How NOBOX Put Its Own Spin on CP+B's Old Miami Offices

We knew we were entering hallowed office ground when we took over the 54,000-square-foot offices of the much-celebrated agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky in the Coconut Grove section of Miami.

That's why we didn't take a hammer to the space when we moved in 2016, but instead changed what needed to be changed, adding our own unique artistic touches to the space that's reflective of the kind of agency NOBOX is and the social media world the agency operates within.

While the old CP+B agency was known largely for its groundbreaking TV broadcast work, NOBOX's creativity is designed for the screen in your pocket, crafting smart, effective social media campaigns for clients like PlayStation, Reebok, SoundCloud, Pepsi, Ocean Spray and Netflix. One of our biggest accomplishments creatively was building the Netflix Latam Instagram account from scratch. Since it launched six years ago, it has become the third-largest globally with more than 21 million followers. 

Let's take a virtual look around, and if you're in town for real, stop by. We'd love to show the place.

Enter the NOBOX office and you're greeted by a mural made by a Canadian pop artist/muralist known as @whoisAdam. We first met Adam during Art Basel a while back. We stayed connected for years, and when the opportunity to have him paint the mural in the new space came, we knew we wanted the right energy, and his resulting work delivers on that. With a nod to the the classic Roy Lichtenstein comic book style, the piece allows for many different patterns and colors to blend in a graphic way, with hidden symbolism everywhere. Every time we come to the office we see something new, and it energizes me. From there, many of our NOBOX guests often head to our conference room, where we not so subtly showcase our numerous Clio Awards.

At NOBOX, we work hard but we also play hard. The office area is designed similarly to how CP+B had it, but in keeping with our collaborative approach, we removed the desk dividers, opening the space up to encourage a more free exchange of ideas with our entire company. Interestingly, when we took over the space, some of the old desk dividers still had stickers of Volkswagen and other brands the agency worked with back then. We like to think that that creative energy is still here.

Of course, when it's time to play, we've got that covered with both our foosball and ping-pong tables. We've had some pretty epic tournaments here. The art behind the foosball table was designed by our own art director Jorge Diaz, one of many of his pieces around the office.  

One of the changes we made when we took over the space was a more modern look with a cleaner aesthetic. We also wanted artwork that inspires and motivates. Forget the usual banal motivational posters; one of my favorites is by artist/business thinker Hugh MacLeod that simply says it like it is: "Quality isn't job one. Being totally fucking amazing is job one."

Post-Covid, the NOBOX office still doesn't have the same activity we once did, especially in the communal areas that were our gathering places to exchange notes on our latest Netflix project or just brainstorm around ideas about a new campaign. When we do get together as a team these days, which is usually a few times a week, it feels extra special. This particular part of the office, near the kitchen and lounge area, is perfect to host these moments.

For boutique creative agencies like NOBOX, flexibility is key, which is why the same area of the office home to our epic ping-pong battles is also our greenscreen stage. Behind the greenscreen in the photo are props from previous shoots, including an actual Stranger Things Demogorgon suit lurking in the shadows.

Another cool piece of Netflix memorabilia is a mask that hangs on the wall from our activation around the show The Umbrella Academy.

This space may contain some ghosts from past agency creatives who worked here before, but we're creating something wholly our own in Coconut Grove. Hopefully, the creative energy NOBOX leaves behind will provide a karmic spark for future occupants of this special space.