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Main Character Energy is Madeline Dunsmore’s metaphor for an office with a recognizable point of view—one that expresses the organization, its location and the people who work there. Her May 18, 2026 perspective for SmithGroup describes three ingredients: uniqueness, narrative design and a collective “hero” spirit.
It is a design direction, not a certified standard or a proven performance program. The examples in Dunsmore’s article show how a workplace can feel specific and owned rather than interchangeable, but the source reports no measured changes in engagement, belonging, productivity or business results.
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What “Main Character Energy” means in a workplace
Dunsmore, a SmithGroup senior workplace strategist whose specialties include workplace strategy, corporate interiors and headquarters and campuses, uses the phrase as a memorable shorthand for organizational character in the built environment. Her perspective was published May 18, 2026, and the exact-titled article was listed by Building Design + Construction on August 4, 2026. You can read the primary perspective on SmithGroup’s site and her role on Dunsmore’s profile.
The metaphor asks a practical question: if the logo and company name disappeared, would visitors still understand whose workplace they were in, where it was located and what its people value? A “main-character” office is not necessarily loud, luxurious or heavily branded. It has a coherent identity that could not be copied into another city without losing meaning.
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Dunsmore contrasts this with a decade of hospitality-inspired offices. Comfortable lounges, cafés, residential finishes and hotel-like service made workplaces feel welcoming and functional. Her concern is that a generic hospitality package can make offices look and feel interchangeable. The proposed shift is captured in the phrase “Be our guest” to “Be one of us.”
SmithGroup Design Director Bob Varga states the ownership issue directly: “For years the focus on hospitality has sent a signal: You are welcome here, BUT you are a guest, not a resident — there is not ownership of the space.” The point is not that hospitality features are useless; comfort, accessibility and good service still matter. The argument is that welcome should be paired with belonging and a visible connection to the organization.
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The distinction is about design intent, not a ban on sofas, cafés or hotel-quality materials. A project can use hospitality elements while still expressing a specific culture and place. The comparison below summarizes the stated purposes of each approach.
| Design question | Hospitality emphasis | Main Character Energy emphasis |
|---|---|---|
| Primary signal | “You are welcome here.” | “You are part of this organization.” |
| Source of character | Comfortable, service-oriented settings that can be broadly reused | The organization, its geography and its people |
| How the story appears | Atmosphere and amenities | Artifacts, spatial sequences, language, history and future ambitions |
| Relationship to the space | Visitor or guest experience | Resident-like ownership and participation |
| Evidence in Dunsmore’s perspective | Described as a widely used qualitative direction over roughly a decade | Presented as Dunsmore’s design argument, with project illustrations but no quantified outcome study |
This framing avoids a false either-or choice. A welcoming workplace can be distinctive, and an identity-rich workplace can fail if it is uncomfortable or difficult to use. The design test is whether the recognizable details are meaningful and useful rather than decorative branding applied after the plan is complete.
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The three elements of the framework
1. Uniqueness: make the office specific
Uniqueness means the workplace should feel rooted in its actual organization and setting. Start with facts that cannot be transplanted unchanged: the city’s climate and materials, local craft or recreation, the company’s founding circumstances, the way teams collaborate and the communities it serves.
Specificity does not require literal theming. A coastal office does not need to become a beach set, and a financial organization does not need a museum of old checks. The stronger approach is to identify a few authentic references and translate them into proportion, material, color, artwork, signage or details that support daily use. Ask whether each reference would still make sense to an employee who knows the organization well, not just to a first-time visitor.
2. Narrative design: let the workplace tell a story
Narrative design treats movement through the office as a sequence. A lobby can establish origins; a central route can reveal current work; meeting and social spaces can point toward future ambitions. The story may be chronological, geographic, thematic or intentionally layered. It should be legible without turning every wall into an information panel.
Useful narrative devices include a timeline integrated into millwork, objects with captions, room names tied to local or organizational history, and sightlines that reveal a meaningful installation gradually. The narrative should include more than founders and executives. Employee contributions, community relationships and the work’s effects can make the story credible to the people who inhabit it.
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Mette Shenker, a SmithGroup design director, described the San Diego project in these terms: “The success of this project is the same as a great film — it’s layered experience of discovery,” The quotation describes an intended experience, not a measured result; the design lesson is to reward movement and attention with details that unfold over time.
3. A collective “hero” spirit: give people a role
The third element is collective rather than individual. A heroic spirit in this framework means that employees can see themselves as participants in an ongoing organizational story. Space can reinforce that feeling through places to celebrate milestones, display team work, share knowledge and adapt as the organization changes.
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How to apply the idea to a real office project
The framework is conceptual, so a project team must convert it into decisions about briefing, architecture, interiors, graphics and operations. The following sequence is a practical way to do that without assuming that a distinctive aesthetic will automatically improve performance.
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- Write an identity brief. Interview leaders, employees, new hires and, where appropriate, community partners. Record the organization’s origins, current purpose, future direction, distinctive behaviors and words people actually use. Separate evidence from aspirational marketing language.
- Map the place. Document the site’s climate, light, views, materials, local history and cultural context. Identify references that are respectful and specific to the location. Avoid stereotypes or borrowed motifs that have no connection to the organization.
- Choose a small set of story themes. Select two or three themes that can guide architecture, interiors, signage and furniture. A limited set makes decisions coherent; an unlimited collection produces visual noise.
- Assign story moments to the plan. Decide what a visitor learns in the lobby, what an employee encounters on a daily route, where teams can add their own content and which spaces should remain quiet and neutral. Narrative should support wayfinding and function rather than obstruct them.
- Design for participation. Include writable surfaces, display systems, flexible gathering areas and policies for rotating content. If employees cannot contribute or update the story, the office can quickly become a static exhibit.
- Coordinate the construction package. Carry the identity decisions into material schedules, lighting, acoustics, graphics, millwork, digital displays and maintenance requirements. A meaningful artifact that cannot be secured, cleaned or replaced is a liability after opening.
- Define an evaluation plan. Before occupancy, state what will be observed: use of gathering areas, participation in displays, visitor comprehension or employee feedback. Treat these as project-specific observations, not proof that the framework causes productivity or engagement gains.
Project illustrations from Dunsmore’s article
Confidential global technology company, San Diego
This workplace combines local references with the company’s playful culture. The article cites lobby art celebrating skate culture, surfboard leashes used as a visual divider in a break area and conference rooms themed around local places and stories. These details connect the office to San Diego while giving employees recognizable cultural cues. The client is not named, and the source reports no comparative evaluation of the project.
Confidential holding company, Arlington, Virginia
Here, the lobby presents the organization’s history and its family of companies while leaving room for future growth. A champagne-and-pizza room provides a setting for celebrating wins. The example shows how a corporate story can occupy a public arrival space and how celebration can be given a deliberate place in the plan. The holding company is not identified in the article.
Michigan State University Federal Credit Union headquarters
The headquarters incorporates branded colors and slogans to remind employees of the larger organizational story and its origins. In this case, identity is carried through repeated visual language rather than a collection of local props. The article does not provide measured outcomes for the headquarters.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What evidence supports the approach?
The evidence presented is qualitative and illustrative. Dunsmore’s perspective argues that generic hospitality aesthetics can feel inauthentic and that organization-specific design can strengthen a sense of ownership, but it does not cite a named statistic, controlled comparison or organization-year study. The three projects are examples selected by the author and firm; they are not reported experiments.
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Accordingly, it is accurate to say that Main Character Energy is a proposed design direction. It is not accurate to promise that adopting it will increase engagement, belonging, retention, productivity or financial performance. Owners who want to test those questions should establish their own baseline, define measures before the fit-out and report the results transparently.
Construction and design decisions that protect authenticity
Program spaces for both identity and everyday work
Put storytelling where people naturally pause, collaborate or wait, while protecting focus areas from excessive visual stimulation. A lobby installation can carry organizational history; a team neighborhood can display current work; a quiet room may need no branding at all.
Use durable, maintainable expressions
Specify finishes and graphics that can withstand traffic, cleaning and changing tenants or departments. Build in access for replacing panels, updating digital content and rotating exhibits. Authenticity is undermined when the first story cannot be maintained.
Make inclusion part of the story
Review whose history is visible and whose is absent. Invite employees across roles, tenure, disability status and cultural backgrounds to validate references. Provide alternatives for people who do not want to appear in photographs or public displays.
Plan for organizational change
A workplace with a strong point of view still needs adaptable infrastructure. Demountable elements, flexible furniture, accessible power and reconfigurable display systems allow the story to evolve without a complete renovation.
Common failure modes and safeguards
- Theme-park effect: Too many literal props can make the office feel staged. Use a few meaningful references and let proportion, light and material carry the rest.
- Branding overload: Repeating a logo is not the same as telling a story. Balance branded elements with employee-created content, history and place.
- Executive-only narrative: A founder portrait wall can exclude current contributors. Show teams, communities and work in progress.
- Visitor-first planning: A spectacular lobby cannot compensate for poor acoustics, inadequate storage, inaccessible routes or inconvenient collaboration areas. Test the whole workday, not just arrival.
- Fixed identity: A permanent installation may become inaccurate after a merger or strategic change. Use updateable systems and assign ownership for content.
- Unsubstantiated promises: Do not market the concept as a guaranteed engagement or productivity intervention. Describe the design intent and measure local results if the owner requires evidence.
A practical diagnostic: does your office have a point of view?
Use these questions during a workplace assessment or design review:
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- Could a visitor identify the organization and location without seeing its name?
- Do materials, artwork and room names connect to verified aspects of the organization or place?
- Can an employee explain the story the space tells and where they fit within it?
- Are there visible, usable places for teams to contribute and celebrate?
- Does the identity survive outside the lobby—in meeting rooms, circulation, amenities and everyday work settings?
- Can the story be updated without demolition, and is someone responsible for maintaining it?
- Are comfort, accessibility, acoustics, safety and operational needs protected alongside expression?
If the answers are mostly no, the office may still be welcoming, but it has little evidence of the organization-specific character Dunsmore describes. If the answers are yes, the project is closer to “Be one of us”: a workplace whose identity is experienced in daily use rather than simply announced at reception.
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