Artichoke
A Day in the Life: Sonja Duric, Artillery. What makes a design studio tick? We ask Sonja Duric, Director of Artillery in Melbourne.24 November 2011
What work does your
design studio do?
Artillery Interior Architecture designs workplaces for
clients including non-government organizations (Amnesty International and The
Salvation Army); health care professionals (Hospira); media groups (Grey Group
and OMD); consultants (APP); base-building refurbishments for building owners
(Investa, CLSA); retail spaces (Kryolan Cosmetics); and hospitality spaces
(Melbourne Cricket Club at the MCG and Melbourne and Olympic Parks at Rod Laver
Arena).
How big is your team?
Our team is made up of six to eight talented designers in Australia (one is
currently on exchange in London office and one is contracting while
tree-changing in Bright), with the support of forty others in London, UAE and
Singapore.
Where are your design
projects located?
Our Australian projects are located in Melbourne, Sydney,
Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra, with projects soon to also be located in
Perth. Our international projects are located in London, Paris (sigh!),
Amsterdam, Abu Dhabi and Singapore. They will also soon be located in India and
South Africa. We love Paris! The UK director David Back is an avid traveller, wildlife
photographer and safari guide, hence his global business plans.
Do you prefer to draw
by hand or by computer?
I like to draw both by hand and on computer. Over
the years, my computer skills have become reasonably good, and I find hand and
computer drawing equally important.
Are you a left- or a
right-brain designer?
I suspected I was right brained so I took an online
test to be sure (a very definitive form of assessment of course). According to
this test, I am 25 percent left brain and 75 percent right brain. You might
want to try it too at www.blogthings.com/areyourightorleftbrainedquiz.
Which project are you
best known for?
Recently we have achieved quite a lot of kudos for the design
of retail store for cosmetic company Kryolan.
What’s your favourite
finished project so far?
Every time we finish a project, it becomes my
favourite. We are very lucky to be able to immerse ourselves into the lives of
our clients. We become close with our client counterparts and miss the intense
interaction when the project concludes. Luckily, our clients keep returning.
Therefore, based on this, I would have to say my favourite recent projects
include Hospira, Kyrolan, Grey Group and APP. Amnesty International is always
on this list too.
What do you wish you
did more of?
Thinking, or as my three-year-old daughter would say,
‘stinking’. I also wish I did more travelling, painting reading, mountain
biking and, above all else, being with my daughter. Or did you mean at work? If
that is the case, then I wish we did more pub lunches.






