How Businesses Can Compete on Experience, and Win on Design

Image courtesy of Getty Images.

Nearly 30 years ago, Terminal 5 at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) celebrated its grand opening. The terminal would become Delta’s West Coast flagship, and was heavily advertised as “the world’s most relaxing airport: an oasis where passengers can relax and ‘take five.’” Designing Terminal 5 for Delta was my first project when I joined Gensler in the 1980s. Its completion ushered in a new era of design at Gensler, one relentlessly focused on design that elevates the human experience. Looking back, I can see how this project laid the foundation for what has become the Gensler Experience Index, a first-of-its-kind mixed-methods research study focused on creating a holistic framework for understanding experience, and quantifying the impact of design on experience.

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Factors Fueling a New Era for Campus Planning

Northwestern's new San Francisco satellite space is one example of how the institution is integrating its global brand into campus spaces. Image © Gensler.

Earlier this year, The Atlantic published a story depicting a new normal for higher education—one fraught with a dwindling pipeline of enrollees, rising tuition costs and an increase in school closings. It posits that the increased savvy of the higher-ed shopper, coupled with years of criticism around rising tuition costs and student debt, have driven universities to a tightened economic reality. In a climate where every dollar counts, universities are getting smarter about capital improvements to the campus and approaching decision-making more like today’s developer: What is the highest and best use of space on campus today? How can we ensure that the improvements we make appeal to our ‘customers’—students, faculty and staff—and keep them coming back for more? How does our brand go beyond school colors and evoke the true experience of our institution?

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