A Sunny Outlook

Los Angeles creative agency Day Job doesn’t take itself too seriously. Its Insta bio declares it to be “a top 1,000,000” agency”, its website is a low-fi homage to Windows 95 and its branding projects include a zero-sugar protein bar called Hormbles Chormbles – all eye-catching stuff designed to let you know they do things differently round their way.

You might expect its own workplace to be full of the same kind of humour, but not a bit of it: Day Job brought in fellow Angelenos 22RE to create a super-cool, design-literate space that signals the same confidence that the agency brings to its work, but without such a heavy dose of whimsy.

The 165 sqm building in Glassell Park in the north-east of the city comes with its own creative back-story, having once housed the studio of artist Ed Ruscha. 22RE founder and principal Dean Levin says that this history mattered: “Ruscha’s work is foundational to Los Angeles’ art and design culture, so it felt meaningful to connect that creativity-led legacy in our own way,” he says.“ The building’s monolithic exterior set the tone, while its history inspired us to create a more familiar, welcoming environment. It honours the past, but also supports Day Job’s present and future.”

In line with wider trends in workplace design, this office has overtones of a comfortable home, from the built-in sofa to the terracotta floor tiles and the circular skylights. “It’s about ensuring the workplace meets every functional need while still carrying the warmth and familiarity of home,” says Levin about how he balanced the practical needs of a multifunctional office with creating this friendlier atmosphere.

The layout centres around a sunken ‘piazza’, a lowered space where the main banks of desks are sited, and there’s also a conference room that doubles as a presentation space, plus a kitchen, outdoor patio and lounge area that “all encourage decompression and fresh thinking throughout the day,” according to Levin. The sunken floor was actually a way of solving structural challenges, but has become “the defining gesture of the office,” while immovable columns are now “both storage solutions and sculptural design features”.

Everything is unified by a highly considered materials palette that prioritises warm, earthy tones. Swathes of cherry timber make up the kitchen, doors, furniture and built-in shelving; desks and a coffee table are topped with red laminate. Where the floor isn’t terracotta, it’s a grass-green concrete that creates a vibrant contrast, while aluminium and stainless steel provide a harder industrial edge.

“We always strive to balance cool and warm materials to heighten the sensory experience,” says Levin. “Tactility is essential,” he adds, and from the wiggly steel and timber kitchen handles to the fat corduroy that upholsters the sofa, touch is an essential part of how you experience these interiors.

22RE designed the furniture, including the aluminium and corduroy dining chairs, and its complementary aluminium table topped with cherry. Lighting sets the mood but also heightens the sense of an interior where everything has a dual-purpose sculptural intent: Santa & Cole’s tubular washi paper Tekiò pendants hang over the desk areas; Pivotante à Poser table lights with rotating diffusers (a Charlotte Perriand design from the 1950s) dot the individual desks; and the concentric rings of Danish brand Fog & Mørup’s Fibonacci pendant bring a further mid-century mood to the lounge and conference areas.

The studio’s portfolio is always informed by its Californian location. Levin says that “much of our work carries a West Coast sensibility. Beyond my own roots here, we are consistently inspired from surrounding neighbourhoods, local landscapes and of course the natural light,” and Day Job’s office is perfect for its locale with its sun-soaked patio and circular rooflights casting bright beams onto the floor. This project “captures Day Job’s spirit without feeling gimmicky,” Levin adds. It delivers exactly what the agency’s wider branding suggests: a refusal to follow the obvious path, paired with a respect for creative culture that’s never too serious.