Welcome Heaven & Jeni

Our team is expanding! We recently brought on two employees that we’re very excited about and can’t wait for you to get to know them.

We’d like to introduce, Heaven Heatherly! She’s our newest administrative assistant and will be the first smiling face you see when you enter. She is helping everyone, especially Sophia, to keep our office running smoothly. Heaven grew up in Virginia and moved to San Diego to attend SDSU. She recently graduated with a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies which, in part, included Interior Design. She likes hosting dinner parties with her friends and is currently taking classes in floral design. We’re so happy you decided to join us, Heaven!

Our second addition might be familiar to you, Jeni Champion Bauer, CID, NCIDQ has returned to ID Studios. She worked for us for many years before she decided to move to Montana with her fiancé to more time under the “big sky” in the wild outdoors. Since then, she and her beau have gotten married and even though Bauer has been added to her name, she’s still the multi-talented designer and project manager we all know and love. She’s working remotely from Montana but will occasionally make the trek back to San Diego for important project milestones. We’re thrilled to have Jeni back!

Project Highlight: Tandem Admin Center

Rhythms of Life

Promoting a healthy lifestyle is a key part of the mission for Tandem Diabetes. Tandem brings an innovative approach to diabetes management through the manufacture of insulin pumps and an integrated treatment platform and ID Studios is helping Tandem Diabetes bring an innovative approach to their workplace. Inspired by natural processes and the biological rhythm of life that helps our bodies maintain a healthy, balanced daily routine, we introduced a relationship to circadian rhythms through a color palette inspired by sunlight phases. Collaboration areas are activated with warm oranges and bright happy yellows while heads-down spaces are balanced with cooler grays and calming blues. This color palette, along with a variety of work environments bring balance between energetic spaces and comfortable connected spaces.

We’d love to help bring innovation to your workplace too. Contact us to get started!

SDBJ Book of Lists and Women of Influence in Architecture

ID Studios is a Growing Architecture and Design Firm in San Diego. When the San Diego Business Journal recently released their special edition, “Women of Influence in Architecture and Design,” ID Studios had lots to cheer about. Three of our principals were celebrated, recognizing their amazing work in the design community. The publication also included the annual Architecture Firms, Book of Lists, which ranks firms by number of local staff. This year we jumped from spot #27 in 2021 to #17 in the 2022 Architecture Firm Listings!

If you’ve worked with us, you know how hard we work to do the right thing for our clients and our employees, and we’re excited to be a growing part of the San Diego Architecture community. Congrats to everyone here at ID Studios for being recognized!

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!