After years spent building your startup, you are finally in a place where you believe your business is solid enough to stand on its own two feet. Now you are looking at moving from your current rented space into a new building of your own. Knowing that a limited budget forces you to be cognizant of each dime spent, is functional art worth the investment for your new commercial space?
Modern Craftsman is a Salt Lake City firm that specializes in functional art for both residential and commercial applications. In commercial interior decor, they have done everything from concrete booth benches in a fast casual restaurant to a custom-made concrete conference table for a modern office.
There is no doubt that their pieces are expensive. But that’s because their work goes above and beyond the functional. Every piece they build is actually a piece of art that, even if it were never used functionally, would still be a fantastic addition to the space in which it is found. That’s the nature of functional art. It is as beautiful as it is functional.
Creating Your Aesthetic
Whether or not investing in functional art is worthwhile often boils down to budget. No surprise there. But when budgets are bit more generous, companies have the freedom to go the extra mile to create a unique aesthetic. Your company’s aesthetic could be linked to your brand. It could also be completely separate. The question is this: what do you want to achieve in your new office space?
Functional art has the advantage of being dual-purpose. So if you are planning to add modern artwork to your new building anyway, it would be worth looking into how buying separate artwork compares financially. How much are you willing spend by investing in function and art separately, as opposed to combined?
With that question answered, you have to consider whether or not your desired aesthetic is worth the additional cost one way or the other. In some cases, it will not be. Function will rule over all; the majority of the budget will go to ensuring it is maximized. In other cases, the powers that be might decide to spend extra on aesthetics.
A Space Remembered
Functional art offers the added benefit of helping to create spaces that are remembered. For the purpose of this discussion, think about a public space you have had the pleasure of visiting in the last year or two. Try to think of the one that most impressed you. Once you settle on the space, ask yourself why you were impressed.
Some of us remember public spaces due to their sheer size. Other spaces are remembered due to their opulence and luxury. Still others are remembered for their décor. The one thing they all have in common is being impressive enough to cause people to remember.
Functional art can make public spaces memorable too. So can architectural design, interior design, and so on. Interestingly enough though, modern interior design sometimes requires functional art to actually work. That is when you create a space remembered. When functional art becomes the foundation of interior design, you have something that creates a lasting impression in the mind.
Is investing in functional art worth it to you? Maybe so. If it is, finding the right people to collaborate with is key to coming up with truly memorable pieces. If not, you might be more concerned about function than anything else. That’s okay. Functional art does not work well in every commercial space. There is no reason guests cannot remember your space without having experienced it.
