Welcome: Kim Burleigh, Graysen Hart, and Greta Ervin

Kim Burleigh is a San Diego native and joins ID Studios with 10+ years of commercial interior design experience and a degree in Interior Design from San Diego Mesa College. As a Senior Interior Designer, Kim loves to create spaces for people to experience and interact with first-hand. When it’s sunny outside you can find her on the golf course, and if it’s in Hawaii, that’s even better. Her number one priority outside of work is being a mom to her young son. She along with her sisters, her husband, and two of her best friends are all adopted and she believes these similarities drew them together.

Graysen Hart graduated from Mississippi College with a Bachelor of Arts in Interior Design and has gained her experience while working in Alabama, Virginia, Washington DC, and now San Diego on many Corporate Office projects. She enjoys making things beautiful through creative expression. Watching a project come to life is why she loves her job. Graysen is an avid gardener and worked at a vegetable farm in New Hampshire before landing her position in Interior Design. She and her husband will be welcoming their first child into their home in June.

Greta Ervin grew up in Arizona and Colorado. She moved to San Diego to earn a Bachelor of Fine Art in Interior Design from the Design Institute of San Diego. Greta loved San Diego so much that she made it her home. The majority of her work has been in the Corporate Office market segment of Interior Design and she also has experience in the Hospitality and Multi-Family sectors. Greta has two French bulldogs and recently welcomed a kitten into their household! She and her husband have 2 children and enjoy spending time at the beach and indulging in their favorite flavors of ice cream. When it comes to dining out, she is always looking for the spiciest dishes she can find!

Congratulations to our New Principals

Promotions from within

We are pleased to announce that Jill Russell-Layman CID, NCIDQ, and Rich Guerena, AIA, LEED AP have been elevated to Principal | Owner. “In addition to directing some of ID Studios’ most significant projects, both Rich and Jill have been participating in the day-to-day business operations of the firm since being promoted to Associate Principal in January 2020. We are thrilled that both Jill and Rich are continuing to expand their leadership roles at ID Studios, the positive impact they have had in their leadership position will only increase in their new role,” says Principal Amy Morway.

Jill Russell-Layman is a Certified Commercial Interior Designer with 20+ years in the industry. She has extensive experience in Corporate, Technology, Education, and Civic Tenant Improvement projects with an emphasis on Strategic Planning. Jill has provided indispensable leadership on some of ID Studios’ most prominent projects in her 16 years with the firm. As a Principal | Owner, Jill also focuses on Business Operations, Human Resources and Business Development, alongside Principal Rich Guerena and Founding Principals Deborah Elliott and Amy Morway.

Rich Guerena is a Registered Architect with 25+ years of experience and has been promoted to Principal at ID Studios after leading as an Associate Principal for 2-years. His expertise includes Corporate and Life Science Tenant Improvements as well as Building Renovation & Repositioning. Rich has been a key leader and mentor at ID Studios since joining the firm in 2014. Over the last 2 years, Rich has led over a dozen Life Science projects for ID Studios. In his new role as Principal, Rich will oversee the Life Science Market sector for the firm and will continue to participate in business operations, alongside the Founding Principals.

Deborah Elliott, President of ID Studios, notes that Jill and Rich have proven track records with ID Studios in leading both the design and technical arenas.  They also have an incredible mix of personal and professional leadership skills, honed in their roles as Associate Principals. “We are very excited about this next chapter of leadership at ID Studios”, says Elliott, “Jill and Rich are the perfect match for our firm that is both employee-driven as well as known for its personalized client services and design solutions”.

We would like to extend a sincere congratulations to them both!

Project Highlight: Quadrant

We’d like to highlight a project that was recently completed for Quadrant here in San Diego.

This high-tech, magnetic solutions company gravitated towards an industrial style integrated with natural materials and organic textures. Branding was infused into the space through bright accent colors, bold signage, and a custom graphic film design. Subtle details hint at branding such as the rounded corners found around the office that mimic the rounded corners in their logo. Natural light from the extensive perimeter windows was taken advantage of and Solatubes were added to bring more of that light to the interior spaces. The ultimate goal was to create flexibility to allow this growing company to expand.

Happy Holidays from ID Studios

We hope you enjoy this year’s holiday video inspired by our favorite holiday movies. Check it out:

Holiday Office Closure

Our office will be closed while we celebrate the holidays starting December 24 and will reopen on January 3. See you in the New Year!

A Big Welcome: Thao Do and Joleen Hultberg

Fantastic additions to our creative and talented design team

ID Studios continues to grow! We recently added a new Project Architect and a Senior Designer to the ID Studios “work family”.

Thao Do first earned a BA in Architecture with Distinction from the Massachusetts College of Art, and then went on to earn a Master of Architecture (M.Arch.) with Distinction from the University of Michigan. Immediately following graduation, she spent a year in Vietnam before heading state-side.  A few years later, she was inspired to move to San Diego and continued her Architecture career working for MW Steele Group and Tucker Stadler Architects until she joined ID Studios in 2021. Thao’s outstanding skills are currently focused on life science projects for a confidential client, a corporate headquarters, and a shell and core repositioning for a building near Petco Park. 

Joleen Hultberg was born and raised in South Africa before moving to the US to attend William Rainey Harper College where she earned a BFA in Interior Design. With family spread across five countries, she has traveled around the world many times, but her favorite place is Mulback Austria where her father was born. She spent the last 16 years at Catalina Design Group where she was the Interior Design Manager with a focus on multifamily and hospitality projects before joining ID Studios. Joleen is engaged in the strategic planning stages of a locally headquartered company, and business development at ID Studios.

Thao and Joleen continue the tradition of excellence ID Studios brings to our clients and we hope you get a chance to work with them soon.

Congratulations to our New Associates

Growing our own talent

Kelsey Held graduated from Cal State University Long Beach with a BFA in Interior Architectural Design. She strives to inspire, excite and enhance the experience of the people inhabiting a space by learning about each client’s business and their unique culture in order to bring relevant solutions to the table. A great example of this approach is her design leadership of Swinerton Renewable Energy’s office. While furthering her career in Interior Design, Kelsey and her husband are also wholeheartedly raising their two pre-school-age boys.

Mike McDonald received a BFA in Interior Design from the Design Institute of San Diego. Currently, he is leading the management of several life science lab projects in Los Angeles and the Bay Area. Mike brings real-world solutions to his clients and team members through his exemplary management and creative skills. He is engaged in the community in a variety of ways and has recently joined the NAIOP Developing Leaders program. Mike and his wife have two young daughters and he has taken on the extreme challenge of coaching his 5-year-old daughter’s soccer team.

Mike and Kelsey have proven their design, management, and leadership ability and are of great value to the ID Studios team. Congratulations to them both!

Back to School: Logan-Memorial Educational Campus, Phase 1 Complete

Focus on Student-Centered Learning Environments

Transitional Kindergarten through 8th-grade students heading back to school in Logan Heights will be in for a treat! A new campus, built on the grounds of the original K-6 school will evolve into a remarkable K-12 school called the Logan Memorial Educational Complex. For now, Phase 1 of this project is complete and has started welcoming kids through grade 8 into the campus.

_{^{Photos by Stephen Whalen}}

ID Studios’ FF&E expertise along with the architect, DLR Group|BakerNowicki‘s design talent and Balfour Beatty Construction‘s strength have brought this project to life for generations to come. We can’t wait to see Phase 2 complete!

Back to School: New Student Housing Project Planned for San Diego State University

Focus on Student-Centered Living Environments

Pierce Education Properties invited ID Studios to collaborate with KTGY Architecture on a build-to-suit, six-story off-campus student housing complex dubbed “College View Apartments” and located just blocks away from the San Diego State University campus.

With the desire to create a fun, energetic, modern design aesthetic, ID Studios designed furniture groupings for maximum flexibility in the common areas. The ceiling surfaces are highlighted with saturated hues and modern lighting and full-height glazing fills the interior with natural light and provides a connection to the exterior.

Construction is expected to be complete in Fall 2023. College View Apartments will be home to more than 300 students of this growing university.

Another collaborative project between Pierce Education Properties and ID Studios is the Avenue on College Apartments near the University of Bloomington.

Unique Interior Accents: Rope

Over the years, we’ve used some materials that provide unique interior accents, but a favorite is rope. Whether it’s to add visual interest and texture or to enhance the theme of the space, check out some of the places we’ve used rope as a design element in our projects.

In the “Cantina” at the WD-40 Company Headquarters, rope was used as a reference to the rough building materials to help reflect the many facets of their customer’s lives. See more about this project HERE.

At the Nautilus Tavern, rope was used as a reference to the name of the restaurant and the usefulness of rope in nautical applications. See more about this project HERE.

In the café at Mission Federal Credit Union, rope was installed to add visual interest (and some acoustical qualities) to a seating area. See more about this project HERE.

At a confidential Pharmaceutical Company, we used rope to draw interest to the feature staircase that connects the two-story break room. See more about this project HERE.

Do you have a unique product you’d like integrated as unique interior accents into your project? Get in touch and our creative designers will show you how we can make it shine!

Bringing the Indoors, Out

Enriching the “Outdoor Office” and Collaboration Experience

Did you know that many of our projects involve designing outdoor spaces? San Diego has the perfect weather to take advantage of the outdoors, and after a year of outdoor activities to stay healthy and safe, this renovation happened just in time. After living in their 250,000 s.f. space design by ID Studios over a decade ago, this Medical Device company planned a total renovation of their private, exterior “back yard” with five primary goals:

• Support the New Outdoor Healthy Workplace Culture
• Enrich the campus experience,
• Reinforce a sense of place,
• Encourage collaboration and
• Consider maintenance and sustainability.

Our design team leveraged their extensive open outdoor space providing indoor/outdoor collaboration and plans to enhance the first-floor cafeteria which now provides access to a variety of fresh air opportunities. ID Studios, in collaboration with Spurlock Landscape Architects, added several shade structures that anchor outdoor meeting spaces and integrates power and technology to make sure everyone can be productive. A large presentation area accommodates all-hands meetings, firm-wide presentations, or social events.

Check out more project photos here…

^{Photos by Stephen Whalen}