Healthcare Design - December 2017 - 56

fac e

Time

W H AT ' S T H E B I G G E S T
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
WORKING IN ADVERTISING
A N D T H E H E A LT H C A R E
SECTOR?

F AV O R I T E A R C H I T E C T / D E S I G N E R
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

The time it takes to get work approved through the
decision chain. Working with individual doctors who
own their own practice is one thing; working with
large medical facilities that have a board of directors
is another. It takes more time and patience, which only
gives us more time to perfect our ideas.

H O W I S C R E AT I N G A T V
C A M PA I G N S I M I L A R T O
DESIGNING A THEMED
INTERIOR?
When we approach creating a new environment,
as with advertising, we start with identifying the
objective or outcome for the patient. For example,
the goal for a pediatric imaging client is to redirect
the patients' focus and provide a nonthreatening
experience by inviting them to be a part of a story
that's rich in color and texture. For an adult imaging
environment, the objective is to create a more calming and peaceful experience.

F AV O R I T E ...
VA C AT I O N S P O T Anywhere they make great
wine. My wife and I just got back from a trip to
Napa, and we've been to Europe several times
looking for those hidden gems.
WEEKEND ACTIVITY
Going to our log cabin lake
house in east Texas.
TV CHARACTER
Charlie Kelly from
"It's Always Sunny in
Philadelphia." He just has
to open his mouth and I'm rolling on the floor in
laughter.
L I N E F R O M A M O V I E "Mama always said life
was like a box of chocolates. You never know what
you're going to get," from "Forrest Gump." The line
says it all.
S N A C K Boiled peanuts. I began eating them
the moment my mother gave birth to me in
Dublin, Ga.
WAY T O U N W I N D A F T E R A L O N G D AY
Coming home and spending time playing with
my dog, Bear. No one misses me more, and that
includes my wife.

I love how all of his structures were designed to complement the very environments they were built within.

M A R K S U L L I VA N

Founder, Character Farms,
Richardson, Texas

FOR NEARLY 30 years, Mark Sullivan

enjoyed a successful career in advertising, creating campaigns for
companies such as Stanley Steemer
(including the TV jingle, "Call 1-800-STEEMER...
Stanley Steemer gets carpets cleaner!"), Dairy
Queen, Universal Studios Florida, and Pier 1 Imports. Then, in 1997, a friend who was a pediatric
dentist asked him to lend his creative talents to
"dress up her new office with artwork and a new
logo." Shortly thereafter, he was hired for a second
pediatric interior project, designing Westernthemed custom murals, signage, and faux-carved
structural elements. "That was the moment I
began to realize that this was my new career," he
says. In 2008, with business partner Ernie Pacheco, he founded Character Farms. Today, the
firm designs interiors for both pediatric and adult
healthcare facilities, including a recent "Lost
World" game kiosk for a pediatric dental facility
and a Zen rock garden theme for an MRI room at
Preferred Imaging in Irving, Texas. "I enjoy transitioning an often sterile, highly technical, and
scary medical environment into a cool, magical
place where children and adults can feel safe and
comfortable through the course of their treatment," he says.-Anne DiNardo

THREE WORDS MY CO-WORKERS
WOULD USE TO DESCRIBE ME

1 passionate
2 driven
3 perfectionist
56

DECEMBER 2017

OUTSIDE THE OFFICE, YOU'LL
L I K E LY F I N D M E ... .
At my favorite microbrewery down the street. My favorite
beers are the blonde ales.

THREE ITEMS ON MY DESK

1 my magical digital scanner. It

allows me to turn any crazy idea
(usually drawn out on a napkin)
into reality when it hits my iMac.

2 talking Sulley

figurine from
"Monsters, Inc."

3 The Beatles

tribute band mouse
pad that I designed
for a fundraiser
H O L I D AY T R A D I T I O N I L O O K
F O R WA R D T O M O S T
Making my own Limoncello for family and friends. I bottle
it, label it, and give it out as Christmas gifts. People every
year ask me when they're getting their bottle.

F AV O R I T E Q U O T E

"Good judgment
comes from
experience,
and a lot of that
comes from bad
judgment."
-Will Rogers

CHARACTER FARMS CREATED A ZEN ROCK GARDEN THEME FOR AN
ADULT MRI ROOM AT PREFERRED IMAGING IN IRVING, TE XAS.

HCDMAGAZINE.COM
http://www.HCDMAGAZINE.COM
Healthcare Design - December 2017

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