Healthcare Design - January/February 2020 - 24

GREAT

up can be a very powerful tool. Then, it becomes fact-based instead of just my opinion. I have seen firsthand over the last two
years, being in treatment for breast cancer,
how your environment can affect your recovery, anxiety level, and confidence in the
care you're given. I actually walked out of
my first treatment center in the middle of
an appointment because the surroundings
were so uninviting. I couldn't imagine going
through months of treatment in that environment.

HEALTHCARE DESIGN: SHARE
A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
A N D W H AT D R E W Y O U T O A
CAREER IN DESIGN.

Di Anna Borders: I started out in 2003
working in building products for the hospitality sector, where I designed commercial wallcoverings. When the economy
took a hit in 2008, the hospitality sector
was hit hard and I moved on to flooring
design as principal designer at Armstrong
Flooring, designing an array of hard-surface products from vinyl composition tile
to luxury vinyl tile. From there, I moved to
IVC, which was later acquired by Mohawk.
That's when I entered my current role.

DESCRIBE THE FIRST TIME YOU
WORKED ON A HEALTHCARE
P R O D U C T. W H A T D I D Y O U
L E A R N F R O M T H AT P R O C E S S /
EXPERIENCE?

HOW DID YOU BECOME
INTERESTED IN PRODUCT
DESIGN, SPECIFICALLY?

Before product design, I was a graphic designer when the world was first going internet crazy and design was becoming a
virtual animal. I decided to take a leap into
product design to stay in touch with the
physical aspect of design. I wanted to touch
and feel the fruits of my labor, rather than
have them just existing on a server.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR CURRENT
ROLE.

My team at Mohawk Group designs for
the healthcare, senior living, and education segments. My role is to lead the team
to design products that are thoughtful and
meaningful and make a positive impact on
the built environment. We spend a lot of
time researching not only current trends
in color and design, but also the science and
evidence behind how interiors can positively affect inhabitants.
I feel it's important to have the research
behind the design. It's one thing for me
to create beautiful aesthetics and tell the
customer it will be beneficial, but having
the evidence and research to back that

J A N U A R Y/ F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0

DI ANNA BORDERS

INDUSTRY IIDA, INDUSTRY PARTNER ASID

Position: design director, healthcare, senior living, and
education, Mohawk Group
Location: Dalton, Ga.
Years working in design: 16
Years in current role: 3
Product categories: resilient flooring, carpet tile, and
broadloom
Market segments: healthcare, senior living, and education

At some point in your career, you ask yourself, "What can I do to make a difference in
the world?" The turning point for me came
in a plea from Michael Graves to an audience full of hospitality designers at HD
Expo to storm the gates of healthcare design
and change the built environment from institutional to healing and nurturing. And
that has been my goal ever since. My first
step was to start researching and learning
everything I could about evidence-based
design and how flooring could play a role. I
learned a lot about the healthcare industry
and how difficult it can be to change design
culture. We had to figure out ways to bring
that hospitality feel to healthcare while still
meeting all the technical needs for the environment. Sometimes that meant we would
design a beautiful wood-look floor with a
great texture and low luster for realism, just
to have the customer put a high-gloss polish
on it because "shiny equals clean." We had
to educate not only ourselves but our customer, as well.
HOW IS HEALTHCARE DIFFERENT
FROM OTHER SECTORS?

Designing for healthcare is unlike any other
segment. Not only does it need to be aestheti-

H C D M A G A Z IH
NC
ED
. CMOAMG A Z I N E . C O M

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Healthcare Design - January/February 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Healthcare Design - January/February 2020