a partial construction; 
2) They do not know how to continue, so 
3) They switch and consult other components in the system that provide them 
with information that is relevant to the partially articulated task at hand; then  
4) They refine their understanding by reflecting upon the situation 
As designers move between components, the problem space is narrowed and different 
facets of the artifact are refined.  
Frost and Cross (2001) tested a group of industrial design students and found the creative 
aspect of design can be described by introducing the notions of ?default? and ?surprise? 
problem/solution spaces. Surprise is what keeps a designer from routine behavior. They say that 
the creative event in design is not so much a ?creative leap? from problem to solution but the 
building of a ?bridge? between the problem space and the solution space by the identification of 
a key concept. Creative design involves a period of exploration in which problem and solution 
spaces are evolving and are unstable until (temporarily) fixed by an emergent bridge which 
identifies a problem-solving pairing. A creative event occurs as the moment of insight at which a 
problem-solution pair is framed.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
13 
2.2 Pattern of Workplace  
2.2.1 Workplace Ecology 
The influence of space on behavior is not always obvious, but it underlies many social 
and organizational puzzles. Steele and Becker (2004) had coined the term organizational ecology 
to capture the dynamic, independent view of the workplace as listed in Figure 1.  
?The nature of physical workplace is only one set of elements to consider in designing 
the overall ecology of the workplace. Changes in any of these factors are likely to stimulate 
changes in the ecology itself? (Becker & Steele, 1995). The difference of organizations will 
reflect differently in the ecology. Under this ecology, the workplace is not merely an office, 
one?s workstation in an office building. It?s also the cafeteria, the conference and break room, 
corridors and water fountains. It?s all the places in which one works. ?Because of the increasing 
percentage of knowledge workers (different from labor workers), that is likely to encompass not 
just everywhere in the office building but everywhere one can think, write, talk or read? (Becker 
& Steele, 1995). To create a high performance workplace requires executive acknowledgement 
and a lot of managing help.   
 
 
14 
 
Figure 1 Organizational ecology: The basis of an integrated workplace strategy (Steele and 
Becker 2004) 
Steele and Becker (1995) also have developed five key criteria to maintain organizational 
health and how facilities would influence them: 
1) Sense of identity. A clear sense of the organization?s mission, values, style, 
and culture. People from outside see a clear image of what it does and what it 
for. ? Decorative style, space location, signs, artworks, etc.. These work 
settings are a powerful medium for expressing identity.) 
 
15 
2) Reality testing. Members of system are able to get timely and accurate 
information about what is happening, both inside the system and in the 
surrounding environment.  (Workplace features that promote or block 
communication throughout the organization particularly influence this: 
communication technology, meeting facilities. It could be a big help but also 
could impede the process by reducing the probability of regular information 
sharing.) 
3) Task accomplishment. The system fulfills its mission if it satisfies the 
expectation of both insiders and outsiders, therefore it receives sufficient 
inputs so as not to run down over time. (Many facility factors could have such 
kind of impact: size and quality of individual workplaces, ergonomics, joint 
activity place, information and communication settings, etc.) 
4) Problem solving and adaptability. The system?s members are able to make 
changes according to changing conditions  that solve problems or seize 
opportunities created by the change. (This is heavily influenced by the 
flexibility of the workplace. It is encouraged by work settings that have a 
variety of different type of spaces that people can choose from based on what 
they are doing at any particular time. Settings that foster communication also 
help members spot problems earlier.) 
5) Energy flow. Members manage the relations among the parts of the system so 
that the energy generated by collaboration, conflict, teamwork, tension, and so 
forth gets used productively rather than draining energy from tasks or 
splintering the system permanently. (This is influenced by relative locations of 
 
16 
parts, boundaries between groups, spaces that tend to promote cooperation or 
competition, and facility policies that decide how people use their facilities.) 
 
2.2.2 Future Workplace Design 
Workplace design is constantly changing. Steelcase Inc, the world?s largest designer and 
manufacturer of office furniture, has developed seven characteristics of the new workplace: 
1) When it comes to the working environment, what you do is more important 
than who you are. 
2) You don?t have to ?go to work? to work. For many people, technology has 
made being there optional. 
3) If and when you do go to work, chances are you won?t sit in one place for 
every long. 
4) There is an evolution toward one person occupying several seats as he or she 
moves from task to task throughout the day, several people sharing one chair, 
as in settings used over the course of a day or week by people who work 
outside the office as much (or more) than they do inside. 
5) Group and team settings are becoming increasingly important. 
6) There is no one identical model for what the work environment should be. 
7) The focus of office design is moving from efficiency to effectiveness.  
The workplace will be changing from a productivity-oriented to a performance-oriented 
place. It will also change from organizational control more into personal control. More and more 
people will decide for themselves whether to be in the office or not, or where to be in the office. 
The organization will change its structure also, from vertical to horizontal, which will impact the 
 
17 
whole ecology drastically. Information will be transmitted more quickly from top to bottom; the 
whole environment will be more transparent. The workplace will become more informal, more 
flexible, and contain more freedom.  
 
2.2.3 Creative Workplace 
 ?Creative cognitions occur when individuals feel free from pressure, safe and positive? 
(Claxton, 1998).  
It has been hypothesized that contextual factors of work environments can influence 
individuals' creative behavior (e.g., Amabile, 1988; Shalley, 1991, 1995; Woodman et al., 1993), 
and recent studies have found that perceptions of work environments do influence creative 
performance (Amabile, Conti, Coon, Lazenby, & Herron, 1996; Oldham & Cummings, 1996).  
?In particular, facilities that make it easier for individuals to contact one another when 
needed are likely to be beneficial to creativity. Yet individuals also need facilities that offer 
solitude, where creative thoughts and ideas can be nurtured, and where reflections on other 
people?s ideas can be arrived at. These two functions of providing space both for meeting others 
and for reflection are basic to creativity? (Hemlin, 2006).  
Employees working in innovation-oriented cultures have been found to demonstrate 
higher levels of satisfaction, commitment, and intent to remain (Odom, Box, & Dunn, 1990; 
Quinn & Spreitzer, 1991). When creativity is important, it should be desirable for an 
organization to provide the type of work environment that facilitates rather than stifles the 
creative process. Specifically, ?a work environment complementing the creativity requirements 
associated with a job should be positively related to satisfaction and intent to remain because this 
setting should facilitate rather than hinder meeting job requirements? (Shalley, 2000). Results 
 
18 
further indicated ?individuals reported higher satisfaction and lower intentions to leave when 
their work environments complemented the creativity requirements of their jobs.? Shalley 
(2000). 
 However, no clear design criteria addressing creative workplace design were found 
during the literature review.  
 
2.2.4 Designers? Work Environment 
Fischer (1994) mentioned that environments support four design themes that are 
important for supporting creative design: 
1) Co-evolution of problem specification and solution construction; 
2) Reflection in action; 
3) Evolution of design environments; 
4) Making relevant information available. 
Catalogue Explorer, an innovative system designed by Fischer (1994), illustrates how 
integrated environments can amplify human creativity in terms of the four themes. The synergy 
of this integration enables the system to retrieve design objects that are relevant to the task at 
hand, as identified by a partial specification and a partial construction, thereby notifying 
designers of the existence of potentially relevant information. ?By presenting information to 
designers that they may never have thought before, the mechanism amplifies their creativity by 
bringing existing design concepts into unseen and even unthought, yet valuable ways of usage. 
This emphasizes the basic assumption that creativity is not just a mental capacity, but is greatly 
enhanced by interacting?in the right way?with knowledge in the world?(Fischer,(1994). 
 
19 
?Design is a conversation with the materials of a design situation. This principle has been 
operationalized by creating domain-oriented design environments that support human problem-
domain communication? (Fischer & Lemke, 1988). The materials of the design situation are not 
low-level computer abstractions but objects with which designer is familiar. The domain-
oriented nature of the environments acknowledges the fact that knowledge does not exist by 
itself in the form of context-free information, but is part of the practice of specific professional 
communities (Ehn, 1988). 
 
2.3 Hypothesis of Facilitating Creativity in Designers? Workplace 
Based on the literature review above, it can be concluded that a hypothesis of an ideal 
workplace would help to contribute to creativity in designers? workplace. That is:  
1) Fulfill the five criteria for maintaining organizational health. Thus the 
workplace could be supportive, and would not impede normal working 
activities. 
2) Fulfill both individual and group creativity requirements. Thus the workplace 
would facilitate creative activities rather than inhibit them. 
3) Fulfill the designers? workplace requirements as well as creativity 
requirements.  
By combining all the requirements above, in a designer?s workplace, there are multiple 
general values that may help to facilitate their creativity: 
1) Providing diversity 
2) Sharing a clear and achievable goal 
3) Being properly rewarded 
 
20 
4) Satisfying self-identity 
5) Being flexible and easy to change 
6) Guarantee freedom 
7) Easy and transparent communication 
8) Presenting information in environments 
9) Benefiting energy flows 
 
 
 
  
 
21 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Three:  Research of Designers? Creativity in Workplace 
 
3.1 Research Method 
 3.1.1 Research Subjects 
Due to limitations of resources and time, 35 designers in United States were asked to 
participate in the research with 25 of them agreeing to execute the plan.  
The subject offices were selected based on the scale outlined below. The research covers 
the whole range of design offices to obtain appropriate conclusions, which according to design 
facilitator experts, is: 1) corporation design department (scale unknown); 2) large design firm 
(scale above 25 employees); 3) medium design firm (scale between 5-25 employees); 4) small 
design firm (scale between 1-5 employees). It turns out the subjects fall into a table of 
configuration (see Table 1). Among all 25 designers, 15 are senior designers (over 5 years 
professional experience), and 10 are junior designers (1-5 year professional experience).  
Table 1 Subjects Configuration 
 Small Medium Large Corporation 
Organizations 3 2 1 1 
Individual 3 8 6 8 
Junior designer 0 4 3 3 
Senior designer 3 4 3 5 
 
To get consent from subjects, the researcher followed the below steps to ensure subjects 
be aware of the proper risks and understood the research plan. 
 
22 
1) A formal letter addressing the request to do on-site visits is sent to 30 potential 
subject companies (mostly through personal connections) 
2) The letter informs them of the motivation and the objective of the research; the 
researcher is listed as primary contact if they have questions or are willing to 
help. 
3) Those who are interested in participating in the research email the researcher 
back and the researcher explains to them the detailed research procedures. 
4) If subjects are still willing to help, the researcher sets up a time to meet them. 
 3.1.2 Research Procedures 
To better understand the circumstances and verify hypothesis, the researcher made up the 
following questions to be considered during research: 
? What environments make designers creative?  
? What are designers? work processes? 
? How do designers use their workspace? 
? Do all designers have similar work pattern?  
? If so, what are the similarities? 
? What are the differences in the workplace relative to the scale of design organizations?   
? What prevents designers from working more creatively in the office?  
? What is the ideal workspace for a designer?  
? How can the current workspace be improved?  
? Do designers prefer furniture they designed themselves or manufactured furniture?  
? How can we facilitate creativity from what we have learned?  
 
23 
? Can we apply designers? working processed and environments to commercial work 
environments in order to stimulate creativity? If yes, how can we do that?  
To understand these questions, the research was composed of three separate parts: 
1) Observation shadowing 
(Observe both individual and team work patterns to help to answer research 
questions; photos were taken under permission.) 
2) Qualitative interview 
(Approximately 30-45 minutes interview with each subject. An audio recorder 
was used to record the conversation for later transcription.) 
3) Photo journal 
(A set with instructions and a jump driver were sent out via mail to 
respondents, asking the subjects to follow the instructions and fill out the blank 
sheets by taking pictures themselves.) 
The interview questions were listed as below. However, during the qualitative interview, 
the conversation was loose, trying to capture more deep thoughts from designers rather than 
strictly follow the questions.  
1. What made you decide to be an industrial designer? 
2. Why have you been a successful industrial designer? 
3. Can you describe your team?s work process? 
4. As a designer, how do you define creativity? 
5. What (generally) makes you creative? Please explain. 
6. What environments (furniture) support your creativity best? 
7. How/Where do you maintain your creativity? 
 
24 
8. How do you use your personal work station? (chair, storage, monitor, table, others)  
? Did you customize it? 
9. How do you use your team workspace?  
? What furniture/room do you use? 
10. What aspect of the firm environments do you like best/least? 
11. What holds you back from being more creative in your firm? 
12. What else do you think might help you to be more creative? 
13. Can you describe/draw an ideal workspace for your firm? 
14. If you want to design something that can stimulate creativity, what would you do? 
For the on-site visit (mainly containing observation shadowing and qualitative 
interviews), the researcher used a schedule to conduct the research: 
?  8:00/8:30-10:00 Observation: workspace facilities 
Researcher walks around the office with permission, to understand the layout of the 
workplace as well as working facilities. Pictures of team workplaces, personal workstations and 
other work environment are to be be taken, but no current projects or people.  
?  10:00-11:00 Observation: interaction, work process and workspace utilization 
Researcher stays in the office watching people work, observing their individual and 
interactive activities as well as how they utilize their work facilities. It will be non-disturbing 
shadowing. No pictures will be taken, while researcher will take notes for later synthesis work. 
?  11:10-12:00 1-2 Interviews 
According to the suggestions of subject organizations, they would provide 1-2 designers 
that are willing to take the interviews. Interviews will be taken in their personal workstations, 
while researcher willuse an interview sheet to ask questions. An audio recorder will be used for 
 
25 
recording the interview for later transcription. While taking interviews, if there are some 
explanations for certain equipment, pictures will be taken. No people or current projects will be 
included in the pictures.  
?  13:00-15:30 2-3 Interviews 
Same as the earlier step. 
?  15:30- 17:00 Observation: interaction, work process and workspace utilization 
Researchers will stay in the background doing non-disturbing shadowing of working 
activities. Notes will be taken. No pictures will be taken.  
Unfortunately, at the end of the research, the photo journal session only accumulated 
three samples, which was not enough to draw solid conclusions; thus were not be considered in 
later synthesis work. 
In the end, 25 potential subjects sent out positive responses for later research execution. 
The general research happened periodically in that period as well. 
 
3.2 Synthesis Results 
The research collected 806 minutes of interview in audiotape and 198 pictures. The 
observation shadowing lasted seven full working days.  
Based on the research questions listed  in last session, the synthesis will focus on 
extracted commonalities of the data, trying to look for repetitives pattern that may be concluded  
to be general patterns of designer?s creativity in workplace.  
3.2.1 Qualitative interviews results 
The following results are summaries of each question in the interview sheets based on the 
most commonly appearing answers. 
 
26 
1. What made you decide to be an industrial designer? 
Design itself fascinates people. The mere creative process of problem solving, the 
mixture of aesthetic and function, and having something manufactured in the end inspires 
designers, keeps them motivated. Half the designers admitted they were born creative.  
2. Why have you been a successful industrial designer? 
Being a successful industrial designer was more or less linked with their personal 
characteristics or experiences?persistent, confident, curious, knowledgeable, thinking 
differently, ease of communication both visually and verbally, ability to persuade people. 
None of them directly mentioned creativity as an essential quality to be a successful 
designer.  
3. Can you describe your team?s work process? 
All the designers emphasized the importance of collaborative work both with clients or 
colleagues. Most (84%) designers started from all kinds of exploration (research mainly), 
and then individual contemplative work with team collaboration work alternately. The 
ways each firm does its collaboration work vary. During the process, temporary teams 
were formed. Normally the demands of a project will decide the scale of a temporary 
team. For a medium or larger scale firm, an ordinary project asks for two to three 
designers to work in a team for a certain amount of time (for individual or small firms, 
designers work with outsiders). It is noticed that the small team usually is constituted of a 
mentor who is more experienced (senior designer) and apprentices who produce various 
ideas (junior designer or intern). The constitution of the team is fluid, changing from time 
to time even within the same project.  The firms require all teams to be open and 
transparent about sharing information.  
 
27 
4. As a designer, how do you define creativity? 
The most common answers for this question are to obtain a different vision/perspective 
(72%), effective yet attractive problem solving (48%), invent something new and 
different (32%), improve current conditions (24%). Additionally, some designers (20%) 
think creativity is a process to achieve the goal within disciplines in a way nobody 
thought of before (see Chart 1).  
 
Chart 1 Percentage Distribution of Definition of Creativity from designers 
5. What (generally) makes you creative? Please explain. 
Most designers (84%) confirm they acquire creativity from outside inspiration, which 
includes surrounding environments, visual/acoustic stimuli, other art trends other than 
mere products, and outside energy flow.  
At the same time many designers (68%) think collaboration helps them be creative, while 
nearly all of them think diversity helps with creativity during collaboration. The bounce 
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
 
28 
of ideas from different backgrounds during brainstorming and further creative sessions 
seems to inspire designers most.  
 
Of all of the designers, some of them (36%) strictly believe effective problem solving is 
the best way of keeping creative. By identifying certain problems, all ideas could stream 
out creatively. 
6. What environments (furniture) support your creativity best? 
Interestingly, a total of 56% of the designers think they are most creative while they are 
in transit (in auto pilot condition 24%, in a trip 32%). Nearly half of the designers think 
they work best in their personal workstation, which means, in other words, they are 
satisfied with their current setting to support their work right now (see Chart 2).  
 
Chart 2 Work Environments that Support Creativity Best 
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
 
29 
7. How/Where do you maintain your creativity? 
The main methods designers use for maintaining creativity has been listed in Chart 3. 
Many designers (64%) think exposure to different things rather than their own projects 
helps to maintain creativity. In this way, ?different things? is somewhat similar to the 
answer of Question 5 of outside inspiration; that is, something different than the current 
projects?visual/acoustic stimuli, surrounding environments, other art forms, as well as 
communication to different people. 
 
However, there are some designers (20%) who think creativity can not be maintained. 
Creativity is spontaneous, always comes and goes, thus is uncontrolled; even though it 
could be stimulated in certain ways, it could not spark long.  
 
Chart 3 Methods of Maintain Creativity 
8. How do you use your personal workstation? (chair, storage, monitor, table, others)  
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Keep changing Always
challenging
oneself
Stay active Expose to
different stuff
Jump out of
routine
Relax onself
 
30 
? Did you customize it? 
Almost all designers have different answers for this question depending on their different 
workstation systems. Here are some repetitive answers: keep tools within hand reach, 
tape visual stimuli on the walls, switch from stools to chairs in different conditions, orient 
desks to facilitate collaborations, use two or more monitors, and keep everything 
organized. Basically, it seems designers would prefer having control over their personal 
workstation in order to customize a comfort zone, both for individual contemplative work 
and occasionally collaborations, which are normally short and unintended, but happen 
frequently within personal workstations.  
9. How do you use your team workspace?  
? What furniture/room do you use? 
All subject design organizations have certain kind of team workspaces; even the 
individual small design firms designed a specific place for collaboration. All of them 
obtain white boards and tackables as the most frequently used tools for communication 
and visual display. Chairs and tables in team workspaces are different from workstations, 
and most of them are mobile. Technology is widely adapted, including projectors, 
monitor screens, conference phone adapters, video conference facilities, etc. Many team 
workspaces are surrounded by different kinds of stimuli?books, magazines, office 
decorations, images created by designer themselves. Designers spend half their working 
hours in team workspaces as a more formal teamwork place (compared to personal 
workstations) to discuss projects. They meet frequently, tape sketches on the tackable or 
white board, share information, and discuss ideas. Sometimes team workspaces are also 
used as meeting room with clients. 
 
31 
10. What aspects of the firm environments do you like best/least? 
The majority of the designers (88%) think the best of the firm environments is the people 
in it. The team and their energy is what excite designers most. It?s a bunch of creative 
people working individually and collaboratively, with good interactions among each 
other?that energy flow becomes designers? favorite aspect of the work environment.  
 
However, for the least favorite aspect of work environment, some designers (40%) think 
there are too much distractions from others.  
11. What holds you back from being more creative in your firm? 
There are some designers (28%) perfectly satisfied with their current work environment 
in that they think the workplaces support them very well and they are most creative in the 
office. Other than that, Chart 4 shows some reasons for designers to experience depressed 
creativity in the workplace.. 
 
Chart 4 Reasons for Depressing Creativity in Workplace 
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
too many
constraint
poor furniture lack of funds no emotional
connect to
office
not connect to
others
not lively/fun
 
32 
12. What else do you think that might help you to be more creative? 
For this question, designers have various answers. Those who think they are supported 
well in current settings do not require changes. Other answers could be categorized as 
requiring bigger customized visual stimuli, easier access to collaboration, more open 
spaces, and a more natural environment.  
13. Can you describe/draw an ideal workspace for your firm? 
Many designers (64%) draw in their personal workstation instead of the whole team area. 
Most of the workstations include a big and long table for sketches and tools, comfortable 
chair, one to two monitors, storage and customized visual stimuli, which does not differ a 
lot from their current settings.  
The rest of them draw in a team area, which normally includes a mobile table with people 
around, visual/acoustic stimuli, and easy pop in-out access to the conversation.  
14. If you want to design something that can stimulate creativity, what would you do? 
Chart 5 shows the different general directions of ideas that designers think of while 
answering this question. 
Nearly half of the designers (48%) think of different ways of reinforcing personal control 
including acoustic barriers, hand held air conditionesr, etc. Almost another half of them 
(44%) suggest something that can help to foster collaborations. 
 
33 
 
Chart 5 New Design Ideas for Stimulate Creativity by Subjects 
 
3.2.2 Observation shadowing results 
The observation shadowing results will be described in two parts: phenomenon and 
interpretation. Phenomenon would be the literal observation results; interpretation would be the 
understanding of the researcher. See the following: 
Phenomenon: Designers work in groups frequently. Half of their work hours are 
occupied by collaborative activities. Only 50% of the designers could be seen in their 
personal workstations. Normally, informal collaborations happen in workstations, only 
taking a couple minutes involving quick information and opinion sharing, accompanied 
by physical copies of sketches or images, sometimes physical models. More formal 
collaborations happen in team areas, usually surrounded by white boards or other 
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
foster
collaboration
adapt technology help others reinforce personal
control
encourage playful
and fun
 
34 
physical displays so designers could walk around, stick their drawings on display, and 
discuss details. 
Interpretation: Collaboration has indeed been the most important part to execute 
creative work. Designers developed a lot of methods to work in small teams in different 
sessions of a project, including different kinds of brainstorming and heated discussions. 
The input and output are equally important. In discussions, the air is very open and equal; 
everyone is open to offering ideas and helping each other to accomplish the goal. 
Phenomenon: All design organizations obtain big white boards and many customize 
their own. White boards are more used as displays to magnetically attach or tape sketches 
rather than really scribble on it. Tackables are more preferable than white boards. 
Interpretation: Designers require a way to quickly show their ideas to others in order to 
receive feedback. It is similar to a physical Wikipedia when everyone can view the 
results and contribute to the results instantly and simultaneously. Normal settings of the 
white boards are not big enough for such frequent sharing of large amounts of 
information so designers have to create their own. Designers also prefer drawing on plain 
paper and sticking it to the white board, so they can easily change the theme by peeling it 
off and sticking it on. White boards also have an obvious disadvantage compared to 
tackables in that the boards can not preserve information. It is more suitable for 
demonstration rather than communication. The white boards or tackables also served as 
visual stimuli, as after collaborations designers tend to leave it as it is, so then whoever 
passes by can have a hint of the mental image, and whenever they would like to pick up 
an idea or continue diving they can easily catch up with thoughts. 
Phenomenon: Many designers prefer working facing the hallway.  
 
35 
Interpretation: One reason for that is once employees are sitting facing outside the 
workstation, their backs feel secured in their workstation, especially in a cubic system. 
People tend to avoid showing backs to others when they are engaged in work. The second 
reason is that designers have a tendency of multi-tasking during work, many of them 
admitting that they like to observe the surrounding activities and are willing to cut into a 
conversation that intrigues them at any time.  The subtle openness to people keeps them 
energized, feeling connected, yet not too exposed.  
Phenomenon: Designers keep physical models in different forms within sight. Tactile 
items were touched a lot when people pass by. 
Interpretation: Industrial designers think in three dimensions. Physical models help 
them better understand the forms. It could be something very simple like foam cords 
stuck together, a handful of clay or something functional, or disassembled piece of 
existing products. Even though not all designers build their models themselves any more, 
there are still plenty of them who enjoy engaging in hand crafting, admitting that they 
think better with hands-on physical items. Several designers mentioned they are most 
creative during the model-making process. It is a hand-brain interaction aid to 
concentration and to stimulate creativity. Even if it is not model, other tactile items like 
screens, flip boards or textured tiles could be a good distraction from routine, because 
people keep touching them when walking by, which in some way becomes an interval in 
constant daily work, and also becomes something that intrigues creativity by offering 
visual and tactile stimuli.  
 
36 
Phenomenon: There are not many differentiations between different scales of design 
organizations. In fact, most designers share more similarities than differences in the 
preference of workplace. 
Interpretation: Designers share a similar work pattern: exploration ?? research  ?? 
brainstorming  ?? collaborative discussion ?? funnel down ideas  ??  model 
making  ??  engineering. After these the idea may turn out to be feasible enough to 
manufacture, or it would go circle again. The design part from brainstorming to 
engineering would repeat many times for modification depending on the projects, but 
basically the whole process is the same strategy. Therefore the work pattern for an 
individual designer and a corporate designer is not much different; they may be involved 
in different phase of the circle, but generally their work consists of a lot of individual 
contemplative work and different levels of collaborative work. It is the nature of creative 
design work that identifies their work pattern, as well as the workplace design, which 
includes big table for drawings, big visual stimuli, openness to energy flow, convenient 
collaboration area, etc.  
Phenomenon: Many designers seem satisfied with their personal workstation; they are 
looking more into the collaborative area. 
Interpretation: As interviews have proved, designers seem to have more concern with 
people they work with. The current workstation settings fulfill their basic needs for 
working: comfortable chairs, big tables, good computer, multiple monitors, place to 
display visual stimuli, organized storage, tools within hand reach.  So when they think 
about improvement of their work environment, they are inclined to think more about 
connections to people.  
 
37 
Phenomenon: Most designers customize their personal workstation, at least the visual 
stimuli. 
Interpretation: Almost all designers keep something personal in the personal 
workstation, both for fun and visual stimuli. Many designers print out their own visual 
stimuli (mostly young designers) and tape them on the wall. They do not typically change 
the furniture of their workstation; instead they install many personal items. Some 
designers designed certain tools to help with their work, for instance, an ergonomic 
mouse pad or computer stand, but not a lot of them did that.   
Phenomenon: The outside view of their workstation is important to designers. 
Interpretation: An outside view of the workplace could be nature scenes or street views. 
Some designers mention they are fond of street views with people walking and vehicles 
passing by, which keeps them feel connected to people, as well as the pace of the city.  It 
is another kind of energy flow that is different from the one inside the office. Whenever 
they are stuck in their thoughts, an interval sight of the outside view will be refreshing.  
Phenomenon: Designers naturally prefer changes and diversity both in work style and 
workplace design.  
Interpretation: Most designers do not sit in one position for a whole day. They switch 
from stool (sketching) to working chair (working on computer) several times a day. Also, 
when they feel short of ideas, they often try to alter the current method and switch to a 
different one to figure out ideas. Diversity is very important in creativity, as literature 
review has proved. For designers, they apparently welcome different perspectives during 
collaboration for feedback. Again, it is the nature of design work that it requires diversity, 
both for the outcome of innovative work and the innovative work process that results in 
 
38 
the outcome. As for the workplace, most organizations install their team area with mobile 
furniture. Designers move their furniture in team workplaces almost every time, which 
includes chairs, training tables, white boards and sometimes certain shelves. They adjust 
their workplace settings frequently due to different usages for different projects and 
different constitution of the teams.  
Phenomenon: Design firms usually avoid designing their system layout in a 
straightforward way.  
Interpretation: Straightforward layout means easy to orient and locate.  Normally it is a 
good thing because of convenience. However, most design firms prefer designing a 
labyrinth layout that is nothing straightforward. Designers seem to more enjoy the fun of 
walking different ways even to their own personal workstation. That, too, somewhat 
becomes an interval from daily routine.  
Phenomenon: Some firms keep some toy boxes or balls in their team area, so when at 
break designers can play with it. They also tend to obtain some playful items for display 
as part of their interior design?some graffiti, baseballs, wind sticks, etc.  
Interpretation: Playful and fun is an important part of the culture in design 
organizations. Research has shown that keeping a child?s mind contributes to creativity. 
Designers tend to keep curious and enjoy creating something fun and playful for 
themselves. Curiosity is one of the key characteristics to be a creative person; hence 
designers are generally curious. They are easy to communicate with, always showing 
their enthusiasm in learning new knowledge.   
Phenomenon: When the work needs contemplation the most, designers need to work 
alone, and undisturbed. 
 
39 
Interpretation: Even though collaboration is emphasized a lot in design organizations, 
when designers get down to work that requires the most focus and concentration, they 
prefer to stay in undisturbed environments. Other researchers have also mentioned that 
real work is more productive and creative when done privately rather than collaboratively. 
Several designers mentioned they would stay in office before or after work hours to have 
private quiet time for difficult work. Also generally when they have control over all the 
environments, it seems to be easier for them to contemplate, which means comfortable 
environmentsfor  designers are familiar with and by themselves, hence with no 
distraction from others. 
Phenomenon: There are higher tables and stools in every design organizations. 
Interpretation: Higher tables are normally used for discussion and sketching. While 
sitting higher, people get closer, which not only saves space, but also becomes more 
intimate. Designers prefer sitting on stools or standing positions for consuming creative 
work like sketching. Moreover, it has been observed that many designers prefer 
switching from stool to chair during work hours from time to time, which provides a 
different perspective because of the change of height. 
Phenomenon: Most designers have headsets on while doing contemplative work, and 
have headsets off to collaborate in personal workstation. 
Interpretation: Headsets produce a sound barrier from others, while at the same time 
create a personal sound environment that the designer can control. It also becomes a 
metaphor of availability to collaboration.  
3.2.3 Interview conclusions 
 
40 
The following are bullet points extracted from the interview results; they conclude the 
interview results as: 
? The creative process of design activity fascinates designers.  
? Personal experience and personality help to become a successful designer. 
? Design process starts from exploration, and then solitude and collaboration work alters 
frequently. 
? Most small teams consist of two to three designers of a mentor and apprentices. The 
constitution of team is fluid.  
? Information is transparently shared in teams as well as in the whole organizations.  
? Designers think creativity is obtaining a different vision, effective yet attractive problem 
solving, inventing something new and improving the present. 
? Creative inspiration comes from outside of the projects, mostly includes surrounding 
environments, different senses of stimuli, art trends, and energy flow. 
? Collaboration contributes to facilitate creativity; especially the diverse backgrounds of 
participants help most.  
? Exposure to different things helps to maintain creativity. 
? Collaboration area is essential in every office. The features of it include white board and 
tackables as communication tool, mobile furniture, technology for information sharing, 
and the space is usually surrounded by different stimuli.  
? Designers spend half of their work hours in collaboration.  
? The majority of the designers think the best of the office environments is the people in it. 
? Many think they are most creative when in transportation.  
 
41 
? Designers prefer to have control over personal workstation to customize a comfort zone 
both for solitude and team work.  
? Some designers are satisfied with their current settings.  
? Many designers would like to reinforce more control over personal workstation in the 
future.  
 
3.2.4 Observation conclusion 
Followings are bullet points that are extracted from the observation results; they conclude 
the observations as: 
? Seats facing the hallway enable designers to keep a subtle openness and privacy of being 
able to pursue solitude and collaboration as they like. 
? Tactile items in surroundings help to concentrate and stimulate creativity. 
? Designers work in a similar pattern using similar tools in different scale of organizations, 
which means the work activity is defined by the work requirements.  
? Many designers are concerned about connections to people once their personal zone 
requirements have been fulfilled. 
? Most designers customize their personal workstation, at least the visual stimuli. 
? The most focused work needs to be done alone in environment of which designers have 
full control. 
? Outside views provide a break from routine. The energy flow of street view is refreshing. 
? Designers change their positions and physical work environments to accommodate needs. 
They change their sitting positions and personal equipment for different types of work, 
and also change team area facilities for different projects. 
 
42 
? Higher tables and stools are available in every organization.  
? Design organizations create labyrinth layout for different ways to workstations. 
? Designers obtain playful items to remind themselves of keeping curiosity. 
? Headphones are used as metaphor for availability, and also create a personal acoustic 
zone for contemplation. 
 
 
 
  
 
43 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Four: Develop Guidelines 
4.1 Analysis 
When comparing the hypothesis in Chapter Two and the research results in Chapter 
Three, there are some overlaps while also some loopholes. This chapter is going to build the 
guidelines based on synthesizing knowledge from the former two chapters. A comparison of the 
the two chapters is shown in Figure 2. 
 
Figure 2 Comparisons of Hypothesis and Research Results 
The hypothesis in Chapter Two provides a set of general values that would contribute to 
facilitate creativity in designers? workplace based on cognitive and sociology science research. 
 
44 
Among all these nine values, there are some abstract ideas that have been proved in earlier 
researchers? work but could not be directly verified in Chapter Three?s research. Those are: 
1) Sharing a clear and achievable goal 
2) Being properly rewarded 
3) Satisfying self-identity 
4) Guaranteed freedom 
These four not-verified values do not mean they are not important. They actually fall in a 
more theoretic and abstract category involving management skills that could not be tested in the 
research executed in Chapter Three. These still need to be taken into consideration while trying 
to build up a workplace facilitating designers? creativity, but in a more cognitive management 
level rather than a real physical environment level.  
The other five values more or less have been verified coherently in the research. They are:  
1) Provide diversity 
2) Be flexible and easy to change 
3) Easy and transparent communication 
4) Present information in environments 
5) Benefit energy flow 
The verification of these five hypothesizes can be viewed in Chart 6. 
 
45 
 
Chart 6 Verification of Five Hypotheses 
Providing diversity has been emphasized in the research results in Chapter Three several 
times. Many designers believe creativity indicates jumping out of box, thinking differently, and 
resolving problems in a different way. It is the nature of design work that requires diversity. 
Diversity covers a variety of aspects, including:  
1) Collaborations anticipate different ideas bouncing from different backgrounds 
and perspectives. 
2) Labyrinth system layout helps designers have different paths to walk around. 
3) Inspirations come from looking into different objects other than current 
projects: visual/tactile stimuli, different art forms, outside views, etc. 
4) Designers seek different ways to solve problems and maintain creativity. 
Provide 
Diversity 
Collaboration 
requires 
different 
feedbacks 
Different way 
to workstation  
Inspirations 
comes from 
objects 
different from 
current 
Designers 
seek different 
ways/perspecti
ves to solve 
problems and 
maintain 
creativity 
Be flexible 
and easy to 
change 
Collaborative 
Facilities could 
be changed 
according to 
different usage 
Positions change 
due to different 
tasks 
Headphones 
serve as 
metaphor for 
availability 
Designers seek 
different 
ways/perspecti
ves to solve 
problems and 
maintain 
creativity 
Easy and 
transparent 
communication 
Seats facing 
hallways for 
openness to 
connections 
Less hierachy in 
the organization 
Openness of 
discussion is the 
key for 
collaboration  
Present 
information in 
environments 
(Stimulate 
different senses) 
Tactile items 
help to 
concentrate and 
stimulate 
creativity 
Inspirations 
comes from 
objects different 
from current 
Outside views help 
to provide a break 
from routine  
Visual display for 
individual and 
team to stimulate 
creativity 
Headrest helps to 
create a personal 
acoustic zone  
Benefit energy 
flow 
Street views 
help 
designers feel 
connected 
with people 
The best of 
environment
s is the the 
people in it 
 
46 
Being flexible and keeping changing are also discussed a lot in the previous chapter. In 
general, keep changing means always looking for different things, which is the key for designers 
to inspire and maintain creativity. Here are some features that are mentioned in the research: 
1) Facilities in team area are flexible to different layouts according to projects. 
2) Designers change positions for different work (stool for drawing and 
discussion, chair for computer work). 
3) Designers switch methods/perspective in order to solve problems/overcome 
obstacles. 
4) Designers changes views frequently in intervals of daily routines as a means of 
refreshing minds. 
5) Headset serves as a metaphor to change availability status. 
Easy and transparent communication could be often seen in collaboration. Design firms 
have meetings when every team shares their progress on a regular base. Also, design firms seem 
to place less emphasis on hierarchy, which means vertically the whole organization is more flat 
(design director? senior designer? junior designer); thus, the same information needs fewer 
levels to pass through. Horizontally within the team, information is shared openly, usually shown 
on the white board or tackables in the team area. Also, designers tend to view ease of 
communication both verbally and visually as one of the most important characteristics; plus most 
of them are curious, and keen to learn new knowledge. All these factors contribute to the rich 
and openness of communication.  Designers place their seats facing the hallway, which means 
they can jump in the conversation as they like. 
 
47 
Presenting information in the environment is mentioned frequently in last chapter. 
Different kinds of stimuli could be viewed as information presented in different environments. 
Based on the research, it could be also be viewed as:  
1) Tactile items help designers to think. 
2) Designers seek inspirations from other objects than current projects, such as 
art trends. 
3) Outside views (both street view and nature scene) create an interval from 
routine. 
4) Visual display for individual and team to stimulate creativity. 
5) Designers create personal acoustic zones for contemplation. 
Generally these features could be concluded as stimulating different senses, which is 
more accurate than just presenting information in the environment.  
Benefiting energy flow means residents could have access to energy flow as their purpose. 
Designers think the best of their firm environments is the people in it. The energy flow is what 
excites designers most, which become their favorite part of the whole environment. Moreover, 
good collaboration work allows energy to flow fluidly. The openness to energy flow is one of the 
most important features to keep the whole organization in positive, productive working 
conditions. Some designers enjoy watching the street view could be viewed as enjoying the 
outside energy flow, in which they feel connected with the people in the street.  
 
 
48 
 
Chart 7 Verification of the New Findings 
However, besides these five main values that help to facilitate creativity in designers? 
work place, there are also several values worth listing based on the research results in Chapter 
Three (see Chart 7).  
First of all, the importance of collaboration assures facilitating collaboration needs to be 
the top choice. It is different from providing diversity or easy and transparent communication. 
Collaboration is a broader term, which could possibly cover part of meaning of provide diversity 
as well as other categories. As the literature review has pointed out, collaboration could 
Facilitate 
collaboration (easy 
and transparent 
communication; 
provide diversity) 
Designers switch 
from solitude work 
to 2-4 people 
collaboration 
frequently 
Designers concern 
about team area 
once personal zone 
requirements have 
been fulfilled 
Collaboration area 
facilities could 
accommodate 
different usage 
Collaboration area 
is essential in every 
organizations 
obtain similar 
features 
Accommodate 
control over 
personal zone 
Designers concern 
about team area 
once personal zone 
requirements have 
been fulfilled 
The most focus 
work is done in 
solitude 
All workstation 
obtain similar 
features  
Designers prefer a 
comfort zone both 
for solitude and 
team work 
Designers 
customize their own 
workstation, at least 
the visual stimuli 
Many designers 
would like to 
reinforce personal 
zone in the future 
Encourage playful 
and fun culture 
Curiosity is one of 
the key 
characteristic of 
being creative  
Organizations keep 
toys and playful 
items to remind 
curiosity 
 
49 
effectively stimulate and develop individual creativity, which can significantly enhance the cost 
effectiveness and quality of the project (Watson, 2007). Design work requires collaboration as its 
essential. Therefore facilitating collaboration need to be considered the foremost in the 
guidelines.  As far as proving facilitate collaboration, research has shown the following: 
1) Normally designers switch from working in solitude to working in two to four 
people teams on a daily basis for projects. 
2) Many designers are inclined to consider methods of reinforcing the team area 
when their own personal workstation requirements have been fulfilled. 
3) Every design organizations provide team areas for collaboration and design 
them deliberately with mobile furniture, visual display and good surroundings. 
Secondly, apart from the apparent need of collaboration, designers also feel the 
requirement of accommodating enough control over personal zone. This mostly happens within 
personal workstations, where designers do most of their individual work.  
Here are some proofs in Chapter Three that could indicate this value: 
1) Many designers are inclined to consider reinforcing the team area as far as 
their own personal workstation requirements have been fulfilled. 
2) Mostly contemplative work is done undisturbed within personal workstations. 
3) Designers prefer personal workstations that could let them do both their 
solitary work and collaborate comfortably. 
4) All workstations obtain big tables (for sketches), tools within hand reach, 
computers (many have two to three monitors), and customized visual stimuli. 
5) Most designers customize their personal workstation, at least the visual stimuli. 
 
50 
6) Headsets help to create personal acoustic zone while also being used as 
metaphor for availability of collaboration. 
Thirdly, encouraging playful and fun culture is also a new finding in Chapter Three. 
Curiosity has been proven to be one of the main characteristics that creative people have. 
Moreover, design organizations always try to install some elements that can encourage 
playfulness and fun in their work environments. Possessing a culture that is playful and fun 
would reduce the fear of constraints and help people feel more positive and more energized, 
therefore helping to set the creativity free. 
 
4.2 Guidelines 
In general, designers ask for diversity, and enjoy having fluid vigorous energy around. 
They want close connections to people, great stimuli for different senses, and a fun and playful 
environment. They embrace changes to keep their minds moving.  
Below are the guidelines extracted from the above analysis. They can be categorized into 
two groups: organization guidelines and design guidelines. The former one incorporates  general 
organizational environments; the latter one deals with specific physical environments. Design 
guidelines are built upon organizational guidelines, and can be viewed as an execution of 
organizational guidelines in the workplace.  
As for organizational guidelines, to facilitate creativity in the office, the organization 
should be able to: 
1) Facilitate collaboration 
2) Stimulate different senses  
3) Accommodate enough control over personal zone 
 
51 
4) Embrace changes 
5) Encourage a playful and fun culture 
6) Be beneficial to energy flows 
7) Share a clear and achievable goal*1 
8) Be properly rewarded* 
9) Satisfy self-identity* 
10) Guaranteed freedom* 
As for design guidelines, based on the organization guidelines, the following features 
should help to facilitate creativity in the workplace: 
For facilitating collaboration: 
? Most collaboration happens between small groups of two to four people 
? Large white board or tackable used for swarm information sharing 
? Higher tables reduce the distance between people 
? Decorate surroundings with stimuli 
? Flexible furniture that is mobile and changable due to usage 
For stimulating different senses: 
? Highly customizable visual stimuli 
? Tactile items on display 
? Good outside view (nature scene/street view) 
For accommodating personal control: 
? Seats facing the hallway helps to keep privacy when required 
? Big table for drawings 
                                                        
1 * indicates hypothesis that has not been verified in the research but still requires concern. 
 
52 
? Tools within hand reach 
? At least one monitor per person 
? Personal sound barrier 
? Highly customizable visual stimuli 
For embracing changes: 
? Easy change from stool to chair 
? Flexible furniture that is mobile and changable due to usage 
For encouraging playful and fun culture: 
? Labyrinth layout of the systems 
? Installing playful objects in the environments 
For fostering energy flow: 
? System furniture face the hallway 
? Open view for the street 
Also here are some miscellaneous features that could be beneficial: 
? Headsets (mostly personal belongings) provide a personal acoustic zone while also 
serve as a metaphor for availability 
? Storage for past projects/disassembled products 
It may be noticed that there are several bullet points that are repeated more than one time; 
for instance, highly customizable visual stimuli showed up both in accommodate control over 
personal zone as well as stimulate different senses. This makes sense because for one 
phenomenon there may be more than one interpretation, which also means one guideline of the 
physical workplace could be effective in more than one organizational guideline feature. 
 
53 
The connection between facilities and design guidelines is shown more directly in Table 
2, Matrix of Applied Facilities of Guidelines. 
 
 
54 
 
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55 
 
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57 
 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Five: Design Application 
This chapter applies the guidelines in previous chapters into a design process to design a 
set of office furniture that could facilitate creativity in designers? workplaces.  
5.1 Furniture Design Development 
 5.1.1 Training table design 
This idea begins with considering the importance of facilitating collaboration and 
stimulating different senses.  
White boards are widely used as visual displays for sharing information during 
collaboration. They are also used as visual stimuli from time to time. Research showed that 
tackables are more welcomed than white boards. Designers use white boards as tackables to 
paste drawings. Moreover, it is noticed that almost all design organizations build their own white 
board or tackables because the ordinary white board settings are not large enough for swarm 
collaboration information sharing. 
Therefore the basic idea forms as trying to build a bigger white board/tackable screen as 
shown in Figure 3. Then after some development, there is a thought: a white board as a flip 
training table. Training tables have been widely installed in offices. Their mobility and ease for 
storage have been their most recognized advantages. While flipped up, it becomes a typical 
vertical writing surface, the same as a white board. Thus, the white board/tackable design has 
been combined with the flip training table idea.  The main surface is painted with white board 
paint, while in between the front surface and back surface there is a sandwiched tackable.  The 
tackable can be pulled out and retreated using a detent mechanics (see Figure 4). The flip 
 
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mechanics are the same as most training tables on the market. The table leg could be a stationary 
T leg or C leg, and it also could change with casters for customization.  
 
Figure 3 Sketch Development of White Board/Tackable 
 
Figure 4  Sketch Development of Training Table 
 
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Figure 5  Rendering of Training Table 
 
Figure 6 Dimensions of the Training Table 
 
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Figure 5 shows the rendering of the training table design. The modesty panel could be 
flipped horizontally while the table is flipped vertically to serve as a pen tray. When the table is 
kept horizontal, it will fall due to gravity. There would be power management hidden inside the 
legs as well as a pole if customer requires them.   
Figure 6 displays the dimensions of this training table. Basically, the training table 
surface size varies from 20X40 inches to 48X96 inches on the market. The most common 
standard size is a rectangular 30X60 inches, which is the one shown in the figures. The height of 
surface is 28.5 inches, which is the standard table height. As part of the customization, the leg 
could be switched to height-adjustable leg if required. When the tackable is fully pulled out, the 
total height will be 81? inches, which is within the full arm length of the standing position of 95 
percent of people.  
 
5.1.2 Chair-stool design 
This idea starts from the feature of embracing change. Changing seat height could easily 
change perception of environments. Also, designers switch their seats from stool to chair several 
times during work. Thus, the design begins with an idea that combines stool and chair together 
(see Figure 7).  
 
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Figure 7  Sketches of Chair-Stool 
The main thought is the chair-stool need to be intuitive to use; thus, no mechanics are 
involved in the design, only the form to indicate its convertibility. The final design can be seen in 
Figure 8. 
 
Figure 8  Rendering of Chair-Stool 
 
62 
 
 
Figure 9  User Scenario of Final Design 
The chair-stool is made of an aluminum frame and fabric seat pans. The seat pan could 
also be made of materials other than fabric, like leather or plywood. As a stool, there is a handle 
in the back to carry it around, as well as a foot stop on the front. As a chair, there are armrests for 
arms to lean on and a lumbar support to support the back. Figure 9 showed the user scenario as 
well as the proportions of the final design.  
 
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Figure 10 Dimensions of Chair-Stool 
Figure 10 shows the dimensions of the chair-stool. The seat pan size of chair condition is 
20X20 inches, and the seat pan size of stool condition is 16X18 inches, which are both comply 
with standards. The stool seat height is 30 inches; the chair seat height is 18 inches.  
 
5.1.3 Swivel table design 
This idea started from encouraging playful and fun culture. The gist of encouraging 
playful and fun is not designing toys, but helping people engage in interaction with others. 
Therefore, designing something playful that also could help with facilitating collaboration is the 
main concern of this design. With something that could encourage playfulness and fun, people 
 
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will be more willing to participate in collaboration. As the research has found out, most 
collaboration happens between two to four people. The most frequent tools they use are merely 
paper and pen; thus, small collaboration does not require a big tabletop like a conference table. 
The first idea comes out as a table that has three levels: bar-height, table-height and coffee table 
height. It has been mentioned prior that a higher table brings people closer. The sketch 
development can be seen in Figure 11. 
 
Figure 11 Sketches of Swivel Table 
 
 
 
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Figure 12 Rendering of Swivel Table 
 
Figure 13 Axle Pole of Swivel Table 
 
66 
 
 
Figure 14 User Scenario of Swivel Table 
Figure 12 shows the final design of the swivel table. The top two levels have three legs; 
thus the bottom two levels could be retrieved from under the above levels. Figure 13 shows the 
axle pole that is rotatable and supportive for both top and bottom level surfaces. Figure 14 shows 
the user scenario of this design. Because the three surfaces can spin in one direction for 180 
degrees, a variety of user scenarios can be produced. The bottom surface could be used for 
sitting, as well as a coffee table; the middle surface could be used for regular table, as well as a 
stool; the top surface could be used for a bar-height table. All three surfaces are rotatable and 
mobile; thus, all three could spin accordingly, in some way creating a zone of playfulness and 
fun. Moreover, this design is suitable for the demand of high flexibility of a collaboration area.  
 
67 
 
Figure 15 Dimensions of Swivel Table 
Figure 15 shows the dimensions of the swivel table. The table top is 20X44 inches, which 
is smaller than a standard table but enough for collaboration of fewer than four people. The 
bottom level height is 17 inches, which is the standard seat height as well as the coffee table 
height. The middle level height is 30 inches, which is the standard table height as well as the 
stool height. The top level height is 42 inches, which is the standard bar height.  
 
 
 
68 
5.1.4 Acoustic screen design 
This design idea is generated from the features of generating control over personal zone 
as well as stimulating senses.  
Screens have become more and more popular in today?s office environments. They are 
very helpful to separate spaces, creating barriers but not blocking the air. They can be used for a 
separate personal zone while not being too rigid, which would possibly impair energy flow. 
Screens also have been frequently used for stimulating senses. Imbued with certain textures and 
colors, the screen likewise could become a fairly conspicuous tactile?visual stimuli.  During 
development of a screen, the author considered adding an acoustic sense into the ordinary 
visually stimulated screen as well, so that it could have three senses of stimuli. The development 
can be seen in Figure 16.  
 
Figure 16 Sketches of Acoustic Screen 
 
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Figure 17  Rendering of Acoustic Screen 
Figure 17 shows the final design of the acoustic screen. The right figure indicates the 
screen is constituted of various amounts of the same module. The module has three extensions 
from the pole; each extension has a string attached; each extension can be connected to another 
module, and  therefore extended into three directions and be highly customizable to create 
patterns as required. In the center of the pole, there is another string; all four strings have a resin 
plastic pad attached. These four resin plastic pads are all different lengths and thicknesses; thus 
when colliding with each other, they could make different sound keys. In this way, the screen not 
only provides visual stimuli, but also tactile and acoustic stimuli. When someone passes by, he or 
she can use fingers to flip the pads, making sounds as he or she likes. It also encourages playful 
and fun culture by the relaxing way of playing sounds from it.  
 
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Figure 18 Dimensions of Acoustic Screen 
The dimensions of this design can be seen in Figure 18. The dimension from one 
extension to the pole is 4 inches, and the total height of the screen is 66 inches, which is the 
common height of screen products on the market.  
 
5.1.5 Storage-display design 
Storage is an essential part of office furniture design. Normal storage is just cabinets, 
drawers and file folders, which generally cannot contribute to facilitating creativity. The nature 
of storage is to store items that are not being used at the present. However, if we could 
 
71 
reintroduce into storage something new and innovative, playful and fun, it could also be part of 
the creative office. Thus, this design tries to apply into the traditonal storage form the design 
guidelines facilitate collaboration, stimulate senses, embrace changes and encourage playful 
and fun. Figure 19 shows some design development of the design process. 
 
Figure 19 Sketches of Storage-Display 
 
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Figure 20 Rendering of Storage ?Display 
Figure 20 shows the rendering of the final design. The storage has become a convertible 
storage? collaborative zone. The chairs can slide under the table and change into a display. The 
table itself contains two drawers that can store files. And when the chairs have been slid in, it 
will become a display for storing objects like past projects or decorations. When the chairs are 
slid out, the set could become a collaborative zone, with two chairs and a long table. Also the 
chairs could be flipped down and serve as a coffee table, or two chairs stacked together into a 
two grids? display. There are various conditions to play with the sets; thus, it fully embraces the 
guidelines. 
Figure 21 shows the dimensions. The chairs have a seat pan of 20(W)X16(H)X16(L), and 
a back height of 14 inches. The table has a height of 32 inches, 48 inches length and 20 inches 
width. The chair seat is slightly lower than standard; other dimensions all fall within standards.  
 
73 
 
Figure 21  Dimensions of Storage-Display 
 
5.2 Layout Scenario Configuration 
To achieve the goal of creating an office suitable for designers as well as facilitating their 
creativity, only introducing furniture is not enough. For instance, one of the guidelines?being 
beneficial to energy flow?could  not be shown in furniture products, but only in office layout 
configurations.  
 
74 
According to the guidelines, for fostering energy flow, one of the main points is the 
orientation of the personal workstation. It should be open to the hallway, so designers can jump 
into conversations as they like.  
Moreover, while designing the layout of the floor plan, all of the guidelines need to be 
taken under consideration, since the configuration arrangement is the vital element of 
determining people?s interaction with the furniture: the route they walk, the place they go to 
collaborate, the area they rest.  All those should be considered prior to setting up the floor plan. 
Also, because of the various physical conditions and different purposes of the workplace and 
company issues, there is no perfect answer for all. The followings demonstrate some examples of 
layout configuration using the designed furniture. They assume different objectives;  thus, the 
results vary.  
 
Figure 22 Layout Configuration 1 
 
 
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Figure 22 showed one example of a layout configuration. This layout emphasizes casual 
collaboration and open planning. Area A, B and D are all designed for collaboration. Area A has 
been separated from the workstations by ascreen. It also has a white board and tackables for 
sharing information. Area B is more casual. It has a swivel table for different usages. It could be 
used for coffee breaks, drawing, casual meetings, etc. Area D is in the back corner, close to the 
storage. It is also a casual place to meet. While someone is picking up files, he or she can sit on 
the chairs close by to chat. Also, the storage nearby could be used for displaying physical models. 
People could walk around to touch and talk about them. Area C is used as visual stimuli as well 
as an information center; the table nearby could be generally used for all purposes. Area E and F 
are two personal workstations that have been divided by the screen. The workstations are facing 
the collaboration area.   
 
Figure 23 Layout Configuration 2 
Figure 23 shows another example of a layout configuration. This layout focuses on an 
organized team workspace. Six personal workstations are in tandem together (Area A) to set up a 
 
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team workstation. Those tables could also be used as meeting tables. Around the tables, there are 
two flipped training tables serving as an information center as well as visual stimuli. Storage 
containers are lined up in the back both for keeping files and displaying objects. Area C is used 
as a relaxation area with the multi-usage table. The screen separates the whole workplace from 
other floor plans in the office.  
 
Figure 24 Layout Configuration 3 
Figure 24 shows a workplace highlighting the personal workstation. The screens divide 
four personal workstations as indicated in Area B and Area F. In between those workstations, the 
storage serves as a casual place for short conversation with chairs that are easy to pull out (Area 
C). Other storages are installed in the back corner (Area E). The white board/tackable in Area D 
is used as a personal information center and visual stimulus for employees in Area B. So does the 
white board in Area F. Area A keeps the multi-purpose table for casual conversation.  
 
77 
These three examples try to apply the design guidelines in layout configurations with 
different emphases. Figure 22 emphasizes facilitating collaboration and encouraging playful and 
fun culture; Figure 23 emphasizes facilitating collaboration,  stimulating visual senses stressing 
organized team workplace; Figure 24 emphasizes accommodating enough control over personal 
zone and stimulating different senses. While all three hold enough flexibility to embrace changes, 
they are also designed to be beneficial to energy flow by placing the furniture in certain 
orientations. 
 
  
 
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Chapter Six: Conclusion 
6.1 Conclusion of Thesis 
The intention of this thesis is to develop a set of guidelines for designers to use when they 
are designing workplaces for industrial designers. The main purpose of the thesis is to help 
designers understand better about the creativity in workplace and how they can design a 
workplace that could facilitate employees? creativity based on the guidelines.  
The guidelines were formed by a combination of an analysis on secondary research of 
cognitive science documents and a synthesis work of research composed of qualitative 
interviews and observation shadowing. The guidelines can be categorized into two parts: 
organizational guidelines and design guidelines. The latter is built upon the former and can be 
viewed as an execution of the former in physical environments. There are total of ten features 
listed for the guidelines. 
Later, the author applies the guidelines by designing a set of office furniture. There are 
five pieces in the set, serving different usages under different guidelines. Moreover, the layout 
configurations of the sets vary due to different purposes as shown in the later phase. The layout 
configurations also followed the developed guidelines to facilitate creativity. Those designs are 
not the only answer for the guidelines, but a demonstration of application. 
 
6.2 Next Step 
The guidelines were intended to help with designing industrial design offices; however, 
part of them would probably be worth applying to a wider scale, like corporate offices, since the 
 
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core idea of this thesis is creativity, which is universally important in all organizations. And 
some features from the guidelines, like facilitating collaboration and being beneficial to energy 
flow, are generally recognized in most organizations as well. It may be worth exploring more on 
larger scale subjects. Moreover, if the furniture designed in this thesis could be applied in real 
work environments, it will be good to gather another round of research to verify results.  
  
 
80 
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Appendices 
 
Figure 25 Flip Training Table Scale Model (1:8) 
 
Figure 26 Flip Training Table Scale Model (1:8) 
 
85 
 
Figure 27 Convertible Chair-Stool Scale Model (1:8) 
 
Figure 28 Convertible Chair-Stool Scale Model (1:8) 
 
86 
 
Figure 29 Spin Tri-Table Scale Model (1:8) 
 
Figure 30 Spin Tri-Table Scale Model (1:8) 
 
87 
 
Figure 31 Acoustic Screen Scale Model (1:8) 
 
Figure 32 Acoustic Screen Scale Model (1:8) 
 
88 
 
Figure 33 Display Storage Scale Model (1:8) 
 
Figure 34 Display Storage Scale Model (1:8) 
 
89 
 
Figure 35 Spin Tri-Table and Convertible Chair-Stool Configuration 
 
Figure 36 Training Table, Chair-Stool and Screen Configuration 
 
90 
 
Figure 37 Training Table and Chair-Stool Configuration 
 
Figure 38 Display Storage, Chair- Stool and Training Table Configuration 
 
91 
 
Figure 39 The Whole Set Configuration 
 
Figure 40 The Whole Set Configuration 
 
92 
 
Figure 41 The Whole Set Configuration 
 
Figure 42 The Whole Set Configuration