The studio sequence of courses within the Department’s undergraduate program offers critically important problem-solving opportunities for students. Situated midway in the five-studio sequence, Studio 3 addresses workplace design, an important sector of design that many students choose for their career. Here, students engage in actions and processes that design professionals employ to create thoughtful interior design project solutions, including research and programming fact-finding, creative problem solving, spatial analysis and space planning,

detailed lighting and systems design, and specifying interior design products. It is fitting that Atlanta’s IA Interior Architects, a leading  firm in office design, is an enthusiastic sponsor of the course in 2022.

IA Interior Architects’ goal has always been to improve people’s lives through visionary design. Since 1984, they have been translating client goals, and brand into environments built around people, processes, technologies, and business drivers. As architects, designers, strategists, and environmental specialists, they align business strategies and core values with the dynamic use of space. Their team consists of talented professionals who come from different places and have unique perspectives, but all share one common goal and passion—design for the needs of the client. This commitment to client satisfaction aligns well with the Department of Interior Architecture & Design’s priority of user-centered design. IA supports clients worldwide, both from an ad hoc, one-off project engagement to relationships with clients that have

flourished for over 35 years. They have a track record of delivering successful design projects for a wide range of clients in the United States and abroad, with offices in 23 metropolitan cities globally.

The lead instructor for the Studio 3 class is associate professor Amy Huber, who worked with IA’s Amy Lowey (BS 2006) to craft the firm’s engagement with the course.

“My experience with the workplace studio this semester has given me a first-hand insight to the foundation of a top-rated design education and how it’s evolved since my time in the program. Professor Huber is doing a phenomenal job of giving the students a realistic insight into the industry by creating relevant project parameters, encouraging human-centered and wellness planning concepts, tying in corporate values, purpose, and branding. The experience and talent coming out of this program is exciting!”

– Amy Lowey, Project Director for IA

IA’s support to students in the FSU IA&D program reflects their commitment to people and innovation, both internally and externally, including  investing resources back into the communities within which they work. That investment allows them to connect deeper with the program and students to share industry insights, trends, and innovation, elevating the future of design.

Industry and practitioner partnerships acclimate the Department’s students to future career processes and skills. The Department is grateful for IA’s help and support of our program.

The FSU Department of Interior Architecture & Design enjoys a  40+ year  history, making possible a significant impact on the field of design by its more than 2000 Department alumni. To celebrate their notable achievements, each year the Department selects three notable alumni to receive its Alumni Awards. The 2022 Awards event occurred February 24 as a part of the Department’s Career Fair’s two days of activities. This program was first conceived by the Department’s Advisory Council, and enables the acknowledgement of alumni whose careers show the potential of design to change the world through creativity, exceptional service to others and advancing the interior design profession. The Department thanks the 3Form Company and its representative Lesley Zitone Olson for the physical awards that each awardee received.

Christina Jameson is 2022 recipient of the Emerging Alumni Award, an honor that recognizes an alumni member who is an emerging force for design currently in the early phase of their career. Jameson’s passion for people & design led her to her role as District Sales Manager and WELL regional specialist for OFS where she plays an instrumental role in projects that are transforming Florida’s commercial interiors’ landscape.  Christina and the Florida team have grown sales within the region 150+% taking the state from $10 million to $26 million annually. In 2021 Christina’s was the top sales team in the company. She also serves as Director of Student Affairs for the IIDA Central Florida chapter, where she implemented the 1st annual Ed Crawl Event and Student Impact Award. Christina is a registered CEU instructor and offers two courses on the importance of WELL buildings and is also highly involved in her community engaging with many organizations including Future Leaders of Commercial Real Estate Women, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Easter Seals, Leadership Orlando, and the Second Harvest Food Bank. Christina has also garnered awards including the Orlando Business Journal’s 2019 40 Under 40 honorees and the 2020 Women Who Mean Business. In 2022 she was included in Marquis Who’s Who for influential people in the Design and Construction field.

Catherine Schneider Johnson is the recipient of the 2022 Distinguished Service Award. This honor recognizes an alumni member who has rendered notable service to the profession and humanity in general. Catherine M. Johnson is a 1976 bachelor of science graduate of FSU and is Principal of Johnson-Blohm Interiors, Inc., in Houston, TX. Her work has been recognized with various awards, including NEWH Firm of the Year, the 2005 Design Excellence Award, the 2004 PRISM Award for remodeling and the Inaugural APEX Design Award for residential design. She has served as a featured speaker at NEOCON.

While Catherine’s list of practice acheivements is extensive, it is her service to developing design professionals and to her alma maters for which she is most proud. While Regional Representative for Wilson Business Products, she established their Houston-area internship program and its Annual Collegiate Art Contest for Texas students. In various leadership roles with the Houston Chapter of the Network of Executive Women in Hospitality (NEWH), she expanded the chapter’s Scholarship Program. As a member of the Rice Design Alliance, she served as Auction Chair for fundraising events and as Corporate Member Chair, she increased partners from 6 to 50. Catherine served the Houston Area Seminoles Club as President and Membership Chair.

Sonya Haffey is the recipient of the 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award. This award acknowledges the accomplishments of a notable alumnus who has advanced 15 years or more into their career. Sonya is Principal of V Starr and has led the firm’s operations for more than 12 years. Upon joining the company, Haffey used her extensive experience from previous roles as partner at Urbanica Group and founder of her own design firm to transform V Starr from being exclusively residential to include a strong commercial basis. Haffey works closely with professional tennis player and the firm’s principal and CEO Venus Williams. The two bring together their strengths to create impactful designs such as those at their first hospitality project, the Intercontinental Hotel in Miami. The tennis lounge at Chicago’s Midtown Athletic Club flagship is another notable project, and the V Suite at the adjoining Hotel at Midtown in Chicago complements a growing hospitality portfolio and a host of multi-family residential properties. IN addition to her degree from FSU, Haffey studied interior design abroad in London, Paris, Milan and Glasgow and was licensed two years after entering the design world. Haffey has completed extensive volunteer work with organizations that include Make-a-Wish, Easter Seals, First Presbyterian of North Palm Beach, Young Life, Little Smiles, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

The Department will open nominations for the 2023 Alumni Awards in June 2022 and encourages all alumni to apply. The valuable insights awardees share in turn enhance the knowledge and capability of the next generation of IAD students.