TechHub is a rapidly expanding co-working space for tech start-ups. The lease at their original site was expiring and they had taken a lease on a building overlooking the famous Old Street roundabout, but it needed a little more than just a lick of paint. The budget was small and the time frame tight. They needed to be operational in just 90 days.
Our solution combined raw urban character, found objects and up-cycled materials to yield an energetic yet functional montage of exposed concrete, plywood and glass. A visitor’s first experience of TechHub begins at street level. Colourful lighting placed in the windows functions as brand identification and is visible from the nearby Underground station and the Old Street roundabout. Reception signage was realised in exposed neon, which creates contrast and draws visitors in from darker transition spaces such as the lift lobby.
The main spine of the working space is organized through the use of colourful graphics that are both identification for the team suites and a mode of wayfinding within the space. Additional graphics reinforced start-up culture through the use of bold key phrases, references to computer programming syntax and icons of “pure joy” (a gigantic cheeseburger for example).
The programme was completed within the project’s deadline and for budget less than £4000. It is a case study in the how environmental graphics can rapidly and affordably transform a space. The net effect is a graphics programme that embraces pop-up culture and the TechHub brand. In their own words, TechHub is now a ‘Cocoon of Awesomeness”.
