The best creative agencies exist at the intersection of art and commerce, producing imaginative, thought-provoking marketing campaigns that also accomplish clear business objectives. In that same vein, an ad firm’s office environment needs to strike its own careful balance, sparking steady inspiration yet also supporting disciplined work ethic. The new headquarters of Los Angeles marketing firm Day Job, designed by local firm 22RE, respond to that brief perfectly. 

It helps that, when it came to instilling the space with a strong creative spirit, the project team had history on their side: The office’s 167-square-metre building in LA’s Glassell Park neighbourhood previously served as the studio of Ed Ruscha. Best known for his word art paintings, defined by high-impact phrases like “Oof,” “Honk” and “Pay Nothing Until April,” the artist’s portfolio is a lesson in great copywriting.

But Ruscha has also completed numerous paintings of LA’s urban landscape, and it is possible to recognize a bit of the flat, graphic style that defines those canvases in Day Job’s interior design, which embraces restrained compositions of solid, clean-lined forms. Large, blocky columns frame well-ordered vignettes defined by custom geometric furnishings that include sculptural cherry wood desks and meeting tables.

Wood is especially well-represented throughout the office, reflected in the furnishings, wood paneling and custom millwork as well as in the timber frames that surround the patio doors, which open up to a tranquil private courtyard. Pulling from the rich tradition of Californian modernism, each of these design moves feel particularly at home in their LA setting. In another tribute to the local design sensibility, orange cement tiles from California’s Heath Ceramics establish an earthy palette that carries through to the project’s seating.

That said, 22RE took just as much care to also layer in references to broader international design culture, bringing in some global influence with classic lights like the Pivotante à Poser (by Charlotte Perriand), Spider (by Joe Columbo) and Fibonacci (by Sophus Frandsen). Similarly, a sunken “piazza” area lit by circular skylights was inspired by the town squares favoured in Italian urban planning. (In this case, it was also a clever way to navigate one of the building’s structural constraints.) Soviet modernism served as yet another worldly reference point, shaping the office’s constructivist approach to form.

But for all the design’s many intellectual sources of inspiration, it is also praiseworthy for simply being a warm, comfortable place to work. Indeed, 22RE wanted the space to feel closer to a residential setting than a traditional office environment and with that in mind, the design team contrasted the occasional industrial touch — see: the piazza’s green concrete floor and stainless steel countertops — with softer, more inviting materials. The carpeted lounge area skews especially domestic, featuring a built-in sofa with appropriately lounge-y corduroy cushions. Local yet global, stimulating yet relaxing, Day Job’s office is the ultimate testament to the versatility of the creative mind.