The Invisible Craft with Emily Webster Bagdatli, ESI Design

“If we do our jobs really well, people don’t notice we’ve done anything at all.” —Emily Webster Bagdatli

In last Thursday’s Futurespaces talk, The Invisible Craft, Emily Bagdatli , Executive Creative Director at ESI Design—explored the subtle, often overlooked elements that shape how we experience space. She turned our attention to the quieter forces at play – the things behind the spectacle: movement, mood, and meaning. These are the tools of experience design that, when used well, fade into the background, gently guiding us without demanding to be seen.

Bagdatli’s perspective is grounded in deep expertise. As Executive Creative Director at ESI Design, she leads a studio recognized for its immersive, story-driven environments. Her approach combines architecture, social capital, and multimedia technology to create spaces that do more than function—they resonate. Her portfolio includes some of the country’s most iconic public destinations, including the White House Visitor Center, the Statue of Liberty Museum, and the arts and graphics program at LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal C.

Her background in both architecture and dance gives her a distinctive perspective on spatial design—treating environments not just as structures, but as choreographies of human movement and interaction. She earned her degree in Architecture from the University of Colorado and a master’s from NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program. Earlier in her career, she collaborated with creative forces such as WET Design, David LaChapelle, IFC, and artist Jim Campbell—experiences that helped shape her ongoing exploration of the intersection between art, technology, and the built environment.

If you missed the live talk, a full recording is available on the Futurespaces website. Or read on for the complete editorial recap.

Rethinking “Experience”: A Practice, Not a Product

“Experience Design is not something I think is easily defined… We define it through our work,” Bagdatli shared early in the talk. Rather than pin the discipline down to a static definition, she emphasized that XD is a responsive and iterative practice—one that resists neat boundaries or universal formulas.

This perspective reflects her fluid, interdisciplinary training:

“I started in architecture, and studied dance. Then I landed in a program that married tech, art, storytelling, and performance… It all comes back to how people move through space.”

That movement—literal and emotional—lies at the core of her design philosophy.

Designing for Presence, Not Attention

One project that vividly illustrates Bagdatli’s philosophy is Delta’s Terminal C at LaGuardia Airport. The terminal features the largest digital artwork of any airport in the world—an ambient ceiling that responds to live flight data, transforming real-time logistics into a calming visual rhythm.

“That digital ceiling uses real-time data to create a calming rhythm—but it’s not meant to be center stage. It’s designed to disappear,” she explained. In fact, when travelers don’t consciously notice it, she sees that as a success: “I’ll ask people, ‘Did you see the art at Terminal C?’ and they’ll say, ‘No.’ Then they look up and go, ‘Oh wait. That thing?’ That’s when I know it’s working.”

It’s a quiet kind of authorship—one where the success of the design lies in how it’s felt, not how it’s noticed.

Across ESI Design’s portfolio, each project is shaped by context, not convention. “We never approach a space as a blank slate. It already has life. Our job is to amplify that,” Bagdatli noted. Whether working on a museum or a transit hub, her team’s first instinct is to listen—what stories already live here? What emotions are already in motion?

A prime example is Experience the Times of Bill Cunningham, an outdoor exhibition in New York City that wove together historic and contemporary street photography. “We didn’t just want to show Bill’s photos. We wanted to invite people to walk into the living energy of the city—as if they were being photographed by him right now.”

In each case, the medium is chosen not for novelty, but for resonance:

“It’s not always about the most visible tech. It’s about the right moment. A subtle sound cue, a shift in light—those are often more powerful.”

Designing in Dialogue

Operating in public space also brings constraints, from civic regulations to audience diversity. But Bagdatli sees these as part of the creative brief: “Airports and federal buildings come with huge constraints. We’re always navigating layers of approvals and stakeholders—but creativity lives in those constraints.”

This adaptive mindset demands collaboration across many fields—and a deep respect for the audience: “We’re not designing for an audience—we’re designing with them in mind. That distinction matters.”

Toward a More Attuned Future

For Bagdatli, the future of Experience Design isn’t about more screens or louder gestures—a sentiment we’ve heard more than once lately, including from Futurespaces spaker Chad Hutson (Dimensional Innovations) who reminded us to put “Strategy Before Spectacle.” Instead, Bagdatli points to subtler forms of attunement. “I’m most interested in presence,” she said.

“In helping people pause, reflect, and feel held by a space.”

The goal isn’t to distract, but to resonate. Or as she put it:

“Good design doesn’t shout. It hums in the background of your experience.”

The Invisible Craft reminds us: the most powerful experiences aren’t always the most dramatic—they’re the ones that shift how we feel, often without us realizing why.

Experience It Yourself

Futurespaces members can access the full recording of The Invisible Craft on our website. You can also explore select ESI Design projects on their website or follow their studio on Instagram.

Author’s Note

This article was produced by Futurespaces based on Emily Webster Bagdatli’s July 10 talk and notes from the conversation. It’s part of our editorial series exploring creative reinvention, technology, and storytelling futures. Futurespaces is a community of experience designers and cultural thinkers exploring how innovation deepens connection—through weekly live webinars, behind-the-scenes tours, and curated insights into contemporary creative practice.