This post is in a series where we talk to healthcare interior designers about their work as interior designers in the healthcare market.

Clairanne Pesce is a Senior Interior Designer at Array Architects. She is certified by the American Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers (AAHID).

What is one book, person, or talk that has been most influential in your career?

Welcome to Your World: How the Built Environment Shapes Our Lives by Sarah Williams Goldhagen. For me, this book validated the inherent connection people have to their surroundings - be it constructed or natural. It expands on a knowing that many designers absorb through training and practice, and supports it with tangible data and science for why the built environment is such an important factor in the success of humanity.It's really a tie for me between digital artwork and lighting that mimics skylights. For example: the quintessential nature backdrop, with birds that fly across the background and shallow fixtures that provide the necessary task lighting alongside depth and shadow to create a sense of accessibility to the outside.

What products have you been excited about recently?

It's really a tie for me between digital artwork and lighting that mimics skylights. For example: the quintessential nature backdrop, with birds that fly across the background and shallow fixtures that provide the necessary task lighting alongside depth and shadow to create a sense of accessibility to the outside.

Do you have any go-to design solutions or techniques for creating healing environments?

Be present, listen, and ask questions – in that order. Fairly basic but you will gain so much knowledge from your clients and peers this way. You're also more likely to get to the root of something that will transform the patient or provider experience and enhance the delivery of care.

If you could tell your younger self one thing, what would it be?

Never stop sketching. It's something I find I lose from time-to-time in the effort to produce a beautiful final picture. There is something intrinsic to the hand sketch that functions as a guide for aesthetic and human connection (one of the most important ingredients in a healthcare environment).

What is one product that doesn't exist but should?

We need upholstery that is self-cleaning, environmentally respectful, and doesn't pose a current or future threat to compromising human health. It's a product patients directly interact with, and one of the hardest to specify.

We've also talked to Michelle Clark (REES Associates), Jennifer Fink (BDA Architects), Lindsay Hampton (Pulse Design Group), Melinda Avila-Torio (THW Design), Lilliana Alvarado (UPHEALING), Ashleigh Pfluger (TJNG Partners Inc.), Jane Rohde (JSR Associates), John DuBard (Boulder Associates), Lisa Cini (Mosaic Design Studio), Susan Clark (Clark Patterson Lee), Crystal Hill (Odell Associates), Dr. Debra Harris (RAD Consultants), Libby Laguta (L2D.Design), Kristin Ellingsen (Office Furniture Group), Kimberly Bernheimer (PF&A Design), Melissa Perry (Inventure), Kelley Dorsett (HDR), Christin Troutman (MCA), and Keith Stanton (Thoma-Holec Design).