INTERIOR FEATURE
KORBICOM
INTERIOR DESIGN: CONDUIT INTERIOR
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PHOTOGRAPHY: GRANT JOHNSON
The Brief
Korbicom is a Cape Town based software development company.
Attracting and retaining top talent in this highly competitive
sector is a constant challenge. Korbicom identified the need for
a complete office redesign in order to improve their employee
value proposition. They wanted an office that would realise the full
potential of their company culture and be a space that employees
wanted to fully immerse themselves in.
Design Approach
This project was all about creating a space that would
resonate with Korbicom’s employees, so naturally that was
the starting point.
Grant Johnson, Founder and Head Designer of Conduit
Interior, spent time with the employees of Korbicom to better
understand who they are as a company and the brand values
they embody. He asked staff about what inspired them, what
they enjoyed doing in their free time, and what their ideal
working environment would look like. These answers formed
the foundation of Conduit’s approach.
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“It was clear from the start that we were designing something
for a highly talented, highly creative group of people,” says
Grant. “They work on the cutting edge of technology, and their
daydreams are about finding solutions for the future. The kind
of design that might pass in a big corporate simply wouldn’t be
enough to inspire them.”
The space needed to reflect the company’s culture, enable
innovation, and go above and beyond the limits of what
their employees might have envisaged. The design would
become a catalyst for future physical and virtual employee
and client interactions.
Design Theme
Korbicom’s corporate brand identity was the starting point for
the design in terms of colours, textures, and shapes. This was
interpreted literally in the front client-facing areas, but it evolves
to become more playful in the employee facing areas.
The reception area offers a slick, digital screen, where
guests can check themselves in, replacing the need for a
receptionist, and setting the tone for the high-tech, forward-
Korbicom