Gianfranco Zaccai

Gianfranco Zaccai was born in Trieste, Italy, and grew up in the U.S. His ties to both countries have always been strong, and after graduating from Syracuse University, one of his first jobs as a designer was for a company in Milan that made clinical diagnostic devices.

Gianfranco Zaccai has been thinking about—and working with—healthcare design for several decades. He believes that “designers need to strive for a better kind of better.” What does that mean? “The days of prevailing in the marketplace by producing a better thing or a better service—more desirable, easier to use, easier to manufacture or deliver—are passing,” he says. “The winners now will be those who provide customers with the best total experience. People want great experiences.”