Led the redesign of the waiting area experience at Wolfson Children's Hospital, applying principles from environmental psychology to improve perceived wait times, accessibility, and overall patient and family comfort. The project focused on transforming a high-stress, passive waiting environment into an engaging, intuitive experience that reduced anxiety and improved navigation for diverse user needs.
Drawing on research around the psychology of waiting — specifically how engagement, clarity, and environmental cues can reduce perceived duration — I translated clinical workflows and user behaviors into a human-centered design system that enhanced wayfinding, supported sensory needs, and created a more seamless, supportive care experience.
Healthcare environments must balance clinical functionality with emotional sensitivity, particularly in pediatric settings where patients and families may be experiencing stress or uncertainty.
The challenge was to design an environment that felt welcoming and reassuring while still meeting the operational requirements of a busy hospital. Any experiential elements needed to be durable, maintainable, and safe within a clinical setting while also creating moments of engagement and distraction for young patients.
This required collaboration across multiple disciplines, including design, architecture, engineering, and fabrication.
I led the design of experiential installations that wove together visual storytelling, spatial design, and interactive elements to transform the hospital environment into something genuinely welcoming for young patients and their families.
Embedded within a cross-functional team of engineers, architects, and fabricators, I drove the translation of conceptual ideas into durable, deployable physical installations, balancing the practical demands of a healthcare setting with a playful aesthetic that never felt clinical or cold.
The result was a series of moments designed to spark curiosity and discovery throughout the space, giving patients and families something to engage with, wonder at, and find comfort in during what are often the most stressful moments of their lives.
The installation meaningfully shifted the atmosphere of the hospital, creating an environment where patients and families could find moments of lightness, curiosity, and calm amid the stress of a medical setting.
Beyond the space itself, the project demonstrated what design can do when it's treated as essential infrastructure rather than decoration — actively shaping how people feel, move, and orient themselves within complex, high-stakes environments.