In Zazzle O+A found a client with a working philosophy very much like our own. Zazzle is a custom manufacturing company that produces unique products from artwork and personal materials provided by the client. It’s a company that respects artisanal values—mirroring our belief that good design comes from discovering a client’s story and giving it physical form. From the beginning Zazzle spared no effort to secure the best. When we presented two finish options for the 4th floor break room—wallpaper or tile—Zazzle chose hand-fired ceramic tile. For the wood finishes encasing the central elevators, they embraced the ancient Japanese technique of shou-sugi-ban, charring the surface of some planks black to preserve the wood.
The cumulative effect of these details is to express Zazzle’s (and O+A’s) belief in the promise of a vibrant maker culture, a community of inventors and creators who are combining the efficiencies of modern technology with the elegance of hand-made arts and crafts. As such Zazzle is in the forefront of a new movement we think of as “the invisible office”—a seamless merging of work and leisure environments that reflects the way people live in the modern economy. Key to this concept is the integration of technology into spaces and configurations that are not overtly “high-tech” in appearance—an acceptance of technology as part of the common fabric of life.
Zazzle’s commitment to the comfort and stimulation of its workforce reinforces this idea. We approached every door handle at Zazzle as a statement of the company’s values. Every furniture selection and lighting specification adhered to a vision of fine workmanship. Thus the company’s “poker room,” a space that may be used for meetings or for recreation, boasts double garage door entrances, fine leather armchairs and custom-designed wallpaper. None of these grace notes are essential to a meeting space—or to poker—but by providing them Zazzle communicates to its workers (and its visitors) a value infrastructure that reflects the quality of its products.
