Explore every episode of the podcast Wellness and Wonder: A Visionary Design Podcast

WATCH THE VLOG: https://youtu.be/SRhOeij-HfA

In this special episode of Wellness & Wonder, our producer Emma Hierholzer captures interviews from last fall's Healthcare Design Conference (HCD), exploring emerging trends for 2026!

Susan Magsamen, Johns Hopkins 'Neuroaesthetics' leader and maker-turned-researcher, explains how design choices affect bodies and brains.

Her team’s work measures real physiological responses and turns findings into practical frameworks for architects, health systems, and brands.

What if a hospital lobby could spark joy, wonder, and healing? For Local Projects, that was the vision at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Led by Stephen Baker, the team transformed a 32-foot screen into a living digital ecosystem - filled with playful, hybrid animals that respond to every move. By blending empathy, technology, and storytelling, Local Projects demonstrates how design can transform a hospital visit into an experience of comfort and connection.

What if a healthcare space could teach, comfort, and even inspire? For CACTUS, that’s the standard. In their work on Lab 100, they didn’t just add screens—they redefined how patients engage with their own data. With precision design, ambient tech, and a deep respect for user experience, CACTUS is showing what’s possible when architecture and digital strategy are treated as one. Tune in to hear how Cactus is reshaping the physical and digital layers of healthcare—one carefully designed experience at a time.

For our second episode of Wellness and Wonder, we speak with interaction and experience designer Maria Mortati about how her multi-sensory "Memory Care Experience Station", built for Dementia care, is not just uplifting residents—but reimagining how caregivers, families, and facilities connect through joy, simplicity, and empathy.

Empowering Healthcare workplaces through digital experience design. 

In our first episode of Wellness and Wonder, hosted by Raj Banga, we explore how digital experience design reshapes healthcare workplaces with guests John Rothenberg and Eric Gunther of SOSO, a Boston-based digital experience design studio.