Boxclever Consulting is an independent and experienced consultancy specialising in customer insights, proposition development and market strategy. The team works with a wide range of diverse businesses and organisations, including Virgin, Boots, Tesco, Asda and many more.

Established in 2011 by Kathryn Boxall, Sam Gardner and Claire Boorman to help clients gain maximum value from every piece of customer insight, assisting them with their brand proposition development strategy, pricing, customer experience, segmentation and overall marketing effectiveness. Boxclever first worked with Ben Johnson Interiors back in 2016, so it was a privilege to be asked back to reimagine their workspace following COVID-19.

Predominantly based in Leeds but with a flexible approach to work, the team works from home and in the office at a frequency that suits their own working style.

As mentioned, Boxclever was a long term customer of Ben Johnson, as we were involved in them moving to the space 5 years ago.

During the lockdown, the team contacted us to discuss their needs, as the pandemic had made them – like many employers – look at their space differently. We had a series of calls with the team to understand their approach to work and what they needed from the space now and in future, as well as going through agile working principles.

They wanted the space to be welcoming, have the wow factor, be a home-from-home and encourage staff to come back to the office when individuals felt comfortable doing so. It was to complement the Boxclever brand, values and the unique building itself and provide a space for the team to do their best work – and have fun in the process.

The space was replanned to give the staff a choice of working zones, removing some of the traditional workstations and replacing them with booths and soft seating to encourage collaboration and give a more relaxed, social feel to the space.

Having different areas that complemented the working styles of every member of staff was important to the team and a big driver in our plans for the space.

A key feature of the redesigned space was flexibility, so plans for design and furniture had to have flexibility at their heart, ensuring the end project would be a space the team could thrive in as part of “the new normal” and beyond.

Booths and soft seating were introduced for impromptu meetings or casual working, as well as a flexible high table that could be easily moved to accommodate a tennis table for social events.

We removed fixed partitions that created the kitchen and created a larger breakout and open plan kitchen, creating a much more open, collaborative space, and welcoming space for visitors. Lockers were also installed to support agile working/hot-desking. Some of their more traditional work settings remained, with bookable and fixed desks available for when staff need to do more focused work in peace and quiet.

The Finished Project:

This is a fresh, adaptable space that truly complements Boxclever as an organisation and provides its staff with a stylish space to work in the way they want to.

The design is quirky and has worked well with the building’s existing character, whilst adding features that make better use of the space, whether that’s for workshops and collaboration, staff socials or simply getting your head down.

It was a pleasure to work with the team at Boxclever again, 5 years after our first project together. We hope to create more amazing spaces together in the future!