Outlook on Design Trends 2025

In 2025, increased in-office attendance and urban footfall is likely to continue to spotlight ‘experience’ as critical with a broader perspective on designing for end-to-end experience journeys. While employee experience has become a key focus in recent years as part of return-to-office incentives, ‘street to seat’ experience will become more crucial for developers and employers in attracting talent attraction, boosting workplace attendance and revitalizing urban centers. ‘Street to seat’ experience considers the touchpoints of employees or consumers journeys through surrounding environments to their destination, whether that’s workplace, retail stores or leisure facilities.

Greater focus on the ‘street to seat’ experience for workplaces will see more investment in high-quality shared amenities in buildings like gyms and outdoor spaces, end-of-commute facilities, and surrounding retail and food options. End-to-end experience design for occupiers will focus on connecting and enhancing experience across touchpoints for seamless arrivals that integrate functional requirements like booking systems food and beverage options, with unique space designs, elevated culture and branding and tailored office perks.

Street to seat experiences will also encompass the interplay between workplace design and the curation of spaces for employee experiences. Employers are investing in ‘special events’ (e.g., external speakers, cooking demonstrations, etc.) to incentivize return to office, with a need for suitable spaces to support these events; 43% of employers have these in place and 17% are considering them for 2025. This will drive creativity in reconfiguring existing spaces to support social activities, maximize experiential value from existing assets and enable greater collaboration with workplace experience programs. The number of organizations reporting they have a dedicated community or workplace experience manager on site has risen from 23% to 35% in the past year.

Beyond the workplace, ‘street to seat’ experience design is a critical factor in mixed-use, retail and urban regenerations. With more options than ever for at-home entertainment, shopping and working, the design and curation of experiences is now integral to real estate development and is seen as a key tool to attract people back to workplaces, retail districts and urban centers. JLL Consumer Experience Survey shows that younger generations will drive this demand: 84% of Gen Z agree that ‘cities need to offer new experiences to stay relevant’, compared to the all-generations average of 60%.

In mixed-use developments and retail centers we will see flexible retail design that supports brand collaborations and pop-ups, innovative landscape design that can flex for food or arts festivals or community events, and investment in street art or sculpture that activates ‘in-between spaces’.