Sparking the flame at Johnson & Johnson
A next-gen showcase of products, services and innovation through smart design and interactive technology
The challenge
For over 130 years, multibrand pharmaceutical leader Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has maintained a tradition of quality and corporate innovation in the fields of healthcare and consumer goods. Bringing this legacy to life while providing an inspiring space for collaboration and training was at the core of the mission that J&J entrusted Studio Banana with at its existing workplace in Zug.
The J&J team were looking for an immersive environment where the initial spark of an idea could happen; a branded innovation hub to make a first impression by telling the J&J brand story, hosting town halls or launching new products and services.
The outcome
The result is a human-centered, future-ready environment where ideas are not only welcomed but accelerated. Our design reimagined a series of ordinary transit areas into an interactive innovation hub and showroom where J&J’s employees, clients, and guests can not only discover J&J’s products, services and brand credo but also get inspired, accelerate ideas or use the IT help desk in a playful way.
By blending experiential design, modular architecture, and branded storytelling and workplace functionality, we crafted a series of immersive environments that support agile workflows and reinforce a culture of innovation. These multifunctional spaces help spark creativity and cross-functional exchange; functioning as catalysts for ideation and deeper brand engagement.
Ideation & design
After an internal crowdsourcing exercise among J&J staff from which more than 70 ideas emerged, Studio Banana carried out an immersive discovery phase.
Following a requirement analysis, we identified the main needs and use cases, which we then translated into strategic key drivers to guide the workplace experience design process.
Flexible innovation spaces
The Brand Playroom
A modern experiential brand showroom with a touchpoint strategy captures the essence of J&J featuring a selection of the company’s portfolio of products and services. As a way of nourishing curiosity and creativity, this agile environment offers a playful experience which staff and visitors can explore in an engaging way. Interactive media displays real-life impact stories and the latest company innovations while users can access product-specific details through an NFC-enabled object wall merging digital transformation with storytelling through retail design.
The Spark Theatre
In this reconfigurable area, employees from different teams and guests come together to share ideas, launch products or run workshops and training sessions of various sizes. Its design, spatial configuration, equipment and technology were carefully studied in order to cover a wide range of use cases, offering flexibility while guaranteeing user engagement and hybrid experiences.
The new J&J Business Lounge is an attractive destination spot with various functionalities. It includes a corpoworking area inviting J&J staff to work in a concentrated and autonomous way or take a contemplative break at the deck –a new informal space to enjoy a calm moment with a panoramic view of the site’s central garden.
The “Bright Bar” –an accessible place where collaborators can get their IT issues solved as easily as ordering a coffee– transforms the often tedious help desk visit into a barista-like experience, enhancing the seamless user journey.
Conclusion
The new workplace catalyst spaces offer a unique opportunity to engage staff and visitors in meaningful ways, make the J&J brand shine and express the firm’s credo by combining education, cross-collaboration, knowledge sharing and employee wellbeing through smart design and state-of-the-art technology.
Studio Banana’s intervention not only offers a seamless and pleasant experience through immersive and flexible environments that fosters innovation and creativity but also adds an extra layer of cosiness and domesticity to make the users feel at home; closer to a brand that is part of everybody’s daily lives.
