Business Environment Challenges
There’s nothing quite as powerful as a first impression. Whether it’s meeting your future in-laws, starting a new job, or the first time pitching a prospective business partner, you only get one chance to make an impact. A global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of gaming machines and digital gaming entertainment recently built a 120,000-square-foot facility in Chicago to help make that first impression on customers. In the competitive world of high-tech, the new center serves to compete with other organizations for both business and talent through technology, innovation and creativity. The facility houses roughly 250 employees including game designers, graphic artists, engineers and mathematicians.

In 2012, the company conducted a survey of its current employees, asking them to rank the most important aspects of their job, including office setting and perks. The employees ranked collaboration and innovation at the top of their lists. The organization realized that in order to attract and retain top-level talent and business prospects, they needed something truly innovative and impressive that would make a memorable impact. Having a 120,000-square-foot space filled with gifted individuals was a great start, but the company needed something extra to raise the bar.

Business Technology Solutions
With collaboration and innovation in mind, the company set out to design a green, innovative, collaborative, technology-forward building. In doing so, they enlisted the help of Sharp to help construct an office that exemplifies these features. In keeping with the organization’s innovative technology and creative culture, Sharp worked with the client to install a high-resolution, eye-catching video wall using Sharp ultra-slim bezel monitors that would greet employees as they entered the building. The immense structure contains seven ultra-high resolution video walls, each of which has nine, 60” class (60” diagonal) Sharp monitors. The video walls are separated by approximately two feet of space and are mounted above the lobby’s wood-paneled walls, stretching more than nine feet high.

Innovative Results
Today, employees (as well as visitors, clients, prospective business partners and incoming talent) are greeted upon entering the building by the impressive Sharp video wall that spans 105 feet across the main lobby. The enormous video wall, which constantly streams custom ultra high definition content, immediately reinforces the message that employees and visitors are in the presence of an unconventional business that values innovation and invests in high-tech solutions—while showcasing creativity and having a lot of fun!

But Sharp’s video wall displays extend well beyond the building’s front lobby. The Chicago facility also has a 120-seat auditorium with a multiscreen LCD wall designed for office-to-office collaboration between more than 80 global locations. And, the new building incorporates informal collaboration meeting areas on each floor and low cubicle walls to facilitate spontaneous collaboration, as well as sound masking and white noise system to encourage focus and teamwork across projects. By using Sharp’s high-definition display systems the newly designed headquarters has helped the interactive gaming company differentiate itself from competitors. It has already seen increased returns in client and talent recruitment since opening the facility.