SeaChange
Breakroom Design

SeaChange Printing — Employee Lounge

A Break Worth Taking

PROJECT SNAPSHOT

THE SPACE BEFORE

A folding table, a few stools, a tired couch, stacked microwaves, and fluorescent lights. That was the employee break space at SeaChange’s printing facility. It was functional in the most minimal sense — a room where people ate lunch because there was nowhere else to go. For a company with as much visual energy as SeaChange, the disconnect between the brand and the place where employees recharged couldn’t have been sharper.

THE DESIGN DIRECTION

SeaChange’s leadership understood something a lot of companies overlook: when your employees feel valued, the work improves. The brief was vivid and specific — create a relaxed “coffee shop meets our colorful brand” space where people could take a real break, share a meal, or connect casually. And because this lounge sits within a manufacturing environment, the design had to match the company’s energy without sacrificing durability. Every surface needed to hold up to heavy daily use and industrial-strength cleaning.

WHAT WE WORKED WITH (AND AROUND)

Brand color in a space that takes a beating. SeaChange’s magenta and teal are bold — and the lounge needed to feel just as vibrant as the corporate office. But in a manufacturing-adjacent break room, standard finishes won’t last. We commissioned artisan hand-fired floor tile laid in a herringbone pattern using brand colors. The result is a floor that’s as visually striking as anything in the corporate suite — and tough enough to handle daily abuse. Industrial-grade vinyl fabrics on seating solved the same problem: colorful, on-brand, and built to be cleaned hard.

A real break from the production floor. Employees coming off the manufacturing floor need more than a chair. They need a sensory shift. We introduced multiple lighting options — warmer and softer than the bright lights required on the floor — so the lounge immediately feels different. Larger windows bring in more daylight than the original space allowed. The effect is a room that tells you, the moment you walk in, that you’re somewhere else now.

Seating that gives people choices. Not everyone wants the same kind of break. We designed a range of options: a long community high-top table with bold purple metal stools for group energy, banquette seating along the walls for smaller conversations, lounge chairs for solo decompression, and café-style tables near the windows for a quick meal. Employees pick the setting that suits their moment — and that choice itself is part of feeling cared for.

Restrooms and lockers that reinforce the message. It would’ve been easy to leave the support spaces utilitarian. Instead, we carried the brand through: magenta vanity surfaces, logo graphics printed on ceiling tiles in brand colors, bright modern finishes, and clean locker facilities with pops of color. Every room says the same thing — this company pays attention to the spaces where people spend time.

THE OUTCOME

The SeaChange employee lounge went from the saddest room in the building to the one with the most personality. It reads like a coffee shop that happens to live inside a printing facility — colorful, comfortable, and unmistakably on-brand. The hand-fired herringbone tile alone is a conversation piece, and the fact that it’s also one of the most durable surfaces in the building is exactly the kind of design decision that earns its place twice.

More than anything, the space sends a message to employees: we see you, we value your time here, and we built this for you. For a company that understands the link between how people feel and how they perform, that’s not a break room. It’s an investment.