Part of a growing movement in design.

SDS Designs is proud to be part of Science in Design®, a growing professional community advancing the conversation around design, the built environment, and human wellbeing.

Through education in neuroaesthetics, biophilic design, environmental psychology, and related research, Science in Design brings together designers, architects, researchers, educators, and industry professionals interested in understanding something we believe is fundamental:

The environments we create are not simply backgrounds to our lives. They are part of the human experience.

Samantha Smith is Science in Design certified, and this education helped shape the evolution of SDS Designs from a traditional design practice into Environmental Wellness Design - an approach that considers not only how an environment looks, but how it is experienced by the people within it.

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Why Our Environments Matter

We are in continuous relationship with our surroundings.

Light, sound, spatial organization, color, materials, nature, temperature, objects, and sensory conditions all contribute to how an environment is perceived and experienced. They can influence how easily we navigate daily routines, direct our attention, connect with others, find comfort, and experience a sense of belonging.

But these elements don't operate independently. They interact with one another, and with the individual experiencing them.

Age, sensory preferences, neurodivergence, culture, memory, routines, personal associations, and the activities occurring within a space can all affect that relationship.

That is why Environmental Wellness Design isn't a prescribed aesthetic or a checklist of “healthy” features. It begins by understanding the person, the environment, and the relationship between the two.

What We Consider

Light + Daily Rhythms
Daylight, artificial light, glare, contrast, layering, control, and how lighting conditions change throughout the day.

Sensory Experience
Sound, texture, temperature, scent, visual complexity, movement, and the sensory needs of the individual.

Spatial Function + Flow
How layout, organization, movement, transitions, storage, and accessibility support, or create friction within, daily life.

Nature + Biophilia
Connections to nature through daylight, views, plants, natural materials, organic forms, patterns, and other biophilic principles.

Materials + Healthy Environments
Material composition, tactile qualities, durability, maintenance, indoor environmental considerations, sourcing, and longevity.

Identity + Personal Meaning
Art, color, objects, culture, memory, collections, and personal preferences that create belonging and make an environment meaningfully yours.

There Is No Universal Wellness Space

A space that feels restorative to one person may feel understimulating to another. An open environment may encourage connection for one family while creating distraction or sensory overload for someone else.

Research can help us understand patterns in human responses to environments. It cannot tell us everything about the individual experiencing them.

SDS Designs therefore combines evidence-informed principles with observation, conversation, design expertise, and lived experience to understand what may be most supportive for each person and place.

We don't design around a formula for wellness. We investigate the relationship between people, environments, behaviors, needs, and experiences.

From Research to Real Life

Science doesn't give us a formula for the perfect environment. It gives us a growing body of knowledge that can help us ask better questions and make more informed design decisions.

Who uses this space? What happens here? What creates friction? What provides comfort? What supports focus, rest, connection, movement, or routine? What already works beautifully?

Environmental Wellness Design translates those questions into thoughtful changes to the built environment.

The result is not simply a space designed to look different, but an environment created with greater intention around the people who experience it.

Curious about your own environment?

Start by understanding what's working, what isn't, and where thoughtful change could make a difference.