In this episode, we talk to Meg and Neena, the founders of Articulate Design + Consulting. These physios-turned-designers are on a mission to transform healthcare spaces for patients and clinicians everywhere. Here, they’ll reveal how thoughtful design can improve not just your clinic’s look, but also the care you deliver — and why ditching the front desk might be the best move you’ll ever make.
What you’ll learn:
- How design can subtly reshape the care you provide
- Ways to infuse your personality into your clinic
- How to rethink conventional clinic layouts to optimize functionality
Resources mentioned in this episode:
Stay connected:
- Subscribe to the podcast for more inspiring stories.
- Follow us on Instagram: @frontdeskbyjane
- Explore more resources at frontdesk.jane.app.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
the better you know yourself and your point of view
and your voice, the better youcan then translate that into
your space.
Like if you like bright, boldcolors, bring bright, bold
colors into your space.
If you love to travel, bringpictures from your travel and
frame them as your artwork like,infuse yourself in there and
it's pretty magical.
(00:21):
Like we're giving youpermission to take down the
skeleton poster and the muscleposter, unless it's you?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Yeah, unless it's you .
Welcome back to Radio FrontDesk by JNAP.
I'm your host, denzel Ford.
In today's episode we talk toMeg and Nina, the founders of
Articulate Design and Consulting.
These physios-turned-designersare on a mission to transform
(00:49):
healthcare spaces for patientsand clinicians everywhere.
Here they'll reveal howthoughtful design can improve
not just your clinic's look butalso the care you deliver, and
why ditching the front deskmight be the best move you'll
ever make.
Let's get into it.
Ditching the front desk mightbe the best move you'll ever
make.
Let's get into it.
Megan.
Nina, it's so great to meet youin person.
(01:11):
Thank you for coming today.
I'm so excited to talk aboutyour business, articulate Design
, so welcome.
Yeah thanks for having us.
We're so excited.
Let's dive into an example.
So your first clinic was,interestingly, on our front desk
mug, because it was also on thecover of our very exciting
(01:32):
moment for us on the cover ofour first magazine, front desk
magazine as well.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
Talk to me about that experience and how it opened up
a new door for you, well we hadbeen talking, complaining to
each other for a long time aboutthis lack in our industry you
know, we're not taking advantageof the environment and using
that as a tool to give a greatexperience and we had just been
(01:59):
talking about it enough, to thepoint where we were done talking
about it and we were just like,okay, the next person who
approaches us to talk aboutdesign, we're just going to
throw our hat in the ring.
And Meg and I both have loveddesign in our personal lives.
We've done major projects inour homes.
Meg has her own studio clinicthat she designed.
So we had friends and colleagueswho would ask us like little
(02:23):
for little, tidbits of advice,just because we had an interest.
And an old classmate of Meg'sapproached her and Meg was like,
we'll do it, we're, we'redesigners, we're gonna do this
for you and and it took a lot oftrust and a lot of patience
from that first client but wekind of just hit the ground
running.
(02:43):
We were just so passionate andso excited about doing this for
a colleague that it didn't seemdaunting.
I don't think there was, youknow, that much like imposter
syndrome, even until we like gotpaid for it.
It felt really.
And then I was like oh my gosh,somebody paid us for this.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
It felt so natural Like Shoutout Connective in
Toronto.
They like put full trust in us,not having a portfolio or
anything.
They just had the gumption togo forward and it changed our
lives really.
And it did.
It felt like something clicked.
It was like we could use somuch of what we'd used being
(03:24):
clinicians and being physios andthen bring this whole creative
side to it and then do it in away that really made sense for
that, for that client, for thatclinic, like it.
Really I think that space wejust really brought to life in a
way that they also couldn'timagine.
And so from then on it soundsso cliche, but that was the
(03:49):
turning point, it really was.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
It was also this inflection point where visuals
have become so important, right,I think when people are
shopping around for differentclinics, they do it in a
different way than maybe we did10 or 15 years ago.
It's not just the pad of paperthat the doctor gave me that
gives like the three physiolocations, right, people are
shopping around and looking onsocial media and websites, and
(04:16):
we garnered a lot of attentionfrom the industry, from
colleagues of Connectives cominginto the space and and that was
really cool.
It was just kind of a snowballeffect in that we we made some
noise in the industry with thatproject and, uh, yeah, it was.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
It's one of our proudest ones still.
And it was our first and mostpeople cringe at their first and
we're still super proud of it.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
Yeah absolutely.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
It's on a mug.
Yeah, I mean we, we love it itwas an instant win for me when I
saw it.
So thank you, thank you forallowing us to do that.
Tell me the role of um, likeputting somebody's personality.
You're talking about brand, youknow, but like, underneath a
brand is a human being usually,especially in the types of
businesses that we're talkingabout.
(05:02):
So how do you think aboutsomebody's personality as it
could be reflected in theirspace?
Speaker 1 (05:08):
For many practitioners probably most even
listening to this, especiallythe solo practitioners their
personality is their brand,whether they know it or not.
Like newsflash, you are yourbrand.
It's a little trickierobviously for, like, a bigger,
multidisciplinary clinic and wecan like talk about that a
(05:29):
little bit separately.
But you are your brand and ifbringing your personality into a
space is an immediateconnection point, you have so
much to offer of who you are asa person.
You have so much depth to youas a person.
You have a personality and whenyou can translate that into
your space, I can't speak enoughabout how that creates a
(05:53):
relationship with your clientsin a very intimate way.
That's very beneficial for both.
The better you know yourselfand your point of view and your
voice, the better you can thentranslate that into your space.
Like, if you like bright, boldcolors, bring bright, bold
colors into your space.
If you love to travel, bringpictures from your travel and
(06:13):
frame them as your artwork, likeinfuse yourself in there and
it's pretty magical.
Like we're giving you permissionto take down the skeleton
poster and the muscle poster andthe like inspirational, like
someone's on a mountain posterand unless it's you, yeah unless
it's you, but you can justbring yourself into a space and
(06:37):
I think for bigger companies,there needs to be like more of
an exercise around that andreally what they want to
represent.
Um, and as Nina said, there'slike a personality to the brand
and maybe it's a little bitdifferent than from the person,
but there is translation there,but that really is at the heart
of what we're trying to say,like there should be a
(06:58):
personality of the space andit's palpable.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
The relationship that we create with our clients in
our wellness industries.
Relationship that we createwith our clients in our wellness
industries, that's everythingright People will.
They're not going to go todifferent therapists every week.
They find one that they connectwith and that's the
relationship.
And so creating an environmentwhich just enhances that or
(07:24):
expresses that further, I thinkjust does a job in a good job in
solidifying that connectionwhat are some other examples,
like actual examples ofpersonality?
you mentioned bold colors, butyou must have a few others
artwork we we've had uh, mostrecently at the cheerful pelvis,
the clinic staff.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
They actually all came together and made the art
yeah, and so that was like areally cool fun.
Yeah, that was.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
We chose the colors they could work with, but yes,
yes, and it was just this coolexperience for them as a group.
So that's just pure personalitythere.
In other cases we've hadclients who are really proud of
their cities, so they have, like, different cityscapes and
they're kind of an urban brand,and so they've had that kind of
(08:13):
artwork.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
We had 416.
There is another client it'sactually two people.
One was like really intoreading and books, one's a huge
sporty hockey player athlete.
But, like, their reception wasthis communal library with, like
vintage sports equipment and itwas just the mashing of the two
personalities but it reallyworked.
(08:35):
I mean, who walks into a clinicand sees a library, right, but
the ability to like take booksout and bring them back and it
creates this community vibe.
But it's an immediate likesense of personality of the
space.
We did another space that waslike a coffee bar.
The guys who own it are reallyinto coffee I don't know if
there's a name for that, like acoffee file.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
There's got to be a name.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
But they make beautiful coffees and that's
what they wanted to do, and solittle moments like that are
really that's what brings thepersonality in, and everyone has
that in them.
They just need to like, dig itout.
Speaker 4 (09:15):
Well, and that's like a Jane term, right, like the
moments of delight.
We're so all about that.
And those don't have to beexpensive.
Right, it can be small thingslike a shared library doesn't
cost much at all.
But it's the moments of delightthat really create connection
between owners or clinicians andtheir clientele.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
Hey there, Christina, here Just a quick moment to
share that this episode isbrought to you by Jane.
We know how much heart you putinto building a practice you're
proud of, and that's why we'rehere To make things like
scheduling, charting andpayments run a little smoother.
I wonder what you both thinkabout the idea that these
choices that you're making inyour clients are actually
(10:13):
helping change how they offerhealth care in some way.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Do you think that that's impacting the actual
delivery of health care?
Speaker 4 (10:21):
I think like from a functional standpoint, most
certainly.
So a space that is welldesigned makes it easier to
deliver our services.
So from that perspective, Ithink it's a very tangible
benefit of good design is thatour service delivery is just
that much more efficient.
So you know the integration oftech and things like that, we
(10:43):
can see the benefits right upfront.
I think the intangible benefitsof good design.
A lot of us feel that, like Megand I feel that in our own
lives when we go to a spa orrestaurants and things like that
.
There also is like the idea ofbiophilic design, right.
So that's where design elementscan actually create
(11:05):
physiological change in the body.
So lighting, regulatinghormones, the release of
serotonin around plants, or evena picture of a plant.
So there is just this growingbody of data that shows that the
physical space can influenceour experience more tangibly.
So we feel very strongly aboutthat.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
And I think it's like anything.
I, like all human beings, weall live on a spectrum of
sensitivity to different things.
Nina and I are both people whoare highly sensitive to our
environment.
Some people maybe are less so,but I do think it's a spectrum
and we're starting to recognizethat a lot more, and I think we
can't forget that when you are aprovider, a healthcare provider
(11:51):
in particular, it is a reallytaxing job, it's stressful at
times.
You take on a lot, you embody alot of the struggles of the
clients that you see, and so forus, you know again like one of
our taglines is we're cliniciansdesigning for clinicians.
Ultimately, our main goal is todesign for the people working
(12:15):
in the space more than thepeople visiting the space.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Yeah, it seems like what you're up to is that you're
creating this space and you arecreating for the practitioners.
Yeah, it seems like what you'reup to is that you're creating
this space and you are creatingfor the practitioners, but when
you build up the practitioners,they're offering better care.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Exactly that's kind of the loop we see is that
that's our entry point of whenyou build up the clinician, when
you make it an environment thatthey're happy to be in, then
that trickles down to the peoplethat they're treating, and so
that's the point we like toenter and the point of view that
we like to take in the design,and what's the relationship
(12:49):
between the physical and thedigital?
Oh yeah, everything.
It's very intimate, it's verywell and it should be integrated
Like we live in an increasinglydigital world.
We live in a world where mostpeople their main touch point or
first touch point with a clinicor a business is digitally.
(13:09):
It might be on social media, itmight be through their website,
and for us, the physical spacejust needs to be a continuation
of that experience, Mind you,assuming that's a really great
experience.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
For our clients who are starting fresh with a new
space, we ask them at that timeto either ensure that they're
really happy with their brand,the digital brand, or consider
exploring that further anddeveloping that in tandem with
us working on the physicaldesign.
So oftentimes we'vecollaborated with digital
(13:44):
creators so that our clients areending up with like a really
seamless process and just.
I guess one thing I would sayis, with a physical space versus
a digital, some of the visualsneed to be just translated a
little differently.
So digital, we want reallyvibrant, very bright, powerful
(14:05):
fonts and colors.
We can take some liberties withthat into the physical space to
soften that, to create a goodphysical experience.
But that translation needs tobe really intentional.
So for everybody out there,just thinking of doing those at
the same time, if possible, ifyou're in that position, or
(14:26):
before you're starting to changeone, consider the other, always
consider them together.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
On that note of translation, talk to me about
the no front desk, front desk.
Speaker 4 (14:39):
Yeah, we love that concept.
You know we're often talkingabout income generating spaces
and things like that.
With the advent of amazing tech, we don't have to be beholden
to the traditional setup, right,we don't necessarily at this
point need multiple people at agiant front desk with a fax
(15:02):
machine and files and all ofthat.
But I think a lot of people areafraid to deviate from that
because starting a clinic is areally daunting thing and I
think people are just kind oftoo scared to try anything
different.
But we're really encouraging ofour clients to really take
advantage of all of the amazingtech that's out there so that
(15:23):
that reception space can eitherbecome something else like
another treatment room, possibly, or a really special experience
that's.
That creates the opportunityfor a coffee bar, that it
creates the opportunity for likea children's play area in a
pediatric clinic and also forour solo practitioners.
(15:43):
You know you can have a verysophisticated practice without
needing any of that.
You don't need any of that.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
Yeah, we like to push that a lot.
It's interesting, like thestatus quo really is a strong
pull for a lot of people and welike to push a lot of people out
of their comfort zone nicely,but in a way that again is like
there's never been a better timeto think outside the box, I
(16:14):
think, with like services likeginger desk, where your VA
support can be completely remoteand off-site, obviously, with
Jane and the ability toself-check-in and self-bookings
and payments like why not useall of these tools to your
advantage?
And especially when squarefootage is at a premium in many
places, right, we really want tomaximize that and make sure the
(16:38):
clinic functions as efficientlyas possible.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
I have one really granular question, as I'm
listening to you talk about thishow would clinics communicate
to clients how to move within ano front desk front desk
situation, when they're probablyused to the front desk
themselves?
So is it like you send them anemail or like, how do you tell
(17:03):
patients to come in and checkthemselves and using this iPad
and then go grab a coffee?
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Yeah, I think it depends place to place.
A lot of that can just be donein the correspondence that
happens with bookings.
I also want to be clear, likegoing back to like understanding
your brand really well.
It's important to make surethis makes sense for, like your
demographic, where you are.
This isn't for everybody, right, but I think it's important for
(17:29):
those that feel like this meetstheir needs and it works for
the space that they're in.
There's many ways tocommunicate that A lot do like
even on their website, like avideo tour.
Some send that out as theirconfirmation booking email.
Like, by the way, this is howit works when you show up um, we
like to do like reallyinteresting fun signage that
(17:51):
make it very clear and I thinkit's quite intuitive, like when
we design it when people walk inwhat they're to do.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
And then, as Meg said , there's spaces and places
where the front, a front desk,is necessary, but through the
use of tech, the footprint canbe much smaller.
Right, but having someoneinstead of, like your really
important office manager, alsohaving to like greet and check
in patients and things like thatyou know, this is where we have
(18:19):
interns and student volunteersor like your friendliest, most
bubbliest person, can be at thefront Like more of a greeter.
A greeter a welcomer right.
Yeah, it doesn't have to besomeone who also has like three
other really important rolesthat then become diluted.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Yeah, interesting.
Okay, another granular question.
In my house I have a cart andin this cart I allegedly place
things Pencils, paper for mykids to do artwork, some of the
little trinkets that they havebut what I notice is that this
(18:58):
cart is usually full and thereare also all these items that
should be in the cart on theground around the cart.
My understanding is that youhave a concept called anti-cart
and I wonder if you can help mesolve my cart problem.
(19:18):
Why are you anti-cart?
And is it because of what I'mtelling you?
Speaker 1 (19:23):
okay, we just like to avoid things that become a
catch-all.
We're we're not anti-cart, Iwant to put on the record.
We're not anti-cart.
We are just very intentionalthat when you design a space
whether it is your home, youroffice, your clinic that you
think about all the things thatneed to go places and you've
(19:43):
considered where they will goand live.
And so our philosophy more isthat everything has a home and
that we don't just buyfurnishings and things that are
just going to collect stuff.
It's like we do an inventorywith clinicians of like tell us
every single thing that needs togo in your treatment room so
that we can be sure when wedesign it that there is a home.
(20:05):
We were at Cheerful Pelvisyesterday.
They even took pictures of howthe shelf should look and put it
on the inside of the like door,things like that.
Where it's more theintentionality, it's that these
things have a home and if thecart has a purpose of you know
there's gonna be a, a cup herewith the crayons and the paper
and and it's made clear to theparticipants interacting with
(20:28):
the cart, that's fine.
But we find often people justget these furnishings without
the intention.
Speaker 4 (20:34):
I also feel like part of it is we have not found a
cart we like yet, and maybewe'll change yeah, that's like
that's a bit of an easter eggthat we're working on some
design around this, yeah but Ithink that's one thing, but also
a lot of our clients who haveasked for carts it's the
organization within so it andtaking an audit of what is there
(20:57):
like.
Are there too many craftsupplies?
If they're only using aspecific subset, maybe that's
all that needs to be on the cartand you know.
Good luck.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
I love it.
What is a trend that you seeright now that you're loving?
Speaker 4 (21:17):
love it.
What is a trend that you seeright now that you're loving?
Color saturation, just the useof big, bold colors.
Maximalism is a thing right now.
I'm not saying that that's likewhat I would throw into every
clinic, but I think just theidea of being okay with, like,
injecting color and personality,that's a trend I really love.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
Yeah, this isn't going to answer your question in
a satisfying way, but the trendbeing that, as I said earlier,
there's never been a better timeor more acceptable time to just
do what you want, likepermission to throw the
blueprint out the window andcreate spaces and places that
(21:57):
work for how you need it to work, and that may include, like the
colors you bring in or theartwork or what have you, but
just really go wild.
Speaker 4 (22:09):
A trend that I've noticed that I do love, though
is like when clinic owners are,there's a more of a hospitality
element to their welcoming.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
A lot of places are now offering a beverage,
offering something there's justthere is more of a hospital
hospitality vibe, which is so inalignment with our whole
philosophy I also think, too,bringing like more residential
fixtures in so for like a clinicspace, in particular, bringing
(22:42):
in curtains that are not medicalgrade curtains if you don't
need them right, or bringing inrugs, bringing in um lighting
that's more residentiallyinclined than commercial and
that softens the space so much.
We do that a lot and recommendit a lot.
Yeah well.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
Thank you both so much for all of your helpful
ideas and sharing your storywith everyone today.
This has been a great episode.
Thank you for being here thanksfor having us.
Speaker 4 (23:10):
yeah, it's our pleasure, our pleasure, our
delight.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Thanks for tuning in to Radio Front Desk.
If you found this episodehelpful, it would mean so much
to me if you gave it a ratingand leave a review letting me
know what you think.
And if you're a fan, you cansubscribe to Radio Front Desk on
Apple Music, spotify andwherever you get your podcasts.
Thank you.
the better you know yourself and your point of view
and your voice, the better youcan then translate that into
your space.
Like if you like bright, boldcolors, bring bright, bold
colors into your space.
If you love to travel, bringpictures from your travel and
frame them as your artwork like,infuse yourself in there and
it's pretty magical.
(00:21):
Like we're giving youpermission to take down the
skeleton poster and the muscleposter, unless it's you?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Yeah, unless it's you .
Welcome back to Radio FrontDesk by JNAP.
I'm your host, denzel Ford.
In today's episode we talk toMeg and Nina, the founders of
Articulate Design and Consulting.
These physios-turned-designersare on a mission to transform
(00:49):
healthcare spaces for patientsand clinicians everywhere.
Here they'll reveal howthoughtful design can improve
not just your clinic's look butalso the care you deliver, and
why ditching the front deskmight be the best move you'll
ever make.
Let's get into it.
Ditching the front desk mightbe the best move you'll ever
make.
Let's get into it.
Megan.
Nina, it's so great to meet youin person.
(01:11):
Thank you for coming today.
I'm so excited to talk aboutyour business, articulate Design
, so welcome.
Yeah thanks for having us.
We're so excited.
Let's dive into an example.
So your first clinic was,interestingly, on our front desk
mug, because it was also on thecover of our very exciting
(01:32):
moment for us on the cover ofour first magazine, front desk
magazine as well.
Speaker 4 (01:39):
Talk to me about that experience and how it opened up
a new door for you, well we hadbeen talking, complaining to
each other for a long time aboutthis lack in our industry you
know, we're not taking advantageof the environment and using
that as a tool to give a greatexperience and we had just been
(01:59):
talking about it enough, to thepoint where we were done talking
about it and we were just like,okay, the next person who
approaches us to talk aboutdesign, we're just going to
throw our hat in the ring.
And Meg and I both have loveddesign in our personal lives.
We've done major projects inour homes.
Meg has her own studio clinicthat she designed.
So we had friends and colleagueswho would ask us like little
(02:23):
for little, tidbits of advice,just because we had an interest.
And an old classmate of Meg'sapproached her and Meg was like,
we'll do it, we're, we'redesigners, we're gonna do this
for you and and it took a lot oftrust and a lot of patience
from that first client but wekind of just hit the ground
running.
(02:43):
We were just so passionate andso excited about doing this for
a colleague that it didn't seemdaunting.
I don't think there was, youknow, that much like imposter
syndrome, even until we like gotpaid for it.
It felt really.
And then I was like oh my gosh,somebody paid us for this.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
It felt so natural Like Shoutout Connective in
Toronto.
They like put full trust in us,not having a portfolio or
anything.
They just had the gumption togo forward and it changed our
lives really.
And it did.
It felt like something clicked.
It was like we could use somuch of what we'd used being
(03:24):
clinicians and being physios andthen bring this whole creative
side to it and then do it in away that really made sense for
that, for that client, for thatclinic, like it.
Really I think that space wejust really brought to life in a
way that they also couldn'timagine.
And so from then on it soundsso cliche, but that was the
(03:49):
turning point, it really was.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
It was also this inflection point where visuals
have become so important, right,I think when people are
shopping around for differentclinics, they do it in a
different way than maybe we did10 or 15 years ago.
It's not just the pad of paperthat the doctor gave me that
gives like the three physiolocations, right, people are
shopping around and looking onsocial media and websites, and
(04:16):
we garnered a lot of attentionfrom the industry, from
colleagues of Connectives cominginto the space and and that was
really cool.
It was just kind of a snowballeffect in that we we made some
noise in the industry with thatproject and, uh, yeah, it was.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
It's one of our proudest ones still.
And it was our first and mostpeople cringe at their first and
we're still super proud of it.
Speaker 4 (04:40):
Yeah absolutely.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
It's on a mug.
Yeah, I mean we, we love it itwas an instant win for me when I
saw it.
So thank you, thank you forallowing us to do that.
Tell me the role of um, likeputting somebody's personality.
You're talking about brand, youknow, but like, underneath a
brand is a human being usually,especially in the types of
businesses that we're talkingabout.
(05:02):
So how do you think aboutsomebody's personality as it
could be reflected in theirspace?
Speaker 1 (05:08):
For many practitioners probably most even
listening to this, especiallythe solo practitioners their
personality is their brand,whether they know it or not.
Like newsflash, you are yourbrand.
It's a little trickierobviously for, like, a bigger,
multidisciplinary clinic and wecan like talk about that a
(05:29):
little bit separately.
But you are your brand and ifbringing your personality into a
space is an immediateconnection point, you have so
much to offer of who you are asa person.
You have so much depth to youas a person.
You have a personality and whenyou can translate that into
your space, I can't speak enoughabout how that creates a
(05:53):
relationship with your clientsin a very intimate way.
That's very beneficial for both.
The better you know yourselfand your point of view and your
voice, the better you can thentranslate that into your space.
Like, if you like bright, boldcolors, bring bright, bold
colors into your space.
If you love to travel, bringpictures from your travel and
(06:13):
frame them as your artwork, likeinfuse yourself in there and
it's pretty magical.
Like we're giving you permissionto take down the skeleton
poster and the muscle poster andthe like inspirational, like
someone's on a mountain posterand unless it's you, yeah unless
it's you, but you can justbring yourself into a space and
(06:37):
I think for bigger companies,there needs to be like more of
an exercise around that andreally what they want to
represent.
Um, and as Nina said, there'slike a personality to the brand
and maybe it's a little bitdifferent than from the person,
but there is translation there,but that really is at the heart
of what we're trying to say,like there should be a
(06:58):
personality of the space andit's palpable.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
The relationship that we create with our clients in
our wellness industries.
Relationship that we createwith our clients in our wellness
industries, that's everythingright People will.
They're not going to go todifferent therapists every week.
They find one that they connectwith and that's the
relationship.
And so creating an environmentwhich just enhances that or
(07:24):
expresses that further, I thinkjust does a job in a good job in
solidifying that connectionwhat are some other examples,
like actual examples ofpersonality?
you mentioned bold colors, butyou must have a few others
artwork we we've had uh, mostrecently at the cheerful pelvis,
the clinic staff.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
They actually all came together and made the art
yeah, and so that was like areally cool fun.
Yeah, that was.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
We chose the colors they could work with, but yes,
yes, and it was just this coolexperience for them as a group.
So that's just pure personalitythere.
In other cases we've hadclients who are really proud of
their cities, so they have, like, different cityscapes and
they're kind of an urban brand,and so they've had that kind of
(08:13):
artwork.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
We had 416.
There is another client it'sactually two people.
One was like really intoreading and books, one's a huge
sporty hockey player athlete.
But, like, their reception wasthis communal library with, like
vintage sports equipment and itwas just the mashing of the two
personalities but it reallyworked.
(08:35):
I mean, who walks into a clinicand sees a library, right, but
the ability to like take booksout and bring them back and it
creates this community vibe.
But it's an immediate likesense of personality of the
space.
We did another space that waslike a coffee bar.
The guys who own it are reallyinto coffee I don't know if
there's a name for that, like acoffee file.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
There's got to be a name.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
But they make beautiful coffees and that's
what they wanted to do, and solittle moments like that are
really that's what brings thepersonality in, and everyone has
that in them.
They just need to like, dig itout.
Speaker 4 (09:15):
Well, and that's like a Jane term, right, like the
moments of delight.
We're so all about that.
And those don't have to beexpensive.
Right, it can be small thingslike a shared library doesn't
cost much at all.
But it's the moments of delightthat really create connection
between owners or clinicians andtheir clientele.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
Hey there, Christina, here Just a quick moment to
share that this episode isbrought to you by Jane.
We know how much heart you putinto building a practice you're
proud of, and that's why we'rehere To make things like
scheduling, charting andpayments run a little smoother.
I wonder what you both thinkabout the idea that these
choices that you're making inyour clients are actually
(10:13):
helping change how they offerhealth care in some way.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
Do you think that that's impacting the actual
delivery of health care?
Speaker 4 (10:21):
I think like from a functional standpoint, most
certainly.
So a space that is welldesigned makes it easier to
deliver our services.
So from that perspective, Ithink it's a very tangible
benefit of good design is thatour service delivery is just
that much more efficient.
So you know the integration oftech and things like that, we
(10:43):
can see the benefits right upfront.
I think the intangible benefitsof good design.
A lot of us feel that, like Megand I feel that in our own
lives when we go to a spa orrestaurants and things like that
.
There also is like the idea ofbiophilic design, right.
So that's where design elementscan actually create
(11:05):
physiological change in the body.
So lighting, regulatinghormones, the release of
serotonin around plants, or evena picture of a plant.
So there is just this growingbody of data that shows that the
physical space can influenceour experience more tangibly.
So we feel very strongly aboutthat.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
And I think it's like anything.
I, like all human beings, weall live on a spectrum of
sensitivity to different things.
Nina and I are both people whoare highly sensitive to our
environment.
Some people maybe are less so,but I do think it's a spectrum
and we're starting to recognizethat a lot more, and I think we
can't forget that when you are aprovider, a healthcare provider
(11:51):
in particular, it is a reallytaxing job, it's stressful at
times.
You take on a lot, you embody alot of the struggles of the
clients that you see, and so forus, you know again like one of
our taglines is we're cliniciansdesigning for clinicians.
Ultimately, our main goal is todesign for the people working
(12:15):
in the space more than thepeople visiting the space.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Yeah, it seems like what you're up to is that you're
creating this space and you arecreating for the practitioners.
Yeah, it seems like what you'reup to is that you're creating
this space and you are creatingfor the practitioners, but when
you build up the practitioners,they're offering better care.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Exactly that's kind of the loop we see is that
that's our entry point of whenyou build up the clinician, when
you make it an environment thatthey're happy to be in, then
that trickles down to the peoplethat they're treating, and so
that's the point we like toenter and the point of view that
we like to take in the design,and what's the relationship
(12:49):
between the physical and thedigital?
Oh yeah, everything.
It's very intimate, it's verywell and it should be integrated
Like we live in an increasinglydigital world.
We live in a world where mostpeople their main touch point or
first touch point with a clinicor a business is digitally.
(13:09):
It might be on social media, itmight be through their website,
and for us, the physical spacejust needs to be a continuation
of that experience, Mind you,assuming that's a really great
experience.
Speaker 4 (13:22):
For our clients who are starting fresh with a new
space, we ask them at that timeto either ensure that they're
really happy with their brand,the digital brand, or consider
exploring that further anddeveloping that in tandem with
us working on the physicaldesign.
So oftentimes we'vecollaborated with digital
(13:44):
creators so that our clients areending up with like a really
seamless process and just.
I guess one thing I would sayis, with a physical space versus
a digital, some of the visualsneed to be just translated a
little differently.
So digital, we want reallyvibrant, very bright, powerful
(14:05):
fonts and colors.
We can take some liberties withthat into the physical space to
soften that, to create a goodphysical experience.
But that translation needs tobe really intentional.
So for everybody out there,just thinking of doing those at
the same time, if possible, ifyou're in that position, or
(14:26):
before you're starting to changeone, consider the other, always
consider them together.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
On that note of translation, talk to me about
the no front desk, front desk.
Speaker 4 (14:39):
Yeah, we love that concept.
You know we're often talkingabout income generating spaces
and things like that.
With the advent of amazing tech, we don't have to be beholden
to the traditional setup, right,we don't necessarily at this
point need multiple people at agiant front desk with a fax
(15:02):
machine and files and all ofthat.
But I think a lot of people areafraid to deviate from that
because starting a clinic is areally daunting thing and I
think people are just kind oftoo scared to try anything
different.
But we're really encouraging ofour clients to really take
advantage of all of the amazingtech that's out there so that
(15:23):
that reception space can eitherbecome something else like
another treatment room, possibly, or a really special experience
that's.
That creates the opportunityfor a coffee bar, that it
creates the opportunity for likea children's play area in a
pediatric clinic and also forour solo practitioners.
(15:43):
You know you can have a verysophisticated practice without
needing any of that.
You don't need any of that.
Speaker 1 (15:52):
Yeah, we like to push that a lot.
It's interesting, like thestatus quo really is a strong
pull for a lot of people and welike to push a lot of people out
of their comfort zone nicely,but in a way that again is like
there's never been a better timeto think outside the box, I
(16:14):
think, with like services likeginger desk, where your VA
support can be completely remoteand off-site, obviously, with
Jane and the ability toself-check-in and self-bookings
and payments like why not useall of these tools to your
advantage?
And especially when squarefootage is at a premium in many
places, right, we really want tomaximize that and make sure the
(16:38):
clinic functions as efficientlyas possible.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
I have one really granular question, as I'm
listening to you talk about thishow would clinics communicate
to clients how to move within ano front desk front desk
situation, when they're probablyused to the front desk
themselves?
So is it like you send them anemail or like, how do you tell
(17:03):
patients to come in and checkthemselves and using this iPad
and then go grab a coffee?
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Yeah, I think it depends place to place.
A lot of that can just be donein the correspondence that
happens with bookings.
I also want to be clear, likegoing back to like understanding
your brand really well.
It's important to make surethis makes sense for, like your
demographic, where you are.
This isn't for everybody, right, but I think it's important for
(17:29):
those that feel like this meetstheir needs and it works for
the space that they're in.
There's many ways tocommunicate that A lot do like
even on their website, like avideo tour.
Some send that out as theirconfirmation booking email.
Like, by the way, this is howit works when you show up um, we
like to do like reallyinteresting fun signage that
(17:51):
make it very clear and I thinkit's quite intuitive, like when
we design it when people walk inwhat they're to do.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
And then, as Meg said , there's spaces and places
where the front, a front desk,is necessary, but through the
use of tech, the footprint canbe much smaller.
Right, but having someoneinstead of, like your really
important office manager, alsohaving to like greet and check
in patients and things like thatyou know, this is where we have
(18:19):
interns and student volunteersor like your friendliest, most
bubbliest person, can be at thefront Like more of a greeter.
A greeter a welcomer right.
Yeah, it doesn't have to besomeone who also has like three
other really important rolesthat then become diluted.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Yeah, interesting.
Okay, another granular question.
In my house I have a cart andin this cart I allegedly place
things Pencils, paper for mykids to do artwork, some of the
little trinkets that they havebut what I notice is that this
(18:58):
cart is usually full and thereare also all these items that
should be in the cart on theground around the cart.
My understanding is that youhave a concept called anti-cart
and I wonder if you can help mesolve my cart problem.
(19:18):
Why are you anti-cart?
And is it because of what I'mtelling you?
Speaker 1 (19:23):
okay, we just like to avoid things that become a
catch-all.
We're we're not anti-cart, Iwant to put on the record.
We're not anti-cart.
We are just very intentionalthat when you design a space
whether it is your home, youroffice, your clinic that you
think about all the things thatneed to go places and you've
(19:43):
considered where they will goand live.
And so our philosophy more isthat everything has a home and
that we don't just buyfurnishings and things that are
just going to collect stuff.
It's like we do an inventorywith clinicians of like tell us
every single thing that needs togo in your treatment room so
that we can be sure when wedesign it that there is a home.
(20:05):
We were at Cheerful Pelvisyesterday.
They even took pictures of howthe shelf should look and put it
on the inside of the like door,things like that.
Where it's more theintentionality, it's that these
things have a home and if thecart has a purpose of you know
there's gonna be a, a cup herewith the crayons and the paper
and and it's made clear to theparticipants interacting with
(20:28):
the cart, that's fine.
But we find often people justget these furnishings without
the intention.
Speaker 4 (20:34):
I also feel like part of it is we have not found a
cart we like yet, and maybewe'll change yeah, that's like
that's a bit of an easter eggthat we're working on some
design around this, yeah but Ithink that's one thing, but also
a lot of our clients who haveasked for carts it's the
organization within so it andtaking an audit of what is there
(20:57):
like.
Are there too many craftsupplies?
If they're only using aspecific subset, maybe that's
all that needs to be on the cartand you know.
Good luck.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
I love it.
What is a trend that you seeright now that you're loving?
Speaker 4 (21:17):
love it.
What is a trend that you seeright now that you're loving?
Color saturation, just the useof big, bold colors.
Maximalism is a thing right now.
I'm not saying that that's likewhat I would throw into every
clinic, but I think just theidea of being okay with, like,
injecting color and personality,that's a trend I really love.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
Yeah, this isn't going to answer your question in
a satisfying way, but the trendbeing that, as I said earlier,
there's never been a better timeor more acceptable time to just
do what you want, likepermission to throw the
blueprint out the window andcreate spaces and places that
(21:57):
work for how you need it to work, and that may include, like the
colors you bring in or theartwork or what have you, but
just really go wild.
Speaker 4 (22:09):
A trend that I've noticed that I do love, though
is like when clinic owners are,there's a more of a hospitality
element to their welcoming.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
A lot of places are now offering a beverage,
offering something there's justthere is more of a hospital
hospitality vibe, which is so inalignment with our whole
philosophy I also think, too,bringing like more residential
fixtures in so for like a clinicspace, in particular, bringing
(22:42):
in curtains that are not medicalgrade curtains if you don't
need them right, or bringing inrugs, bringing in um lighting
that's more residentiallyinclined than commercial and
that softens the space so much.
We do that a lot and recommendit a lot.
Yeah well.
Speaker 2 (23:00):
Thank you both so much for all of your helpful
ideas and sharing your storywith everyone today.
This has been a great episode.
Thank you for being here thanksfor having us.
Speaker 4 (23:10):
yeah, it's our pleasure, our pleasure, our
delight.
Speaker 2 (23:13):
Thanks for tuning in to Radio Front Desk.
If you found this episodehelpful, it would mean so much
to me if you gave it a ratingand leave a review letting me
know what you think.
And if you're a fan, you cansubscribe to Radio Front Desk on
Apple Music, spotify andwherever you get your podcasts.
Thank you.
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