Design Process

Teachers at St. Jude highlighted the school setting as a way for patient-students to regain a sense of normalcy in their lives when all else around them had changed. However, there was nothing “normal” about going to school in a hospital. Patients and educators alike often felt disappointed and not fully engaged, as a result. The design team noted early on that St. Jude is not a normal hospital - it’s extraordinary - so why not have the school experience be extraordinary, too? Reframing the opportunity for the school to take advantage of its unique setting and circumstances, rather than try to downplay them, gave St. Jude teachers a renewed sense of optimism and excitement. Collaborative design workshops, on-site physical prototyping, user looks with several families, and a compelling new name and identity for the school brought energy to a long overlooked part of the patient experience.

Uniting Independent Teams

Part of the project deliverables included an architectural space program and a style guide for conveying the intended look and feel of the school environment. The IDEO team handed off design documentation to a local architectural firm to take through construction.

Personal contributions: As the local architects moved into construction document production, I led the IDEO team efforts through this stewardship phase and provided advisement to architects and engineers on how to modify the design and evaluate tradeoffs that upheld the design intent when constraints wouldn’t allow for the original plans. I also guided the architect and engineers on how to implement the environmental design and brand standards that were established previously in the Family Commons project so that there was consistency in experience. Lastly, I guided the IDEO team on diplomatically navigating interpersonal dynamics and organizational politics within the client team.

Design Outcomes

Nova School is currently under construction at St. Jude. Teachers began using the Experiment Cards early in 2019 to try out new ways of engaging students and bringing in doctors, nurses, researchers, and other staff to enhance lesson plans and classroom work. The team designed a final deliverable that mimicked a textbook, a form factor perfectly suited for its audience, and teachers have been spotted carrying the Nova School book throughout the St. Jude campus.