The wrong questions get fairly irrelevant information

[Packard]

I was watching a HGTV show where they were remodeling a small bedroom to function as a home office. 

The designer asked some seemingly relevant questions and got accurate answers.  But better questions would have gotten better answers.

She asked:

What style of furniture do your like? (Mid-century modern, California casual, minimalist, modern farmhouse, etc.)

And:

What colors do you like?

Better questions, in my mind would be:

What business are you in?
What persona do you want to reflect?

If you are a lawyer, do you want to portray yourself as hard-driving and successful?
A photo on the bookshelf of you piloting your 65 foot Hatteras yacht.

Or, if you are a lawyer, do you want to show that you care about family and relationships.
A photo on that same bookshelf of your family on vacation at Disney World. 

In my opinion the overriding question to ask (and feature to exhibit) is the image the client wants to portray. 

Colors and furniture style should definitely be considered, but in ways that drive that image. 

It is the one area of the home that it may make sense to have the furnishings and colors quite different from your personal style.

At any rate, none of the designers seem to ask that question.  I don’t think they are best serving their clients’ needs when they skip that.

 

[six-point socket II]

Isn't the great thing about home offices that they don't need to portray who someone wants to be (or imagines he or she is) but can be entirely focussed on who someone actually really is?

I think the right questions were asked.

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[ChuckM]

Not everyone knows what they want, and the saying that you don't know what you know is sometimes true. So no one set of designer questions is right or wrong, or better. Questions about style, color, etc. are legit and can be proper questions to start with. Depending on the clientele to be served and their personal preference, further questions can be posed or unnecessary.

 

[Sparktrician]

Every time I've done a home office, the first questions asked are:

• What equipment do you need to accommodate (computers, printers, video gear, copier, refrigerator)?
• What conditions do you need to function well (lighting, power, Ethernet, telecommunications, desk space, seating)?
• How may other people will be using the space at the same time?
• What kind of sound reduction do you need and for what conditions (kids nearby, other occupants)?
• Do you need to provide a green screen for video calls?
• What image do you need to project on video calls?

Finishes are decided once the basics are covered.  [smile]

 

[Packard]

Mea Culpa for not describing the show adequately.

This was a design show; they did not give a damn about office equipment.  But your  observation is well-taken even within this smaller set of design professionals.

If it were my business to design home offices (aesthetics), I would include in my fee the cost to equip the computer with high quality camera and microphone.  Top reviewed camera/microphone options are about $150.00 - $200.00.  Then I would get the kudos for when the client first used the newly designed home office and the people at the other end of the conversation would say, “You re-did your home office.  It looks great.” With about half of the credit coming from the much improved video optics and audio sound.  The people on the other end of the video conferences will not separate out the various aspects of the change; only that the change much improved the experience.

Unfortunately, many home offices have the desk against a wall.  That precludes adding decent lighting.  Also, wall color will affect the skin tone of the person using the desk.

If the desk is away from the wall, there will be room for a couple of box lights and perhaps a hair light. (But not those dreadful ring lights.)

So, I agree that either including upgraded equipment (camera, microphone, lighting) should be part of the package, I think the main reason for bringing in a design professional for your work-at-home office, is to improve the appearance of the office. 

And the unstated, but very real reason for wanting an improved appearance, is to make a better impression on your clients, customers, etc.

A book case in the background is pretty much ideal.  You can load it with scholarly books (if you are going for that impression), or books to keep you current in your field of business.  And you and intersperse the books with family photos (if you are portraying yourself as a family-oriented person).

I still think that what kind of impression you want to make with the people you converse with, should drive the design of the room—at least the design of the visible area of the room  that would be visible on the online screen.

 

[six-point socket II]

Ideally no customer/client ever sees or visits your home office. That might only be different for a very small group/percentage of people, but what people largely need is a space to work and keep the clutter from occupying other rooms/areas and to be able to shut the door.

Your top equipment sadly is nil and void if the infrastructure behind everything isn't top notch as well. You can see this on Bloomberg or CNBC every day, even top executives appear un-sharp, "pixelated"/loaded with artifacts, lagging ... simply because largely the backbone isn't there to support the data rates that are needed.

And I wouldn't be caught dead with the actual room/decor as a backdrop for video calls. Not in todays world. Wrong book or item on the shelve = shit-storm for your company (or employer) = out of business (or fired). (Or worse, ... ).

Generic backdrop in line with company's (or employer's) corporate identity it is.

I agree there is a lot more than design to a "home office", if you're serious about using it as such. But it should never be centered around trying to convey a picture/message, otherwise it's just like going to the office and not being in your home.

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[Packard]

I was watching CNN this morning.  One of the talking heads speaking from his home office had a bookshelf behind him.  All the books were arranged so that just the spine would show—except for one. 

That one, authored by the talking head himself, was shown so that the front cover showed.  It seemed like shameless self-promotion.  Tacky.

Another was shot with their kitchen in the background.  It seemed so casual that the speaker seemed less authorative.

Another had what looked like a patterned bedsheet as a background.  What was he hiding?  Not a good look either. 

 

 

[mino]

The thing with home office is that if one is *forced* to hide the background, all kinds of questions arise on the other side of the call.

Sure, when one does HO once in a while and is well acquianted with coworkers otherwise, it does not really matter. Same with the ad-hoc home offices during covid when people were forced to work from home regardless they had the facilies or not ... then you saw a lot of (pretty well paid) folks working from a garage etc. simply because they did not have a designated work room for all the people in the family who needed to remote at the same time. Then it was tolerated, not anymore.

If one has a "true" Home Office, where it is understood it is one's primary office, people on the other side have all kinds of expectations. And it does not matter if those expectations are warranted or not - you cannot change them, just can deal with them.

So I really like [member=7493]Sparktrician[/member] answer. With one adjusment:

I would replace the "Do you need to provide a green screen for video calls?" with:

Do you have a concept of what should be behind you during video calls ?
  Yes -> I would follow that and just sort out the details, designing the whole home office around those requirements (i.e. treating them above all in case of any conflict)
  No -> I would spend time talking on this, give/draw some draft options, then give the customer some time to think about (ask friends etc.) and would continue with the rest of the design only *after* this area was sorted, then proceed with same as "Yes"

These days (and even where not, then in the future), ability to video-call on-demand is seen as a base requirement. Doing it right *) can make the difference between a $100k and $120k income over several years. Easily. Sad, but such is life. That video look is the "cloth for work" of yesteryear.

Personally, /as a pro in ICT consulting/ I like the idea of a high-quality configurable shelf area behind the seating.
A bookshelf is fine, but not necessarily. Idea being the "display" can be tuned with the times. One year "set" for the wife, other year for the man, etc. etc. Without a remodel. Either way, a wall thing behind the main work seat with a possibility to easily adjust its appearance. This usually translates in the seating "looking into the room" as in classical offices as opposed to "looking into the wall" popular in kids rooms where space is at a premium. I would even go as far as provide such a "call seating" in a kids room for adolescents use.

*) to be precise, is more about "not doing it wrong" than "doing it right", same as with clothes ...

 

[six-point socket II]

Wrong perception, not showing does not equal hiding.

Do a picture search on Janet Mui of Brewin Dolphin, look at the screen caps from Bloomberg, CNBC, (...).

Perfect example of how to do it "clean". Even without generic/artificial background.

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[Sparktrician]

So I really like [member=7493]Sparktrician[/member] answer. With one adjusment:

I would replace the "Do you need to provide a green screen for video calls?" with:

Do you have a concept of what should be behind you during video calls ?
  Yes -> I would follow that and just sort out the details, designing the whole home office around those requirements (i.e. treating them above all in case of any conflict)
  No -> I would spend time talking on this, give/draw some draft options, then give the customer some time to think about (ask friends etc.) and would continue with the rest of the design only *after* this area was sorted, then proceed with same as "Yes"

These days (and even where not, then in the future), ability to video-call on-demand is seen as a base requirement. Doing it right *) can make the difference between a $100k and $120k income over several years. Easily. Sad, but such is life. That video look is the "cloth for work" of yesteryear.

Personally, /as a pro in ICT consulting/ I like the idea of a high-quality configurable shelf area behind the seating.
A bookshelf is fine, but not necessarily. Idea being the "display" can be tuned with the times. One year "set" for the wife, other year for the man, etc. etc. Without a remodel. Either way, a wall thing behind the main work seat with a possibility to easily adjust its appearance. This usually translates in the seating "looking into the room" as in classical offices as opposed to "looking into the wall" popular in kids rooms where space is at a premium. I would even go as far as provide such a "call seating" in a kids room for adolescents use.

1. One thing I have learned is that it's generally NOT a good idea to share a home office, especially when both partners are likely to be on calls simultaneously.  Reasons should be obvious, especially when each works for a different organization. 
2. Given the assumption that the individual video setups can be used for multiple purposes (work / personal), one can select and use virtual backgrounds of their choice more appropriate to each situation, and the green screen makes the effectiveness (read that "credibility") of the virtual background much more credible.  Just think, major TV networks have been using them for years, and it's difficult to tell that they're in use, unless someone makes the mistake of wearing a green dress, for example.  [big grin]

YMMV... 

 

[mino]

Wrong perception, not showing does not equal hiding.

Correct. But one can choose life partners. Not so much with colleagues or customers .. or, one can choose, but that inevitably limits the options and a limited market generally means less bucks for the "merchandise" offered.