It’s the million-dollar question: what does the future of work look like? Herman Miller has put it to Australia’s top design minds to conceptualise what that future might look like, in its inaugural ‘Work, Redefined’ design challenge.

Herman Miller has long been a thought leader and innovator in the workspace. And the global company has invested much into understanding the seismic shifts in workplace behaviours and working models, escalated by pandemic conditions.

As workers transition back into the workplace, it’s a hybrid style of working that will define what our new-normal will look like. But while hybrid might be a blanket term, how it plays out, on the ground, is very much up to the business, its company culture and most importantly, its people.

Herman Miller is passionate about continuing these live and developing conversations with its Australian design community, and this year launched its inaugurual Work, Redefined – The Design Challenge, as part of that dynamic dialogue.

The Design Challenge invites leading Australian design firms to consider what the future of work will look like, and to conceive a vision and solution for how future workspaces will remain relevant to workers seeking out a hybrid work-life.

Entries are now closed and all submissions received, with proposals offering ambitious and exciting visions for the future of working – both indoors and out!

The Design Challenge’s jury of four has been hard at work considering the substantial concepts and proposals submitted by firms. Sitting on the jury is Indesign Media’s own editorial lead and Indesign magazine editor, Alice Blackwood, alongside respected workplace strategists James Calder of ERA-Co, Martijn Joosten of Veldhoen + Company, and Tatiana Gomez of Herman Miller.

Collectively the jury has many decades’ worth of expert knowledge in global workplace strategy and design. Together they bring a local and global appreciation of the most innovative workplace designs and strategic approaches out there.

Here’s a little more about the jury:

As global director of ERA-co, Calder dwells on the edge of innovation and change. It’s within the transformative space – between creativity and consulting – that ERA-co thrives, supporting brands to achieve big picture visions. Calder heads up global strategy within the company; having worked at the highest levels of leadership he brings a unique perspective on the opportunities for the future workplace of users, organisations and suppliers, particularly in the issues associated with the planning and design of space and amenity.

Joosten, who is managing partner for Australia and New Zealand at Veldhoen + Company, believes in the importance of empowering people to have choice and flexibility at work. This drives his passion for creating a better world of work through the development and implementation of innovative new ways of working. And always with a focus on organisations and their people.

Gomez devotes her expertise as a workplace strategist, designer, and social entrepreneur towards to her role as workplace knowledge consultant with Herman Miller in Hong Kong. Her background encompasses design and consultancy in areas of urban planning, workplace design, landscape architecture to project management; perfectly pitching her to act as a strategic advisor to clients delivering innovative change management strategies and designed spaces.

Blackwood is editor of Indesign magazine in Australia and managing editor of Cubes magazine in Singapore. She is a trained journalist and editor with diverse experience in communications and content strategy, as well as marketing and brand development. Her specialisation in architecture and design has seen her work within design media, public programming, and client-side, too. More than a decade spent reporting on workplace design has allowed Blackwood to the opportunity to dwell at the very forefront of workplace design innovation, researching, studying and observing the developments as they happen.

Work, Redefined – The Design Challenge will announce the winner in early November. Stay tuned to discover the top designs that will redefine how you think about working into the future. The results promise to inspire and excite.

Herman Miller
hermanmiller.com