“Our goal is to make Evernote an extension of human memory,” CEO Phil Libin said at the time his company went from being an invitation-only tech experiment to a publically available cloud storage and data retrieval service in June of 2008. At that point Evernote had attracted 120,000 users in four months. Four years later, when the company moved into its new headquarters designed by O+A, Evernote had 30 million users.
“Our goal is to make Evernote an extension of human memory,” CEO Phil Libin said at the time his company went from being an invitation-only tech experiment to a publically available cloud storage and data retrieval service in June of 2008. At that point Evernote had attracted 120,000 users in four months. Four years later, when the company moved into its new headquarters designed by O+A, Evernote had 30 million users.
City Redwood City, CA
Year 2012
Size 20,000 sq ft
Team Primo Orpilla, Denise Cherry, Clem Soga, David Hunter, Emily Brooks, Liz Guerrero, Alfred Socias, Sarunya Wongjodsri, Alma Lopez, Caren Currie, Olivia Ward, Jeorge Jordan, Kroeun Dav
Photographer Jasper Sanidad
For a company whose promotional taglines are: “Remember everything. Capture anything. Access anywhere. Find things fast.”—ease of use was self-evident as a running design theme in creating the new office. Evernote’s office projects transparency and access. Spaces here often do double-duty: a soaring reception area is also an oasis for coffee and donuts. A broad staircase includes cushioned seating for all-hands assemblies.
Even the walls do double duty. Many at Evernote are treated with an erasable whiteboard finish so that ideas may be jotted down wherever they occur. So effective was this particular feature that soon after Evernote’s staff moved in, people began writing on the walls whether they were whiteboard or not…
Small budgets and tight schedules are a constant in the design industry, but those restrictions often stimulate creativity. At Evernote O+A designed an office commensurate with the company’s soaring profile—on what was essentially a startup budget and schedule. Wherever possible O+A’s team looked for economies that could be turned to aesthetic advantage.
Branding, for example. Using only her eye, hand, chalk, a rag-and-water and occasionally a yardstick, Dana Tanamachi crafts perfectly composed signage for interior installations, advertising, the cover of children’s books, even snowboards. When Evernote and O+A were seeking a low-cost branding option for the company’s reception area Evernote suggested Tanamachi.
