The open plan office has long been the default layout for agencies and corporate spaces. On paper, it promotes collaboration, transparency, and energy. But in practice – especially for creatives – it’s often a productivity killer.
Creatives need stretches of uninterrupted time to do deep work. Problem-solving. Idea generation. Iteration. These things don’t happen in five-minute windows between Slack messages and spontaneous desk drive-bys. In most open plan environments, at best, you might get half a day of focused work – and that’s if you’re lucky.
Of course, there’s value in the camaraderie and banter that comes from shared space. That dynamic is essential to team culture. But we’ve confused interaction with collaboration, and noise with energy.
What’s missing is a more deliberate environment that supports the creative process, not just proximity.
Some offices try to solve this by introducing “quiet rooms” or “focus pods.” It’s a start – but anyone who’s ever sat in a silent glass cube knows that being undisturbed doesn’t automatically make you creative. Creativity thrives in spaces that feel comfortable, safe, and a little bit freeform. Think couches, low lighting, whiteboards. Think fewer screens, more conversation. Think less like a boardroom, more like a lounge.
The best creative spaces I’ve seen aren’t sterile or rigid. They’re designed for idea flow. Places where creative teams can sit back, throw ideas around, laugh, go off-topic, circle back, and eventually crack it. These aren’t indulgences – they’re investments in better outcomes.
We got a taste of this during the pandemic. With fewer interruptions, more scheduled time, and greater flexibility, many creatives found themselves more productive than ever. There was structure. There was space. But something was missing: the casual collisions. The spark of an offhand comment. The weird tangent that becomes a campaign idea. The stuff you just can’t replicate on Zoom.
Now, most companies are shifting toward hybrid models – and in theory, that’s great. It brings back teamwork, connection, and a sense of belonging. But we need to ask: what are we bringing people back to?
Yes, offices are becoming more flexible. More hot desks, less assigned seating. But is that really the right environment for true creative collaboration? Is it enough to make people feel like they belong or just a temporary perch with decent WiFi?
If we want better creative work, we need to build better environments for it. That starts with rethinking our obsession with open plan spaces and asking what the work actually demands.
Because right now, we’re interrupting the very people we rely on to solve the hard problems.
