Debunking Myths about having Art in Offices

Are you an office that likes the idea of art in their workplace but hasn’t done anything about it yet?  

Lots of people know that you can buy and rent art for your offices, but lots of companies are still reluctant to because of these common myths and misconceptions, which we are going to debunk!

Myth 1: Art is too expensive.

If you plan to collect investment artwork for your office, then you probably will be spending large amounts.  But most offices want art for decorative purposes, so there’s just no need to spend tens of thousands.

At Art in Offices, we work with emerging artists, and we have artwork from £40 to buy.  Our average purchase price for an artwork is £2000 (for a large painting). But the best way to avoid spending tens of thousands is to rent artwork.  This way where one artwork would cost £2000, you could rent 30 artworks for this price per month!!! 

On average, our clients spend £6000 a year (£500 per month) on 7 artworks. 

Myth 2: People won't like the art we choose.

Our Director’s answer to this is: “You will never please everyone all of the time, but you can please most people most of the time”.

You should also be asking yourself “who am I trying to please?”  In most cases, it is the clients that come through your door.  One solution is, that you can have one type of art in the client-facing areas (that gives off the impression of you as a company), and in the staff areas, you can have another type of artwork that represents the quirkiness of the team more.

But the best solution is to rent and rotate your art.  That way if you have people moaning you can say “it’s going to change in 6 months so don’t worry.”

Myth 3: You have to buy art.

This is probably what put off companies most frequently thinking that you must spend and invest.  But think about it – you can subscribe to the plants, the fruit, the coffee, the gym memberships and even the office, so naturally, there would be a service where you can subscribe to art too.

The best thing about renting art is also part of the answer to myth 2:  If you buy it you are committed to it forever.  If you rent it, you can change it and hand it back.

Myth 4: Art won't do anything – you may as well have blank walls.

There are 3 VERY IMPORTANT reasons not to have blank walls.

Your clients:  If your clients see blank walls what are they going to think?  Probably that you are boring and uninteresting as a company – is that the impression you want to give?  Productivity:  The research shows that if you have plants and art in your workplace, productivity levels will go up by 35%.  That immediately translates to more output and more profit for the company.Wellness: The same research shows that if you add plants and art, staff wellness increases by 42%.  That means less money spent on occupational health, less output lost to sick days, savings on re-recruiting and a happier workforce willing to come into the office.

Myth 5: I have to satisfy everyone’s tastes. 

The office isn’t a personal space, so why would you allow personal tastes to come in to play?  It is a shared workspace that represents a company, and the art you chose should represent your company.

Think about your brand and how it comes across.  What is the company culture, what is the brand personality?  These are the factors that should help you chose artwork for the office.

Don’t put any old thing on the walls.  If people see IKEA art or art printed on glass or cheap prints, clients are just going to think you’re a cheap company.  So, it’s better to have quality over quantity.  

If you’ve got questions that we still haven’t answered, get in touch and ask us anything.