Let’s meet the DIA Fellows 2023
Anna Brown, Simon Christopher, Celina Clarke, Csilla Csabai, Ross Gardam, Brooke Lloyd, Fiona Lynch, Jonathan Tighe, Paul Turley
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The DIA recently announced our Fellow 2023 appointments—a program that rewards those who help the DIA deliver our strategy to include and engage with designers within its open governance structure. We thought we'd follow up with a detailed look at who they are and their accomplishments.
The Fellows are being recognised for their exceptional abilities, commitment to the design community, and achievements through the realm of design or associated professions.
"The DIA proudly drives the Fellows initiative as it fosters collaboration and dialogue, ultimately elevating the collective dedication to the Australian design industry. We are investing in the DIA through our dedication to our designers and people who will bring value, support and meaning to our society."
—DIA President Gavin Campbell FDIA
Anna Brown FDIA
Anna Brown is a lecturer in Product Design at the University of South Australia and has a decade of professional experience as a product and furniture designer in both Australia and Italy.
A passionate believer in sustainable and social design practices and educational opportunities, Anna values collaboration. She is passionate about cross-cultural learning experiences, leading many Study Tours to Milan, Italy and championed a move in design education at the University of South Australia towards creative thinking and hybrid learning modes over traditional skill uptake in undergraduate B.Ed (D+T) students.
Anna was a long-standing member of the DIA SA/NT Branch Council, serving as co-vice Chair and is the previous branch Chair. In her time on council Anna convened and organised SA Graduate of the Year Awards, brought Milantrace to Adelaide, was on the National Advisory Council for 7 years and served as Chair of the DIA Education Committee. Anna’s involvement with the DIA has driven a long-standing and fruitful relationship with the South Australian design and education community.
Simon Christopher FDIA
Simon Christopher is a Director and Senior Industrial Designer at ISM Objects, where his career has established his place at the forefront of lighting design in Australia, contributing to its creativity, integrity and advancement.
As a designer, Simon’s work is driven by his inquisitive nature and desire to find unexpected solutions for new and existing products. He experiments with materials to create lighting that humanises technology and has an enduring quality.
Simon has a Bachelor of Arts (Industrial Design) and Associate Diploma of Technology (Furniture) from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, where he has also lectured in industrial design. Simon established ISM Sparks with ISM Objects co-founder Celina Clarke, as an ongoing program that fosters emerging talent in Australian lighting design. He is a long-standing member of the Design Institute of Australia and Australian Industry Group.
After completing a Bachelor of Arts (Industrial Design) from RMIT (1998), Simon and co-founder Celina Clarke established ISM Objects in 1990. For more than 25 years, ISM Objects has designed lighting and furniture products with a focus on technology, experimentation and a commitment to Australian manufacturing. They have retailed and supplied products for residential and commercial projects throughout Australia, New Zealand, the UAE, UK, USA and Asia, with a selection of recent local projects including Melbourne Metro Stations (Melbourne), Bendigo Hospital (Bendigo), Kathleen Syme Library (Melbourne), LinkedIn Martin Place (Sydney), Westpac Technology Centre Kogarah (Sydney) and Royal Children’s Hospital (Melbourne).
Celina Clarke FDIA
As Founder and senior Industrial Designer of ISM Objects, Celina Clarke has established a career as a leader in lighting design while contributing to the creativity, integrity and advancement of Australian design.
Celina’s work is driven by discovery, possibility and problem solving and the satisfaction that comes from transforming an idea into a successful product. Her commitment to design is further expressed through her past 7-year appointment as Chair of the Victorian Premier’s Design Award (2016-2023) and continued membership of the Design Institute of Australia and the Australian Industry Group. Celina has served as a Board Member and Vice President of Craft Victoria (1997-2000), and established ISM Sparks in 2005, an ongoing program that fosters emerging talent in Australian lighting design.
Celina co-founded ISM Objects with Simon Christopher in 1990. For over 30 years, ISM Objects has designed lighting and furniture products with a focus on technology, experimentation and a commitment to Australian manufacturing. They have retailed and supplied products for residential, commercial and major infrastructure projects throughout Australia and internationally. ISM Objects has won multiple Industry awards since inception including two Design Institute of Australia Awards and recently three Good Design Awards.
Celina’s work is held in major collections including MOMA New York, the Powerhouse Museum NSW & the National Gallery of Victoria. Guided by the values of being authentic, ethical, collaborative and imaginative, ISM creates enduring and endearing products designed to bring a space to life. Celina is committed to sustainable and progressive thinking, experimenting with materials to create effects with light, and updating and designing products that incorporate the latest technology.
Celina’s education includes a Bachelor of Arts (Industrial Design) RMIT 1988 and a Certificate iV – Lighting Engineering & Design (RMIT) 2013 and was awarded the Percy Magnus Award for Best Student.
Csilla Csabai FDIA
Csilla, originally from Budapest, embarked on her educational journey at MOME (Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design), where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1987 specialising in Interior Design.
Following her family's relocation to Australia, Csilla gathered invaluable field experience by working with esteemed local and global design firms in Perth. Today, she holds the position of Senior Interior Designer and Studio Practice Manager at Woods Bagot's Perth studio, where she expertly applies her technical acumen and unwavering attention to detail to contribute to numerous award-winning interior space designs.
Beyond her professional role, Csilla is a dedicated mentor to high school students with The Smiths Family, guiding them toward achieving their career aspirations. She also imparts her knowledge as a tutor of Interior Design at Curtin University, actively participating in thesis reviews and industry presentations both in Australia and abroad. Csilla also generously offers industry insights and guidance for curriculum development at TAFE, and participates in Woods Bagot's in-house mentorship program to nurture young talents within the organisation.
Csilla's association with the DIA (Design Institute of Australia) dates back to the early days of her career. Over time, she has made significant contributions to the organisation, serving as Secretary and Awards Coordinator on the WA Council for multiple terms since 1998. She is actively involved in DIA initiatives, including her role on the GOTYA (Graduate of the Year Awards) jury, DIA mentoring, portfolio reviews, and participation in industry events.
Through her enduring involvement with the DIA, Csilla has come to appreciate the power of interdisciplinary collaboration and the vital role it plays in promoting excellence in design across various domains. Her passion for design, commitment to education, and dedication to fostering emerging talent make her an invaluable asset to the industry and the community at large.
Ross Gardam FDIA
Inspired by geometry and clean refined form Gardam’s work delivers beautifully simple design solutions to often complex problems. With a body of work spanning over a decade, Gardam is one of Australia’s most prominent contemporary designers.
Ross Gardam is driven by a profound desire to engage people on an emotional level with distinctive design that challenge the norm. Designed for public and private spaces, every product is informed by a deep fascination in the layered experiences that exists between people and objects. This experiential understanding combined with a unique outlook on form and function underpins each collection.
Merging traditional craft with modern techniques, paramount to Gardam’s manufacturing process are the materials and methodology, which inform each design. Culminating in meticulously-crafted objects, lighting and furniture. All Ross Gardam products are produced in Melbourne, Australia.
Brooke Lloyd FDIA
Brooke sits at the forefront of design with a passion for balancing the pragmatic with the poetic. She has extensive experience across a broad range of design focussed, high profile international projects in the hospitality, residential, cultural and workplace sectors. It is this breadth of varied experience that has informed her progressive approach to design that blurs the boundaries of conventional typologies.
Shortly after graduating, Brooke relocated to London where she worked for over 10 years. Her previous role with John McAslan + Partners, as Head of Interior Design, entailed driving the overall design direction across the practice’s interiors work leading projects such as the King Cross Station Redevelopment, Doha Cultural Forum and the Al Jazeera Network HQ in the Shard.
During her tenure as an Associate with Conran + Partners, Brooke led the practice’s high profile residential and hospitality projects including the redevelopment of Blake Tower within the Barbican.
It is this diverse mix of skills that underpin a unique and progressive approach to Brooke’s work. Based in Sydney, Brooke is a Director at Cox leading the Interior Design specialism.
Fiona Lynch FDIA
Fiona Lynch founded her studio, Fiona Lynch Office, in Melbourne in 2013, crafting striking interiors for residential, retail, cultural and hospitality spaces. Fiona’s fine arts expertise informs her nuanced use of colour, pattern and texture, guiding the multidisciplinary team’s unique aesthetic. She has earned a reputation for spirited minimalism, combining natural materials with sculptural elements, and layering the raw and refined, while always ensuring spaces remain inviting.
Bespoke furniture, joinery, lighting and textiles distinguish her work, and she loves to collaborate with hand-picked artisans to deliver innovative design encounters strongly informed by place. The studio’s experimental Work Shop is proof of this passion, showcasing cutting-edge design, craft and art pieces, and exploring new techniques for creating dramatic, one-off interiors. Fiona’s commitment and ongoing exploration of sustainable materials and processes are documented in the studio’s online depository, Future Archive, spotlighting positive environmental materials, sustainable designs and eco-friendly products from around the world.
Fiona has been commissioned to produce interiors for Australian cultural institutions from the TarraWarra Museum of Art to the National Gallery of Victoria and the Powerhouse Museum, as well as Ace Hotel Sydney’s rooftop restaurant Kiln. Her designs also resonate internationally. Named as Design Anthology’s Female Designer of the Year in 2021 and hailed as one of the “true design influencers in the world” in Germany’s Architectural Digest, Fiona is a regular panel participant, podcast guest and industry-awards judge.
Jonathan Tighe FDIA
Jonathan Tighe is Head of Industrial Design at IntelliDesign Pty Ltd. He earned bachelor and Masters degree’s in the early 90’s and worked in design consultancies in Australia and the UK, prior to joining in IntelliDesign in 2001.
Jonathan is responsible for ensuring the design solutions created and manufactured by IntelliDesign are on point. Over the last 30 years he has built deep experience in delivering projects for technically challenging applications deployed into physically demanding environments. Some of his more notable projects involve IVF surgical devices, mining vehicle collision avoidance systems, defence communications platforms, and more recently LEO satellite sub-systems. The projects are notable for their high user acceptance, their large global deployment, and their market success.
Successful projects are a team effort. Jonathan is proud to have been a member of many project teams which have received Australian Design awards. Jonathan lives and works in Brisbane Australia.
Paul Turley FDIA
Paul entered the design industry three years ago with a passion and drive for achieving client satisfaction. He is passionate about design education and mentoring the next generation of designers.
Paul holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Microbiology & Biochemistry), a Master of Social Science (Political Economy), and a Bachelor of Interior Architecture (Commercial/Interior Design) from Torrens University (Billy Blue College of Design).
With a background in medical research, Paul embraces a multidisciplinary approach to design thinking, and values the combination of scientific and creative approaches to projects.
He currently works as an interior design academic with Griffith University and as an interior designer and design communicator. He has served on the DIA Queensland Branch Council since 2017.