Nearly two years after software sales company Experian Data Quality settled into its State Street office, its 90-person team has made the space feel both sophisticated and homey.
Experian Data Quality (EDQ) is a small, close-knit subsect of the multinational consumer data firm Experian. But EDQ employees refuse to let their 29,670-sq.-ft. workspace fall victim to the rigidities of conventional corporate environments. So they sprinkled comfortable elements into their otherwise professional space.
“We are a really collaborative and fun company,” said EDQ project manager Hannah Rascoe. “Everyone works closely together. The most common response people will say when they're asked why they work here is because of the people, and the space clearly shows that.”
A handful of gay pride flags live on the reception desk. Desk toys like a bright yellow duck decorate desks across the floor. The team even made a makeshift mini football field out of paper in the center of the office for some inter-department competition. A handmade banner with stars and football cutouts above the field reads “Kick off to Q3.”
In pockets of the day, employees will jet out for a game of ping-pong or foosball on the tables stationed in the corners of the office. An ancient “Arcade Legends” game also resides near the finance department for the gamers of the lot.
At the same time, the 20th-floor office within Exchange Place resembles “a modern coffeehouse,” Rascoe said. It’s filled with soft gray furniture, oak wood highlights and futuristic light fixtures. The interior accents in the kitchen and common spaces match the deep blue in the Experian logo.
Light flows in from the floor-to-ceiling windows that line the space. The corner lunchroom—complete with a flavored water machine and LeanBox snack dispenser—overlooks the Charles River. And the tightly-packed, historic streets of Boston bustle below.
"It almost feels like we’re a part of this area, a part of its history,” said Rascoe.
The art in the space is reflective of this Boston-based identity. Rascoe and the team partnered with ArtLifting, a nonprofit that compiles and sells the artwork of homeless and disabled people in the area, to populate the office's walls.
Because of the sheer size of the space, the team sticks together in one half of the office. Rascoe said EDQ is debating what to do with the remaining space which they will inevitably need as its workforce expands.
The team at EDQ partnered with interior design firm Unispace when putting their new space together. Executives hand-picked photos that summed up the vibe they wanted for the office in a mood board in early 2017, and everything came together not even six months later.
EDQ's former office on Summer Street was outdated and overcrowded, explained Roscoe. Here, in the State Street digs, the firm finally has ample room to work and hold all-staff meetings freely.
“Now, when people are coming into the office for the first time, it's like, oh, wow.” Rascoe said. “This is a well-defined, welcoming space.”
Click through the gallery below to check out where EDQ works.
