Recommended readings on workplace design
The architectural firm Gensler has created a division focused entirely on designing workspaces for media organizations. Its past clients include The Washington Post, The Dallas Morning News, The Guardian, The New York Times and others. The company has posted case studies and photo galleries of their solutions for a variety of news, media and entertainment companies.
Architectural and consulting firms frequently publish research and whitepapers on common issues in workplace design. Here are a few resources to help you make decisions on some of the issues addressed in this study.
“Me” vs. “we” space
- “Emerging Workstyles: Can individual work survive in the ‘collaborative’ workspace?”
- “Balancing Me and We: The best collaborative spaces also support solitude”
Cultivating innovation
Design for change
Human-centered design
Designing for culture
“Moving the Newsroom: Post-Industrial News Spaces and Places” offers an in-depth look at the industry’s first wave of newsroom redesign, featuring before-and-afters of the relocations of The Seattle Times, the Miami Herald, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and The Des Moines Register between 2011 and 2013.
Show and tell
Several of the newsrooms featured in this study gave their audiences behind-the-scenes looks at their renovations.
Reporters at The Washington Post took a playful approach in documenting their relocation.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette bid a fond farewell to its historic location in this heartfelt piece by Michael Fuoco. The paper also produced a video tour of the new space prior to move-in.
Quartz’s staff devoted a Medium page called The Office to their relocation, with employees candidly sharing their perspectives and problem-solving. The blog includes several floor plans that were being considered at the time and architectural renderings.
Quartz’ new space design was shared with staff in a series of floor plans, which evolved as changes were made in the design process. Virtual renderings helped staff envision the new space in rich detail.
Inspiration
Office Snapshots is a crowdsourced resource for browsing unique office spaces and floor plans, with images sorted by categories such as lighting, digital displays, meeting spaces and work areas. Sites like this can help you create what designers call a “mood board” — a collection of inspirational photos and color references to share with staff and architects. (Here’s Quartz’s mood board.)
Cool Office Interiors showcases creative spaces around the world, including offices of technology companies such as eBay, Google and Skype.
Pinterest is another way to find examples of office designs and inspiration for everything from graphic wall art to office furniture. It can help you build your mood board as you embark on the process.
Sample staff survey
Here’s a modified version of the survey that The Center for Investigative Reporting used before its relocation and remodel. Use it as a starting point for your own staff survey.
Share with your network
- A Matter of Space: Designing newsrooms for new digital practice
- Start a workplace redesign by identifying the problem you need to solve
- How to design workspaces that spur collaboration
- Engaging staff: User experience studies are not just for audiences
- Designing for new priorities and practices
- Appendix
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A case study on one Pittsburgh-area newsroom's efforts to strengthen their connections with traditionally marginalized communities through the API Inclusion Index project.
A training to help news organizations build more equity into our day-to-day decision-making has been a paradigm shift as we talk about how modern news organizations are becoming more intentional workplaces that can show care to their journalists and empower them to be leaders in their own right.
As news organizations enter the final stretch before Nov. 5, we’ll share actionable lists, articles and guides to help you prepare to address misinformation and navigate Election Day while keeping well-being at top of mind.
