× COOLEST OFFICES: AN EXPLAINER

This year’s call for Chicago’s coolest offices started in July. Per our instructions, hundreds of people posted pictures of their offices on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #CCBOffice. Two rounds of judging followed, based on three criteria: visual appeal (How attractive is the design?), originality (Does this office have unique features?) and functionality (Does the design enable great work?).

In the first informal judging round, Assistant Managing Editor Cassie Walker Burke and social media editor Alexandra Trumbull narrowed down nearly 500 submissions to 73 finalists. Then a panel of judges was brought in to blindly score finalists in each category. Visual appeal and originality each counted for 30 percent of the total score. Functionality counted for 40 percent.