5 Ways Art Builds Creativity & Innovation in the Workplace.

Let me preface this by saying – people value authenticity. When your organizational values resonate with your staff teams and they feel the company values align with their personal values, that’s the biggest challenge in building a loyal & strong culture.

There are numerous benefits art can have to businesses looking to inspire their staff teams to be innovative & creative in their daily work life. So below are the top benefits art can have for companies looking to stand out in their industries & attract the very best people to work with them.

• Increase creative thinking & innovation – Organisations will spend thousands of dollars on “innovation experts” to host talks & training for their staff. But the funny thing is, if your office environment isn’t suitable to inspire your staff to think creatively how can they really be inspired to be innovative? Art encourages your staff to THINK creatively – it will connect with your staff and encourage them to embrace solutions in a creative manner. To see challenges in a new way, because by having my art on your walls we can create an environment where your teams will feel inspired to be creative, they will feel comfortable to express themselves openly and confident that your organization values their own sense of creativity when over coming challenges.

• Improve connection with your staff – Art connects to people. So growing organisations need to have art that will create this connection. Art expresses your corporate culture in a way that people can see and feel. My expertise is using art to visually capture organizational values & culture in a physical space. You will need more then your logo plastered on walls to connect with your staff (trust me, they already know where they work!), and your "sleek" office design with plain bare walls might look nice in photos, but it's not connecting with your staff. And please don’t even mention you have a “fun” culture because you have a ping pong table! My style of art is bold and embodies fun and will create an environment that showcases your culture instantly. Putting staff & clients in a space they feel comfortable in and will help to open their minds to the fantastic, authentic culture they will genuinely connect with.

• Attract youthful energy – The younger generations are coming up and who they choose to work for is a top priority. As a company looking to continue to hire the best up & coming talents, keep attracting the experts in their fields and to engage with a staff that understand & feel aligned with your Millennial markets - its important to keep your company focused on what connects & attracts younger people. Young people don’t want ping pong tables, free Red Bull & lunches or company run "team building" activities. These are nice, but its not what truly matters to us. We value the work we do, our expertise & mastery of our craft and most importantly we value WHO we work for. Companies that use impactful art show younger generations that you understand what excites them and connects to them at a core level. My art is born from my own passion for the surf & skate culture and has a strong youthful energy. I grew up skateboarding and I still spend my free time skateboarding, surfing & exploring. These amazing sub-cultures are inherently youthful in nature, my art comes from these cultures and I have perfected my craft to authentically reflect corporate values in a youthful style.

• Share your passions with your staff – This is my personal favourite one! Because its something I truly connect with. Business owners, start up’s and companies bringing something new into the world all have one thing in common. Passion. We share a reason WHY we choose to follow the less conventional path and build something from the ground up, and its this story that makes our businesses unique and stand out in the eyes of our staff. This is what staff will connect with. Share it in a bold way with art designed just for you displayed proudly on your walls.

• Publicity to grow your brand – The press love to hear feel-good stories about organizations going the extra mile to give back to their staff teams. Specially in high profile industries such as Tech/ Software where employee satisfaction, loyalty and longevity is important to promote. Art is the perfect way to stand out with a unique difference that’s both visually striking & impactful. What’s further, when an organization does something unique, exciting and worth talking about (like using an Aussie artist to create some amazing, bright, fun artwork!) the press world love to hear about this and it show everyone – your clients, customers, community & staff – that your organization is more then the product/ service you sell, its about people. Art speaks volumes to the world about what really matters to you as a company and you will generate great publicity by sharing this image with the industry you are in.

Art serves more for companies then simply “adding colour” to your walls. The right art creates an authentic and creative environment filled with youthful energy. How do you build an open, creative and innovation environment at your company? How do you inspire and encourage your staff family to think outside the box? If you have experience in building your own innovative culture let me know! Send me a message here.