From Setback to Expansion

By Gelare Danaie

In January 2024, we celebrated five years in business. I started the year energetic and determined to “go all out!”—I even wrote it on the first page of my work notebook. But just seven days later, a ski accident left me with a shattered ankle. That’s life, right?

By spring, in April, I was finally out of my cast when an existing client invited us to join a large team for a transportation project in New York.
New York! The city I had always dreamed of working in—maybe even living in. I was excited and nervous at the same time. It was my first trip after recovery, and I would be presenting to an important client. I prepared, practiced, and rehearsed many times before the meeting, but even something as simple as choosing which shoes to wear felt like a challenge while still healing.

The meeting was with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. I was presenting our team’s Customer Experience concepts for an airport project as part of a larger group of consultants. When I finished and saw the smiles on the clients’ faces—both in the room and on the screen—I knew I had achieved what I set out to do: bring a spark of joy and excitement to how our public places can embrace human touch and storytelling.

Because the meeting took place in a remote terminal not used by passengers, one of the client representatives offered to walk me back to where I could catch transportation to Manhattan. As we chatted about our shared passion for transportation and infrastructure, he asked if we were certified as a Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) with the Port Authority. I said no. He looked me in the eye and, in an authoritative tone, said: “You should!”

A year has now passed since that meeting. We didn’t win that particular project, but it sparked our expansion into New York. Today, we have an office and are officially certified as a WBE with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, as well as with the State of New Jersey. Along the way, we’ve met inspiring and creative people in the public building industry and built partnerships that will anchor our practice in the U.S. market.

We are actively seeking to partner with clients and like-minded consultants who share our belief that putting the customer first in the design process is essential for large-scale infrastructure projects. Opportunities often come when you are in the right place at the right time—and with the growing demand for resilient public infrastructure across major U.S. cities, we are confident in the value we can bring to our clients and communities.

We’re grateful for the people and organizations who have supported us along this journey. Together, we look forward to shaping public spaces that inspire connection, resilience, and human-centered design for years to come.

Thought Leadership

By Karen Zwart Hielema

Adventurous, dynamic, living life to the fullest. That is how I would describe my partner Gelare. The ULI Placemaking Council is a great place for her to contribute her talents, passion for placemaking, and zest for life. Congratulations on your appointment as Vice Chair of Thought Leadership to the council!

Let’s GO!

By Gelare Danaie

Image courtesy of Metrolinx

Bowmanville GO Station Signage & Wayfinding

The day I parted ways with the company that launched my career in Canada as a new immigrant was emotional. I genuinely liked everyone I worked with—my direct boss and mentor, the aviation team, inspiring designers, knowledgeable managers, and even my future partner in the design practice we now run together. I learned so much there: how to design complex transportation projects, lead teams, manage financials, build strong client relationships—but most importantly, how to work with all kinds of people. The foundation of our company today is deeply rooted in that culture—one that invests in people and fosters lasting relationships in the built environment industry.

Now, six years into running our own business, we’ve signed our first sub-consultant agreement with that very same company—Stantec! It’s a small wayfinding project for a GO Station in Bowmanville, but it means a lot. Even the kickoff meeting with the design team felt different from any of our other projects—it felt like coming home.

As a small woman-owned firm, having the opportunity to work with the company where we built our careers is deeply rewarding. Trust takes time, and we’re fortunate that the relationships we’ve built are grounded in mutual respect and understanding.

The project is currently in the design phase, and we’re looking forward to more opportunities to collaborate with the Stantec team as we continue to grow our customer experience design services across Canada and the U.S.—in transportation and aviation, healthcare, higher education, and beyond.

Making the System Work: Wayfinding for the Scarborough Subway Extension

By Karen Zwart Hielema

Image courtesy of Metrolinx

I love it when systems work well – when they are clear and efficient. With every sign that we place in a transit station, our goal is for a seamless passenger journey. Sometimes the architecture facilitates wayfinding, and a sign is not needed!

The DEXD team has been awarded a role as wayfinding and signage consultants as part of the larger delivery team for Scarborough Subway Extension. This marks our second large-scale transit project in Canada, and we’re thrilled to bring our expertise in human-centered design and intuitive wayfinding to this global team of experts including SENER, DIALOG, and GUNN.

A subway line is more than just a line—it’s a vital transportation system that stitches the fabric of a city and keeps our communities connected. The line will extend Toronto's Line 2 subway by 7.8 km, connecting with more than six transit options across the city. This expansion will replace the Scarborough RT (Line 3) and help reduce travel times while improving access to jobs, schools, and other destinations in Toronto. An image can speak a thousand words, but there are numbers that carry deep meaning. Consider the impact this line will have:

• Ridership: 105,000 daily boardings

• Increase in transit use: 52,000 daily

• People within walking distance: 38,000

• Access to jobs: 34,000

• Annual reduction in greenhouse gas emissions: 10,000 tonnes

Delivering large-scale, complex projects can sometimes make it easy to lose sight of the broader importance of our work as we navigate through daily tasks, submissions, and technical reviews. But it’s important to remind ourselves that at the heart of every professional involved in a public project is a passion for doing good for the community. It’s about working toward the mission of creating collective joy and building spaces where everyone’s quality of life improves.

That’s why, with every sign we place in the subway systems, we are one step closer to fulfilling the mission of our company: creating spaces that enhance people’s lives.

Congratulations, DEXD team!

Intuitive Wayfinding Design at University of Toronto Scarborough: MBG Health Sciences Complex

Artist Rendering, Image Courtesy of Diamond Schmitt Architects and MVRDV

DEXD team has been selected as wayfinding and signage consultant for the University of Toronto Scarborough. Our team has been working closely  with EllisDon, Diamond Schmitt & MVRDV. The Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health at the University of Toronto Scarborough serves as a welcoming centre for education and fosters relationships between local healthcare professionals. The campus houses education programs including Graduate Department of Psychological Clinical Science, Department of Health & Society, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, and Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy. Includes a dedicated Clinic and Pharmacy for the public.

Collaboration with such a prestigious and Canada's number one institution is an incredible opportunity, and we will our creative ideas and the fresh approach to Customer Experience Design to the team. Our approach is to create a system for information and placemaking elements including the donor’s recognition design elements in a holistic approach. Our goal is to be consistent, improve the student, faculty and public experience, and strengthen the university's brand. The design philosophy is to start with Customer Journey Mapping and identify the key decision making points. The strategic positioning of directional and identification signage at decision points, junctions, and entrances are coordinated in weekly meetings with architect of record. We have considered the campus's size, complexity, different user needs, and future development in mind.

The primary advantages of this technique are easier navigation, increased safety, a positive customer experience, and a strengthened brand identification.

Our approach to wayfinding and information design system is “Less is more”. We believe good architecture, same as this building, is intuitive by nature and we are helping and supporting the design team to further refine the navigation system without over powering the space with multiple wayfinding elements.

Stay tuned for updates as we continue on our journey.

"Mission: Possible"

By Gelare Danaie

After 20+ years in architectural practice, traveling, experiencing life, and observing the connections between people and places, I realized what truly important to me is to be able to impact everyday life by designing spaces for people, and to challenge the top down approach of architectural practice.

Although the experiential design layer is the first impression for people, harmonizing and managing its elements is usually a tricky task for architects. Having the experience of being an architect in charge of managing the consultants in a large scale project, I realized there is a gap in the practice of overseeing all the public facing elements that include wayfinding, environmental graphic design, digital communication, advertising, activation, and art.

This is how DEXD came to life. I decided to create a platform that would combine architectural planning and experiential elements in complex environments. Our first major contract was Metrolinx Subway Station Architecture Design Standard. The mandate was to prepare a design standard for all the subway stations within GTHA area, the most important project being Ontario Line South!

While working with Metrolinx back in 2020 and as we were mapping all the architectural typologies of stations for the future line, I opened my personal notebook and wrote down my vision with a sharpie pen: «DEXD will be the Wayfinding designer for the line!»

Fast forward to 2023, my phone rang on a Friday afternoon in August and I got the news that we were chosen as the Wayfinding consultant for all Ontario Line South stations.

I believe business and life are similar, there are lots of ups and downs, wins and losses, but if you have a vision, you share your true values, and put all your heart in what you do, there is a big chance you will achieve what you want.