People rent a seat, but they stay for a community.
A coworking space can have a lovely floor plan and still be compared with bigger chains. Sinh Vũ gives your place a recognizable identity, from the wayfinding to the membership card, so people who come feel they belong.
Three things: an identity that says who the place is for, a system of wayfinding and objects that gives the real space that identity, and a clear way to book and take a trial visit. With those three, newcomers know why to choose this place.
A place for creatives, for startup teams, or for freelancers? Name one group, then hang everything on it.
Wayfinding, room names, objects, photo corners: people recognize it on sight, and a photo makes it clear which place it is.
The website shows the types of seats, the floor plan, opening hours and how to book a trial visit.
All of them are shared workplaces, but people come for three different reasons.
Their customersFreelancers, small teams and remote employees who need a decent seat and people around them.
Brand challengeAmong many places with equally good interiors, show newcomers how your community is different.
Their customersYoung founding teams who need a place to work, mentors and connections to investors.
Brand challengeInspiring to young people, yet serious enough for investors and partners to trust.
Their customersCreative professionals, organizers of events, workshops and small exhibitions.
Brand challengeA place with enough character to be a reason to visit in itself, even for people who don't rent a seat.
These are the places where coworking spaces tend to lose even when the floor plan and amenities are all there.
Nice desks and chairs, plants, good light, but set beside photos of other places, viewers can't tell them apart.
Pick a character tied to this place's real users, then shoot photos with people, with activity, with details found only here.
Start from this problemPeople rent for a term and leave when it ends, because nothing ties them to the place except a desk.
A membership card, a way of welcoming newcomers, small repeated rituals: make it feel like belonging to a place rather than renting a seat.
Start from this problemEvery talk gets its own poster, its own stage, its own way of inviting; people who attend can't see a series taking place.
A fixed event template: a series name, poster, backdrop, invitation and a way of posting photos after the event.
Start from this problemThe types of seats, opening hours and how to book a trial visit all have to be asked about in messages; people who dislike messaging go elsewhere.
A website that states the types of seats, the floor plan, house rules, trial visit schedule and how to book.
Start from this problemAt the Visit stage. A newcomer comes for one trial visit and compares it with other places. If the first impression lacks identity or nobody greets them, they don't come back.
Touchpoints are the places where users see, touch or photograph. You don't need to do everything at once. These five build a sense of belonging fastest.
The first way a newcomer feels the identity, right on the path in.
The place where a community really forms, and content to tell the outside world.
Newcomers usually check here before they visit.
A small object that gives users a feeling of belonging.
Members take photos and post them themselves, so that corner has to look good and be recognizable as this place.
Listed in the order to do them. A newly opened place can stop at step two or three; a multi-site chain goes all the way.
Name, mark, color and type: the identity that is the foundation for everything after.
Wayfinding, objects and a community event template.
A website for introduction, booking and trial visits.
A set of photos of the space and the real community, usable all year.
When you open a second site: guidelines so every place is done alike.
Sinh Vũ has not published a coworking project. The three below are the closest on the problem of belonging to a place: a resident community, a long-stay residence and a tech team.
Hàng Xóm Tốt is a central kitchen cooking family meals for residents of premium apartment complexes, in the spirit of a good neighbour who cooks well and brings a plate over…
In a building where everyone is a stranger, neighborliness sits right in the name, the mark and the voice: a lesson for communities that need to feel close.
2020LE Hospitality is a serviced apartment for Japanese guests living in Hanoi, a place where hospitality is measured by the things a guest has not yet asked for. Sinh Vũ built the positioning…
A place where people stay long term has to feel as warm as home yet refined enough to feel understood; the position became a measure for every detail.
SOOBOO, a young technology brand, had its face built by Sinh Vũ around the infinity form as its core: human passion fused with technological intelligence, the future beginning.
A mark that packs the idea of people meeting technology, so a young tech team's brand is both advanced and human.
The principles behind it
Avoid desks, chairs or office blocks, because every place has them. Sinh Vũ looks for a distinct detail drawn from that place's community, and tests the logo on wayfinding and on membership cards.
Don't compete on scale. Choose one specific group of users, tell their story with real photos and real activity, then build the signs, objects and events around that group.
It should, because an incubator needs to be trusted by two groups: startup teams, and investors and partners. The brand needs to inspire and be polished at the same time.
The place's name and mark, the member's name, and how it is used at the door or to book a meeting room. Make the design good enough that users want to carry it.
Name the series, and share one poster frame, backdrop, invitation and way of posting photos. Change the content each time but keep the template, so viewers recognize it as the same place.
A few lines about the place, its community and what is holding you back is enough. Sinh Vũ will read it and reply within one working day.