Meet the people behind our passion: Sienna

Each member of our team is passionate about the role we play in making a positive impact in the community. Learn more about the people behind the passion and what makes them proud to be part of the work we do.

Introducing Sienna

I was born in Melbourne but spent some of my early childhood living overseas in the Netherlands.

I’m proud to have connections to different cultures, with my dad’s side being Sri Lankan and my mum’s being Italian. I think this, paired with the travelling I was fortunate enough to do at a young age, has had a large impact on my personal values and perspectives.

I’ve always had a creative side, but at the end of Year 12 I very much considered going down a law/legal studies route rather than design. I think that’s why I like communication design so much; it’s a bit of a blend between structured thinking, problem solving and creativity. And who knows, maybe one day I’ll go back to uni and give law a go!

What is your role at the Information Access Group?

I’m a Graphic Designer. My day-to-day consists of creating images and icons that support the text written by our editorial team. More recently, I’ve also been undertaking some Design Quality Manager training – helping ensure our design work is consistent and at a high standard.

What do you find most rewarding about the work you do at the Information Access Group?

Working at the Information Access Group has encouraged me to view design and its potential in a new way. When you’re studying design at university it’s quite standard for your ‘dream’ to be to work at a studio one day and churn out logos and packaging designs for commercial use.

It’s been rewarding to see how design, and the thought processes related to it, can be used for less material purposes, such as helping people access and better understand important information that they might not be able to otherwise. The work we do has solidified my understanding of design as being primarily a tool to communicate clearly and efficiently with your audience.

You are a very talented designer – what are your favourite mediums to create with when you have free time?

Thank you! It’s been a while since I’ve worked on a large personal project, but it’s definitely something I’m going to try to make more time for. In the past, I’ve loved drawing in biro pen – it’s such a fun and vibrant medium.

I also love working on more crafty-type projects, often inspired by props I wish I could own from different facets of pop culture. My favourite being a set of replica ray guns from some My Chemical Romance music videos which I designed, laser cut and painted.

You just became a first-time homeowner with your sister – what are you looking forward to most?

It’s very exciting! I’m super keen to start decorating the space. My taste definitely differs from my sister’s, but it’ll be interesting finding a blend of the both of us. We can agree on two things though: some nerdy decor is a must and we’re not sure how we’re going to survive without our family dog!

Earlier this year you visited Sri Lanka to learn about your family history and culture. What were some of the highlights?

Where do you get your inspiration from when upcycling?

I’m a big music fan, and love going to concerts and gigs, so often I’ll be inspired by a particular artist, lyric or album when upcycling an item – usually to wear at a show but also something I’d enjoy wearing afterwards too. At the moment I mostly do surface level alterations (think fabric paint, bedazzling, messy hand stitching and screen printing), but I’m hoping to learn how to use the sewing machine properly so that I can go bigger and bolder with my upcycling ideas!