Innovation in design: Inside the work of senior designer Brooke Costello

08 Jul 2024

Senior Designer at Studio DB Brooke Costello brings a wealth of creativity and expertise to every project she undertakes. With a background in Spatial Design from AUT and a longstanding role at Studio DB, Brooke has been instrumental in many successful projects, including the acclaimed Ngāti Hine Health Trust Whānau Centre. Brooke shares insights into her career journey, daily responsibilities and the inspirations behind her remarkable designs. 

Tell us about your work and your role as a Senior Designer at Studio DB. 

At Studio DB we deliver an integrated, end-to-end, strategy, design and delivery office fit-out service. This means we work with clients from concept to completion and everything in between. This includes but is not limited to designing, preparing budgets, managing and building the project. 

As a Senior Designer, my role is to help win and maintain business by creating innovative workplace designs, pitching to clients, and supporting the design team at all stages of the design process. Due to our multi-disciplinary methodology, FUTUREPROOF. SUSTAINABLE. DELIVER.®, my role also involves working closely with our in-house estimators and project delivery team to ensure that projects run on time and to budget and deliver an exceptional design solution.  

Resene Seaweed, a deep green hue is used as an accent hue to emphasise spaces at the Ngāti Hine Health Trust. 

What has your career path been like to get you to this role? 

I studied Spatial Design at AUT and was fortunate enough to have one of the directors of Studio DB attend the 3rd Year Exhibition. After graduating, I joined Studio DB as an intern and quickly transitioned to a full-time designer. I’ve remained at Studio DB ever since and have enjoyed being part of an ever-growing team that continually strives for improvement and innovation in our designs and client solutions. 

What does a typical day look like for you?  

One of our values at Studio DB is agility and we display this value daily! We are a fast-paced business and juggle multiple projects at a time so flexibility is key as priorities can shift throughout the day. 

My daily tasks vary widely – from client presentations and team brainstorming sessions to selecting finishes and preparing documentation for consent and construction.  

“We wanted a green which would represent the dark green tones of the ngahere, Resene Seaweed brought the perfect amount of moodiness to the bathrooms and some feature walls throughout the space,” Brooke says. 

Can you tell me about your recent project, the Ngāti Hine Health Trust Whānau Centre, and the inspiration behind the design? 

Ngāti Hine Health Trust approached us to create a whānau centre on the lower level of their existing Whangarei offices, expanding theircommunity service offering, including a range of whānau meeting rooms, nurse consultation rooms and a hui space.  

Our design response was framed around the environment and its association with health and wellbeing:‘Te toto o te tangata he kai, te oranga o te tangata, he whenua, he oneone.’ (While food provides the blood in our veins, our health is drawn from the land and soil.) As tangata whenua (people of the land), Māori have a strong connection to the land and the natural environment, this connection is integral to the well-being of Māori. We sought to create a space that resonated with and was unique to, Ngāti Hine. We did this by embodying the natural surroundings of the rohe through colour, materiality, form, and art within the centre. Curved walls, screens, and flooring patterns were used to soften rooms and emulate the natural flows of the Taumarere awa, creating a welcoming and soothing atmosphere. 

Do you have a favourite project you have worked on? 

Ngāti Hine Health Trust is a special project for us. In 2023, it was recognised with a Bronze Pin at the Best Design Awards and was a finalist in the Interior Awards. What truly made it a favourite project of mine was the collaborative process with local Māori artists and the unique art pieces seamlessly integrated into the interior design.  

What is your favourite Resene colour?  

Selecting paint colours is very project dependant, as we usually have either brand colours to align with or a design concept to follow. Resene Seaweed was a fantastic choice for incorporating a deep green hue into the space at Ngāti Hine Health Trust. 

See more of the Ngāti Hine Health Trust online or get in touch with Studio DB here, [email protected].  

Published: 08 Jul 2024