That being said, an office environment takes effort and dedication to set up and maintain in order to reflect a warm, comfortable, and connected place to work.

Change of Scenery

Shifting our minds from relaxation mode to work mode takes time, so it helps to change our environment. That’s why many people benefit so much from having their entertainment spaces and items separate from their work environments.

What some people might fail to realize is that office spaces don’t have to be full of things that make us happy. Bright unobtrusive spaces, art, and other meaningful decorations can make us happier. Our production levels can increase right along with our moods.

Keeping Organized

Keeping supplies, items, desks, and other equipment in their proper places also adds to the pleasantness of an office space. Of course, keeping organized makes it easier to remember where things are, to note when you’re out of certain supplies, and where to find important documents. Letting items clutter up interferes with work, makes people frustrated, and negatively affects production levels and how we might interact with coworkers and clients.

It Works

Recently, at our own office we decided to majorly dust off equipment, toss away items that are not in line with our post-pandemic spirit, reorganize, and decorate. After moving our office location several years ago, the sudden onset of the pandemic had halted our original plans to set up our new office exactly as we wanted it. But returning to the office is another story.

Since undertaking a major cleaning up and reorganizing operation, our office has never been better. Now, our office is warm, welcoming, and organized so well that it affects our whole operation, even making those who still can’t make it to the office feel excited and inspired. Art lines the walls, brightening the rooms, and cards from our colleagues all over the world have been hung up to remind us of our cross-cultural connections, and our commitment to our clients.

As a translation and desktop publishing company, we deal with words every day.  Font is something that we use all the time.  However, typeface is not a topic that people consider much when writing or reading.  Therefore, when we heard about the book Just My Type, it was a wonderful surprise to us.  Font is endearing to us and is very close to the heart of our work and daily life.

When you pick up Monterey County’s most widely read newspaper, The Herald, you cannot help but notice the two words, The Herald.  The two words certainly bring out the paper’s characteristics and make it interesting and lively.  But do you know which font it is?  It is called Blackletter.  Did you also know that it is the same font in which the title of The New York Times is written?

Among the other interesting facts about fonts:

• The credits of all Woody Allen’s movies since Annie Hall are written in Windsor.
• When you open a Word document in a Mac, the default font is Cambria, versus Times New Roman in a PC.
• The Google logo is written in Catull, whereas the font of the Monterey Language Services logo is Calibri.
• The Harry Potter books are set in Adobe Garamond.

Fonts can change the mood of a given text and dress up an idea.  They can make a text look official, surreal, delightful, humorous, or romantic just as much as the actual words can.  Font is part of what makes a language project appealing and fascinating.  When we pay attention to it, we can bring out the language’s full possible potential.  Go for it!