Building Space for Ideas, Togetherness, & Continued Learning
The User Experience of Whiteboard HQ
The parallels between building digital user experiences and developing real world spaces is ubiquitous. Architecture and space planning is hard and tedious work. So is building effective digital products. As we headed into our fifth year of business I knew we needed to start thinking about a new office. We had spent four amazing years leading a successful experiment in shared space, but growth wasn’t slowing down. The time had come for us to take a leap and create a new home for our team.
The Foundation
It was on October 24, 1932, when the first Krystal restaurant opened its doors on the corner of Seventh and Cherry Street in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee. The restaurant was started amid bleak financial times during the Great Depression with the goal to offer a top notch dining experience, great service, good food, at an affordable price.
Krystal has (obviously) evolved since their first days, but their beginning marked a new trajectory for Chattanooga, Tennessee. We fell in love with this monument symbolizing innovation and resilience amidst hard times. We knew it was going to be the right move.
“Form follows function — that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.
— Frank Lloyd Wright
Part of Whiteboard’s organizational design requires space. Space to think, to work, to be extroverted, to be introverted, to sing “Happy Birthday”, to learn, and to explore. Great user experiences understand how to navigate call-to-actions in the digital world. We believe the physical world is the same and sought out to build this kind of environment.
From the beginning, Whiteboard’s Headquarters was designed to be a place to cultivate ideas, encourage togetherness, and spur continued learning. From these three objectives Whiteboard’s home was built. A place that united form and function.
For a company blurring the lines between words, pixels, and code; a space accommodating to visitor, client, and employee ideation was paramount in the buildout of the space. An open-office concept, Whiteboard’s footprint was made possible by gutting what was originally five separate offices.
We attempted to marry our digital creation process to how we designed our physical space. Here’s a few priorities we implemented:
Blueprints & Whiteboards
Once the objectives are defined for a new digital experience our team takes ownership of creating wireframes for our clients. A blueprint in architecture serves the same purpose. From the beginning, our goal was to get as many writable surfaces on the walls. A way to accommodate planned brainstorming meetings or sudden spark of inspiration.
Structure & Code
50% of our office is designed for optimized productivity and the other 50% is designed for collaboration. A space that respects both the introverted and extroverted moments shared in the workplace.
Paint & Pixels
It was important for us to marry our digital experience, or “brand” to our physical space. The entire space is aesthetically wrapped around light wood, brick, concrete, and a yellow/monochrome color scheme. Walls feature little art, and instead accentuate the ever changing patterns of the whiteboards themselves. Our digital experience and office experience are one complete thought.
Inspiration & Experience
In the end, we always aimed to create a place where people would be inspired by what they experience at Whiteboard HQ. To be inspired alongside memorable experiences is the same outcome we want for the organizations we serve on a daily basis. A great workspace that cultivates great work requires room for inspiration and excellence.
The Specs
One of the first features one notices upon entering is the large common space and kitchen for events and keynotes. So far, this space has been used to host everything from client brainstorms, product launch parties, national book tours, to a 100-seat pancake breakfast. A “War Room” provides the perfect space for gathering small groups for full-day workshops (made possible by 75 contiguous feet of whiteboard space), while a shared library and team production area marries the ideas of production and learning as simultaneous pursuits. With standing desks for every employee, the team’s production space forces specific disciplines side-by-side for a holistic final delivery of services.
Unique light features draw eyes upwards while windows wrap the street-facing facade, allowing for brilliant light in the mornings and afternoons. Currently housing 25 team members, Whiteboard’s space is designed to flex and grow as Whiteboard builds out its team over time.
If you’re ever traveling to or through Chattanooga, Tennessee, please don’t hesitate to reach out and meet our team. Just drop us an e-mail at hello@whiteboard.is. We’d love to host you.
Creating great spaces takes a village. We couldn’t have imagined working with a better visionary and landlord other than Matt McGauley and Fidelity Trust Company. Mad kudos to Heather Adcox and Chelsie Ewing at River Street Architecture who brought our vision to life. All the woodwork was designed and built by world-class studio, Industrial Farmhouse. Lastly, thanks to Office Snapshots for the hours of inspiration you provided to us.
Kudos to Casey Hyde and his excellent photography for all the above pictures of our office.
