LinkedIn Five Rings of Beijing
The Orangeblowfish branded the 1,800 sqm office for LinkedIn Shanghai in 2020. The project was featured in Wallpaper, Kinfolk and several other design magazines. In 2021, we received another call from LinkedIn HQ to do the same for their Beijing office. The brief: Design an inspiring space that would boost creativity, communication, team collaboration and employee well-being.
The Orangeblowfish has a solid track record for designing and branding office spaces that aim to stimulate creative thinking and communication, promote community building, and help employees find a sense of belonging. LinkedIn always tops the charts when it comes to designing creative working spaces. So, when we were called in for duty, we “linked-in” to the opportunity, of course.
Our creative strategy was inspired by the Five Rings of Beijing. Where LinkedIn is a global platform that promotes connection, trust, and harmony among people with different backgrounds, the Five Rings of Beijing creates a network across the Capital where people from all walks of life intersect and interact for work and play. See the similarity? If you’re wondering, LinkedIn is in the Third Ring.
Our Solution.
We assigned each floor a ring road, a brand value, and an associated theme colour.
11th floor – Greet Guests with LinkedIn’s Blue.
We used this floor to represent the Second Ring: Parks & Lakes to better communicate LinkedIn’s values: collaboration, transformation, and relationships. We leveraged different elements found within parks such as boats, birds, plants, and lakes to create the overall look and feel of the natural environment.
We integrated design elements that would bring the Chinese culture and global community together. For example, in the waiting area to the left of the reception, guests will notice that on the ceilings are wooden Chinese characters “人“ (meaning “people”) made out of a metal structure with LED neon strips. The two circles hung on the wall, are window-like in shape, found in the park pavilions made from local Beijing sayings such as “大拿” (meaning “the professionals in the industry”) and “铁瓷” (meaning “very good friends”).
7th Floor: Connect and Collaborate in Green.
The Third Ring is the busiest ring as it became Beijing’s new CBD and is where LinkedIn office is located. Beijing’s Third Ring has long been associated with the textile industry. Over time business needs evolved from design and manufacturing to a more customer-centric approach. As the new CBD, The Orangeblowfish leveraged the fabric of work in our design, to tell the story of how individual networks form strong communities. This in turn represents the power of communities and networks as one of LinkedIn’s core values.
Like LinkedIn, Beijingers are spread out all over the city, but people always find a way to stay connected. On walls of the seventh floor, the story shows a busy city with many people from different backgrounds finding reason and value to connect and collaborate.
Meeting Rooms
In the meeting rooms, designs are created to represent buildings and activities around the second and third rings.
The Results.
According to LinkedIn’s Workplace Manager: “We are thrilled to be working with The Orangeblowfish again. The Orangeblowfish is able to deliver and produce on brand and creative solutions that bring the design to fruition. The end result is a much improved work environment, where our employees feel comfortable in. We are proud to have our clients over for a visit and show them our new office space!”
