Creating an Architectural Design System
Product Design @ WeWork
roleSpatial Ex. Lead & Design Strategy
ToolsIllustrator, AutoCAD, Revit, Adobe XD
team6 Designers
Timeline2 Months
introOffice Suites & Full Floors
WeWork had been providing flexible workspace to small companies around the world for almost a decade, 1-20, and just begun building out multi-floor, private office spaces for enterprise clients with custom full-floor spaces, however, we were struggling to support customers who fell just in between - companies with 20-200 employees, aka The Medium-Sized Member. These members wanted the same speed and flexibility as the classic product but needed more space and privacy than what was being offered. I was part of an inspired project to launch a new product line, Private Office Suites, bridging the gap between pre-configured and fully customizable workplace solutions.
*In consideration of the company, I have omitted confidential information in this case study. All work presented in this case study is my own and does not necessarily reflect the views of WeWork.
THE CHALLENGEHow do we create an experience to better support medium-sized, and deliver it at scale?
When you are selling space as a service, delivering a consistent, on-brand experience at scale can be extremely challenging- especially considering the fact that design teams and conditions are constantly changing. Successful execution requires a source of truth.
Similar to a design system you might use to create a digital product, our team developed a systematic design strategy for the launch of Private Office Suites, including a standardized process, space type components, design principles, and guidelines.
Project Goals
Validated and refine global design standards
Streamline the preliminary design phase (programming and layout)
Establish an implementation process for internal design teams
KEY RESEARCH INSIGHTSCrafting a layout strategy
I was responsible for developing the design principles and best practices, as well as producing a layout guide for our internal architecture team. I partnered with one other designer to analyze member feedback and regional sales metrics of our full-floor spaces completed for our Enterprise Clients to better understand how the larger companies were working within the WeWork model. I also collected floor plans from 20 completed projects to identify spatial trends in open office environments.
Design DirectionCreating a diverse work environment
The average workday includes moments of both focused and collaborative work. Meaning employees need access to a variety of space-types throughout the day. The optimal environment is responsive to the building conditions, and intentionally zoned, and is capable of supporting multiple work styles. By creating a diverse work environment, we can empower employees to find the space that is right for them.
Defining Principles & Process
Applying the insights learned from our research, my counterpart and I began to establish design principles that would guide and inform all design decisions. These principles would also help us develop a spatial planning strategy that could be applied to all projects - maintaining product consistency and agility for an entire team.
Responsive to the building conditions
Intentionally Zoned
Amenity clusters / neighborhoodsDocumentationProduct Deliverables
01. Style Guide & Metrics
The Style Guide included the product description, member profiles, and outlines business requirements and metrics.
02. Component Library
WeWork achieves variety on a large scale by tailoring a “kit of parts” to be used on every project, instead of creating a one-off design each time. This document provides spatial specifications for each space type. Space types can be modified slightly to reflect local conditions and solve specific problems.
03. Design Principles
The Zoning Principles- a set of guiding principles that would drive design decisions without disregarding unique project conditions.
04. Training Guides
This section includes 4 detail step-by-step guides for completing a full floor project. These guides will enable teams with the information, design strategies, and tools for success.
IMPACTRollout & Training
After four weeks of cross-functional collaboration, our team produced and documented a design system that included over 150 pages of instructional content. There were two major factors for measuring the success of our design system. The first was to deliver a seamless and cohesive experience in every Office Suites location - which is a little bit more challenging to measure, and the second was to streamline our preliminary design phase. With this system in place, teams were able to complete programming and layouts faster than ever before, reducing the design time by 10%.