For many people, work and leisure are very much separate acts. Not Ronit Friedman. She says blurring the line between work and play is crucial to a good life balance.
“Everyone should feel at home, both at home and at work,” Friedman explains. “We all want to feel like our workplace is like our family.”
Together with Sharon Mass, the Tel Aviv-based designers founded the branding agency The Art of Branding, with a mission to help people understand that work can be just as fun and meaningful as their personal lives.
Because physical workspaces have become an important entry point in achieving this, TAB created the SunbowSwag project—and its lively energy now covers the walls of WeWork Sarona’s conference rooms and bathrooms.
“Nowadays, employees are looking to work at places that put focus on the culture, rather than the salaries and perks,” says Friedman. “We are true believers that positive vibes and happy spaces are good for business. It’s not from a kitschy point of view—we really live our life that way.”
Friedman, a former New Yorker gone Tel Avivian who graduated from the School of Visual Arts, was largely inspired in her first role straight out of college: working with Milton Glaser, of the I Love New York logo fame. Mass studied in Haifa, Israel, then managed a branding firm responsible for creating design strategies and branding for large corporate clients.
The WeWork Dubnov members’ partnership began six years ago when Mass hired Friedman as a designer for a project where clients were sharing stories about why they love their job. The click was immediate.
“We share the same values,” says Friedman. “We believe that good vibes and taking pleasure in the little things is the key to success in life and at work. We believe in collaboration and in personal development. And we pride ourselves on telling the story at the heart of a brand.”
Their initial project together blossomed into their current branding agency. “Nowadays,” says Friedman, “Our mission has evolved to branding companies from within—through their people.”
A kaleidoscope of color
The colorful, geometric, kaleidoscope designs naturally flowed from an internal branding brainstorm for their upcoming project: the Sunbow video platform. The name, sunbow, refers to the natural phenomenon of a circle-shaped rainbow that appears on a sunny day, reflected through mist or a spray of water.
The resulting physical representation of this natural phenomenon was the perfect fit, combining Friedman’s passion for sunshine and her innate optimism with Mass’ true obsession with colors.
It was also an ideal fit for their branding philosophy. The sun represents the vision of the company, while the rainbow showcases the variety of stories, voices, and experiences of its employees.
The duo started to print their designs to share in physical spaces.
According to Mass, “One of my great loves since I was very young is bright and vibrant colors. The kaleidoscopes were created in a very organic and intuitive way, in which I gathered different elements and colors and I could feel the life and energy it brings into a space.”
Friedman adds, “I have always been a lover of bold and strong graphics in design and felt that these Sunbows needed to be big. Creating them in wallpaper format was a wonderful way to create a colorful space.”
The kaleidoscope-inspired designs quickly grew into a special collection for the online design marketplace Bezar.com.
One day, while testing and printing their designs out of the WeWork Dubnov office, WeWork architects Kfir Shaked and Hilla Tayas were mesmerized by the prints they saw emerging from the printer.
The architects learned more about the designs and wanted to incorporate them in the WeWork Sarona space.
According to Shaked, “We want to give an opportunity for our members to develop, and it is great to be able to use their products for our buildings. We were happy to be able to use something out of the ordinary. Unlike regular wallpaper, Sunbow’s colorful, geometric shapes are refreshing.”
So the architects worked with TAB to pin down the particular choices of patterns, textures, and colors to fit the space. The result? Two conference rooms and 18 bathrooms with walls that are truly full of life.
“We wanted the people to enter the bathrooms and feel just as inspired as all of the other spots in the WeWork space,” says Friedman. “Because who said bathroom walls don’t wanna have fun too? As many creatives know, bathrooms and showers are the place where some of the best ideas arise.”
Photo credit: Shiran Carmel