Listening First: Jerome Cloud & Virginia Gehshan on Human-Centered Design

September 10, 2025

Cybelle Jones

Episode 9: Voices of Experience with Jerome Cloud & Virginia Gehshan of Cloud Gheshan Design

For nearly four decades, Jerome and Virginia—co-founders of Cloud Gehshan Design and 2010 SEGD Fellows—have embodied this principle. Their work demonstrates that the most powerful designs emerge not from imposing their vision but from listening carefully, analyzing deeply, and shaping experiences that honor the unique identity and needs of people and place.

Their partnership has defined a practice known for its clarity, user focus, and innovation. From a pioneering collaboration with environmental psychologist Dr. Peter Hecht to award-winning projects in education, healthcare, recreation, and civic spaces, Cloud Gehshan helped set the standard for user-centered design long before it became industry practice.

Designing with Empathy and Rigor

At the heart of Cloud Gehshan’s approach is the belief that design must enrich lives. That philosophy was made tangible through their thorough research, humanistic process, and commitment to distinctive and memorable design.

Virginia’s background in environmental psychology and human factors shaped the studio’s approach to wayfinding, emphasizing cognitive ease, accessibility, and understanding of user behavior. Jerome pushed the boundaries of the field by merging wayfinding, storytelling, identity, and digital media into cohesive experiences. Together, they created what they call an “idea firm”—a studio where evidence-based research met authenticity and creative ingenuity.

The result was a portfolio that is both functional and inspirational. As 2009 SEGD Fellow David Gibson observed, “Theirs is a humanistic approach to design. For years Cloud Gehshan has provided beautiful solutions that engage the mind and elevate the spirit.”

Pioneering Collaborations

Long before “user-centered” and “experience design” became buzzwords, Cloud and Gehshan explored the role of psychology and behavior in design. They were among the first in their field to make an environmental psychologist an integral part of the process, ensuring that cognitive science informed how people experienced complex spaces.

This pioneering step distinguished their work and incorporated pre-visit planning, mockups, and client policies as crucial to long-term success. Their projects were empathetic, intuitive, and human-focused. They also set a precedent for interdisciplinary collaboration, demonstrating how designers could expand their teams to include voices from outside the traditional studio—a conviction that continues to influence the profession today.

Transformative Projects

As the profession has evolved, Cloud Gehshan’s projects have shaped how people navigate, engage with, and remember public places.

Their award-winning University Center project in Baltimore integrated branding, wayfinding, and storytelling across a dense urban area encompassing the University of Maryland Medical Center, the University of Maryland at Baltimore, and the surrounding neighborhood. Johns Hopkins University’s interactive “smart kiosks” offered another first-of-its-kind innovation, blending technology and information design to serve students and visitors.

Their projects varied widely, including wayfinding master plans for major universities and complex medical centers, branding and identity for cities and heritage corridors, map design, environmental enhancements, and interpretive systems for cultural destinations. Jerome also led major civic projects, including the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, NYPresbyterian/Columbia Medical Center, Jacob Javits Convention Center, and the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial in Washington, D.C.—a moving tribute dedicated by President Obama in 2014.

Each project reflected their belief that design is not only about guiding people from one point to another, but about revealing meaning, elevating experience, and connecting communities.

Impact on SEGD and the Profession

Beyond their built work, Jerome and Virginia have profoundly shaped the profession itself. Both have published extensively—contributing to landmark texts such as The Wayfinding Handbook and the Urban Wayfinding Planning and Implementation Manual.

Virginia served as SEGD President from 1992–1993, and authored client tools such as SEGD’s Standard Form of Agreement, How to Write an RFP, and SEGD Process Guide—resources that continue to guide practitioners worldwide. She and Jerome also taught at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, mentoring the next generation of designers and further investing in the profession.

Together, Jerome and Virginia have modeled leadership that is generous and collaborative. They have mentored countless colleagues and advanced the profession with a commitment to assisting clients and their audiences. Their recognition as SEGD Fellows in 2010 affirmed their role as trailblazers—designers who not only created enduring work but also expanded the boundaries of what experiential design could be.

A Legacy of Listening

The legacy of Jerome Cloud and Virginia Gehshan is not only in the systems, brands, and memorials they created but in the values they embodied: listening first, planning carefully, designing with imagination, and always seeking to enrich people’s lives.

“Design should connect people more deeply to place, history, and community,” Virginia reflects. Jerome adds: “Clients want to see their concerns reflected in the work—that’s where the meaning begins.”

For decades their partnership has proven that the most enduring designs are not imposed—they are revealed.

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Episode 9: SEGD’s Voices of Experience with Jerome Cloud & Virginia Gehshan

In the ninth episode of SEGD’s Voices of Experience series, Jerome Cloud and Virginia Gehshan—2010 SEGD Fellows and co-founders of Cloud Gehshan Design—share insights from their pioneering careers, their belief in empathy and listening, and the lessons learned from a lifetime of collaboration.

Filmed and produced by Lorem Ipsum on behalf of SEGD

Watch the ninth episode of Voices of Experience featuring Jerome Cloud and Virginia Gehshan

Join us every two weeks as we continue honoring SEGD Fellows whose work has shaped the environments—and experiences—that define our world.

Because great design doesn’t impose—it reveals.