NEW ORLEANS – When the New Orleans-based advertising agency PETERMAYER moved from its CBD home to its new location in the Lower Garden District at 1320 Magazine Street (Frameworks Building), the company wanted to make sure the new workspace matched their ethos of unleashing joy. They partnered with Studio West to design a joyful workspace for creatives to do what they do best: create.
“We believe joy is a powerful thing in our work and our play,” said Michelle Edelman, Partner and CEO, PETERMAYER. “We carefully created a place where our team can bring their best selves to work and put their whole hearts into everything they do.”
PETERMAYER was inspired to create the new space to accommodate both remote and New Orleans-based teams in an environment that allows them to reconnect in person in a post-pandemic era. Focusing on PETERMAYER’s values of Better Together, Edelman asked Studio West to create an office with a hospitality feel featuring tools for creative collaboration where staff feel inspired to come together at the office.
“One of the main goals was to make sure the space captured the essence of PETERMAYER and wasn’t just a billboard with brand logos everywhere,” said Jennie West, principal and founder of Studio West. “They wanted the space to feel like them, not just say it was them.”
Inspired by PETERMAYER’s recent brand launch, Unleashing Brand Joy, Studio West created an unexpected and colorful workspace following the PETERMAYER brand features of bold accent colors in a field of more neutral whites and black. They incorporated brand accents as subtle pops in the furniture and accents to bring life to the neutral backdrop without feeling over-branded. And because the PETERMAYER tandem bike is one of their symbols for joy, the Studio West team created a colorful wall installation using bike parts along with a custom mural painted by a local all-female New Orleans muralist team.
PETERMAYER’s vision was to create four zones based on the themes of “focus, collaborate, connect, and respite”. The collaborate zone features height adjustable, mobile, and collapsible furniture that was selected to be to be re-configured or moved to support the team’s creative process. Mobile whiteboards and pin-up rails allow creative teams to brainstorm together anywhere and move the boards into conference rooms for presentations or near mobile AV carts to collaborate with remote team members in different cities.
The new office also features four private multi-purpose offices, flexible conference rooms, and dedicated focus spaces with acoustic privacy panels and biophilic signage allowing for respite and a chance to recharge.
