A reception desk is where uncertainty becomes a queue. Visitors arrive with luggage, couriers need signatures, employees pass through security and somebody must explain what happens next.
Map four arrivals separately
Draw visitor, employee, courier and accessible routes from the door to their next destination. The analysis should continue into the different speeds of a hotel lobby, where moving and waiting guests need equally clear territory.
Keep the queue outside the main path and protect conversation at the screen. If the desk fronts a wider workplace, its material and posture also contribute to what a senior candidate reads before an interview.
Design both sides at once
Staff need reach, storage, cable routes and a seated eye line; visitors need a visible point of contact and a place for documents. Mock up the critical section using the joinery mock-up checklist.
Protect operations
Reception deliveries should connect to the service network described in back-of-house routes. Record equipment, controls and access in a handover manual people can actually use.