Steelcase Worklife New York is the prototype showroom for the world’s largest furniture manufacturer. It is intended to be the antithesis of current furniture showrooms—instead of hushed lighting and pristine furniture settings, it is an active, messy, learning space. The environmental graphic design work focused on the WorkLife exhibit, product pods, hands-on-learning “sandbox” areas, and product-focused areas such as wood furniture.

The WorkLife exhibit is introduced as visitors arrive on the main showroom floor with sandblasted floor graphics. Each of the subsequent five product pod areas deals with an individual story about the blending of work and life: “Work to Play,” for example, is about the changing nature of leisure. The WorkLife exhibit is designed to be experienced as bits and nuggets gleaned non-sequentially rather than linearly. Consistent elements (such as the typeface, separation of images, and typography) link the pods, while each pod reflects the individual content.