14 - Meg MacPherson of Articulate Design Co. on Designing Beautiful, Functional Clinics, Clarifying Your Brand Identity, and Building a Business You Love

Written By Danielle Boyd

Physiotherapist and clinic designer Meg MacPherson is on a mission to prove that your space is not an afterthought. As co-founder of Articulate Design Co, Meg helps health and rehab clinic owners turn blank commercial boxes into intentional, experience-driven spaces that attract both clients and clinicians.

In this conversation, we unpack how Articulate was born out of an opportunity to shake up the status quo of rehab spaces, why your waiting room and washroom are secret marketing tools, and how to think about every square foot of your clinic or studio space as either experience building or income generating. Meg also shares openly about burnout, motherhood, business partnership with Neena Folliott, and why most clinicians should have more than one career path.

If you are dreaming of opening a clinic, planning a renovation, or just curious how design, nervous system regulation and brand identity all intersect, this episode will give you both permission and practical ideas to reimagine what a healthy clinic space can be.

Articulate Design Co.: https://www.articulatedesignco.com/

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Time Stamps:

  • 00:00 Meeting Meg and how Articulate Design Co came to be

  • 05:39 From clinician to clinic designer and the first “guinea pig” project

  • 09:10 Finding Neena, building a complementary partnership and working as a team

  • 13:19 Burnout, motherhood and creating a more flexible career mix

  • 18:07 Why Meg thinks most clinicians should have at least two career paths

  • 21:30 Reverse-engineering design skills and owning her “spatial superpower”

  • 24:32 What makes a clinic layout intentional instead of random

  • 26:46 Maximizing every square foot for experience and revenue

  • 32:04 Waiting rooms as nervous system regulators, not chair parking lots

  • 37:13 Washrooms, lighting and other overlooked design moments that matter

  • 40:27 Case studies: bookish sports clinic and the lifestyle sports med space

  • 46:39 Brand identity first: why you should not start with paint colors

  • 49:57 Design as optimization, not a frill, in a competitive experience economy

  • 55:53 Leasing, negotiating and what to look for in a commercial shell

  • 1:02:12 How Meg and Neena structure Articulate, roles, splits and communication

  • 1:06:56 Packages, pricing and how clients actually work with Articulate

  • 1:14:43 Advice for first-time clinic owners facing sticker shock and risk

  • 1:17:51 Meg’s definition of a healthy business

  • 1:19:30 Where to find Meg and Articulate Design Co online

    Keywords:

    physio clinic design, healthcare interior design, rehab clinic branding, Articulate Design Co, Meg MacPherson, Neena Folliott, clinic layout, treatment room design, waiting room ideas, medical clinic renovation, physiotherapy business, wellness space design, brand identity for clinics, clinic owner tips, maximizing clinic square footage, virtual admin for clinics, QR code check in, clinician burnout, flexible physio careers, partnership in business, Health of Business podcast, Danielle Boyd, sports medicine clinic design, patient experience, nervous system informed design, starting a physiotherapy clinic

Danielle Boyd
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13 - Dave Leyland on starting and scaling Coast Performance Rehab, building strong clinic culture, and growing an education business through Loaded Manual Therapy.