Sometimes a project comes with certain boundaries that shape how far you can push an existing theme or concept. The lobby at The Children's Hospital of Saint Francis in Tulsa, Oklahoma, had a few elements in place that couldn’t be changed due to budget constraints—like the terrazzo floors with a color scheme and a butterfly-and-bug theme in primary colors. That was my starting point. The challenge was figuring out how to elevate and integrate those elements seamlessly.

My first thought was to consider how a child might feel small in this space—and in the world in general. This led me to imagine them as the size of bugs! I envisioned the grass growing taller than the visitors, shrinking everyone down to the size of the creatures in the flooring. I used the colors of the bugs in the terrazzo as a base and built upon that.

To keep costs in check, I provided the paint crew with new colors to refresh the space, and then we incorporated custom digital graphics on vinyl, along with large cutouts on PVC. This combination of elements minimized printing costs while creating an immersive, playful experience that felt both connected to the existing design and elevated in a fun, imaginative way.