Do you remember one of those frustrating yet strangely illuminating conversations with a toddler when every answer you give is met with another “Why?” or “But why?” or “Why not?” I had another one of those moments recently. And as much as it tested my patience, it also gave me a powerful reminder of needing to be asked why
—repeatedly— to stay connected with our purpose.
In that moment of reflection, a bit of clarity broke through: when we strip things back to the root of our why, we often find more commonality than difference. Across industries and roles—whether we’re designing for retail, hospitality, healthcare, workplace, mixed-use, grocery, or industrial spaces—our motivations begin to align. We are all, in some way, trying to create environments that make people feel something real.
We are living in a world that feels simultaneously overcrowded and isolating. Our greatest opportunity isn’t just to solve practical challenges. It’s to remember why we design in the first place—to bring people together in meaningful, emotional, and enduring ways. When done with intention, design becomes the unseen thread that connects people not just to place—but to each other. And at the end of the day, isn’t that what we all want? To move through the world a little less transactional, and a lot more transformational?
That simple exchange—and the reflection it sparked—prompted me to write down a few thoughts about our shared why: to create meaningful, emotional, and enduring human connection. But purpose without clarity can drift. So we also need to get clear on the what—what kind of world we’re shaping—and the how—how we approach design across disciplines to bring that vision to life.
In a small, loud world, CONNECTION is the real luxury
We are drowning in information, content, and noise. AI-generated everything. Manufactured headlines. Algorithm-fed outrage. We consume fast and forget faster.
But connection, the kind that lives in eye contact, empathy, shared space, and authentic presence is the one thing we can’t automate. In the middle of this digital overload, our job as designers and leaders has never been clearer: to help people feel something real. Not just impressed. Not just efficient. Connected.
When attention is fleeting and trust is low, the most valuable thing we can offer is a moment that cuts through the noise—and reminds someone they matter.
What we’re really creating — Connection across every sector
Retail wants loyalty. Healthcare wants comfort. Hospitality wants belonging. Workplace wants engagement. Grocery wants trust. Mixed-use wants community. Every sector wants something slightly different. But at the core, they all want the same thing: to design experiences that people choose to come back to.
We often speak as if each discipline has its own exclusive audience or emotional target. But people don’t compartmentalize that way. A nurse is also a shopper. A traveler is also a parent. A warehouse worker is also a neighbor. The human need to feel safe, welcomed, inspired, and respected doesn’t change with the setting.
That’s why connection must be the shared foundation. Not just a design feature but a design principle.
HOW we design for connection — Five intentional practices
In a world that often celebrates complexity, these five practices are intentionally simple. But when applied with care, they create the conditions for real human connection across any space, sector, or scale.
Design is the delivery system for CONNECTION
With human connection as our common thread, design is how we weave it into the world. At its best, design is invisible—yet unforgettable. It has the power to welcome or exclude, to soothe or overwhelm, to connect or divide. Simply because the spaces we shape influence how people feel, how they move, how they relate, and how they remember.
Design isn’t just how things look. It’s how it makes people feel. And if I’m honest, maybe that’s the real lesson from that toddler conversation…to keep asking WHY because when we do, we remember what really matters.