People

We are Studio Binocular.
Nice to meet you.

Approachable problem solvers
Our clients approach us with brand and communication problems, and together we work towards the best possible solution. Our approach is simple – we’re open minded, we work collaboratively and we’re genuinely willing to see things from someone else’s perspective. We believe the best answers come from asking the best questions, and we never presume to know more about you than you know about yourself.

Laura Cornhill
Creative Director

Laura partners with clients to articulate their business challenges – be they communication, perception or positioning – bringing clarity to the most complex of briefs. She has the vision and expertise to bring a fresh perspective and to develop design strategies which advance the creative direction of brands. She steers the team develop intelligent solutions which resonate with audiences and deliver tangible results.

Laura is committed to educating the next generation of designers, and gives back to the industry through speaking at industry events and participating on advisory panels. Her work has won numerous local and international awards, and she was nominated by Monash University’s ‘Affemation’ project as one of the 25 most influential women in Australian graphic design.

Susan Carew
Business Development & Strategy

Susan joined as Studio Binocular’s Studio Manager in 2011 – bringing a design background, experience in Melbourne and London, and account planning, production and project management skills.

In her role in Business Development and Strategy, Susan works on strategic planning for clients – ensuring the studio’s creative solutions are bang on their business objectives. Her experience enables her to balance empathy, practicality and optimism – and she is driven by the potential of design to bring about real change. Her insights are particularly focussed around our knowledge economy, working with universities, governments and industry leaders as they strive to innovate.

Richard Seyb
Design Director

As Design Director, Richard is responsible for strategic problem solving, design leadership and contributing his considerable insights to all briefs. Richard is comfortable working on a wide range of media – from traditional brand mediums, to complex executions in the digital realm and has helped to lead some of the studio’s major brand and digital projects.

Richard has a genuine passion and vision for creating stand out, market-leading brands – and his ambitious design approach balances sophistication with purpose, ensuring the best possible project outcomes. Brand experience includes FIFA, the Discovery Channel, ANZ, the City of Melbourne and the University of Melbourne.

Martine Smithies
Account Director

Martine is responsible for managing and overseeing projects from creative brief to final implementation, whilst ensuring that client briefs, timelines and budgets are met. She has managed creative and production teams to deliver integrated campaigns and major national rebrands, and brings a love of systems and processes to her role at Studio Binocular. Having worked across both agency and client marketing teams, Martine offers a holistic approach to her projects and clients, with a solid understanding on how to balance creative and production processes with client and stakeholder expectations.

Martine’s experience includes: Australian Super, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), Respect Victoria, Sustainability Victoria, IBAC, Little Group, University of Melbourne, Deakin University and the City of Melbourne.

Laura Cornhill
Creative Director

Laura partners with clients to articulate their business challenges – be they communication, perception or positioning – bringing clarity to the most complex of briefs. She has the vision and expertise to bring a fresh perspective and to develop design strategies which advance the creative direction of brands. She steers the team develop intelligent and inclusive solutions which resonate with audiences and deliver tangible results.

Laura is committed to educating the next generation of designers, and gives back to the industry through speaking at industry events and participating on advisory panels. Her work has won numerous local and international awards, and she was nominated by Monash University’s ‘Affemation’ project as one of the 25 most influential women in Australian graphic design.

Susan Carew
Business Development & Strategy

Susan joined as Studio Binocular’s Studio Manager in 2011 – bringing a design background, experience in Melbourne and London, and account planning, production and project management skills.

In her role in Business Development and Strategy, Susan works on strategic planning for clients – ensuring the studio’s creative solutions are bang on their business objectives. Her experience enables her to balance empathy, practicality and optimism – and she is driven by the potential of design to bring about real change. Her insights are particularly focussed around our knowledge economy, working with universities, governments and industry leaders as they strive to innovate.

Susan Carew
Business Development & Strategy

Susan joined as Studio Binocular’s Studio Manager in 2011 – bringing a design background, experience in Melbourne and London, and account planning, production and project management skills.

In her role in Business Development and Strategy, Susan works on strategic planning for clients – ensuring the studio’s creative solutions are bang on their business objectives. Her experience enables her to balance empathy, practicality and optimism – and she is driven by the potential of design to bring about real change. Her insights are particularly focussed around our knowledge economy, working with universities, governments and industry leaders as they strive to innovate.

Richard Seyb
Design Director

As Design Director, Richard is responsible for strategic problem solving, design leadership and contributing his considerable insights to all briefs. Richard is comfortable working on a wide range of media – from traditional brand mediums, to complex executions in the digital realm.

Richard has a genuine passion and vision for creating stand out, market-leading brands – and his ambitious design approach balances sophistication with purpose, ensuring the best possible project outcomes. Brand experience includes FIFA, the Discovery Channel, ANZ and the University of Melbourne.

Martine Smithies
Account Director

Martine is responsible for managing and overseeing projects from creative brief to final implementation, whilst ensuring that client briefs, timelines and budgets are met. She has managed creative and production teams to deliver integrated campaigns and major national rebrands, and brings a love of systems and processes to her role at Studio Binocular. Having worked across both agency and client marketing teams, Martine offers a holistic approach to her projects and clients, with a solid understanding on how to balance creative and production processes with client and stakeholder expectations.

Martine’s experience includes: Australian Super, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), Respect Victoria, Sustainability Victoria, IBAC, Little Group, University of Melbourne, Deakin University and the City of Melbourne.

Martine Smithies
Account Director

Martine is responsible for managing and overseeing projects from creative brief to final implementation, whilst ensuring that client briefs, timelines and budgets are met. She has managed creative and production teams to deliver integrated campaigns and major national rebrands, and brings a love of systems and processes to her role at Studio Binocular. Having worked across both agency and client marketing teams, Martine offers a holistic approach to her projects and clients, with a solid understanding on how to balance creative and production processes with client and stakeholder expectations.

Martine’s experience includes: Australian Super, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), Respect Victoria, Sustainability Victoria, IBAC, Little Group, University of Melbourne, Deakin University and the City of Melbourne.

Camilla Walker
Account Manager

Camilla began her career as a copywriter, writing for clients like Volkswagen and ME Bank. She switched to account management in 2013, honing her client service skills on the Zoos Victoria account, the Royal Academy of Engineering and Alzheimer’s Society in London, and as the publishing assistant at frankie press. Camilla brings her friendly and flexible approach to all projects at Studio Binocular, supporting our clients with a truly responsive account management service.

Nicolette Atkinson
Designer

Nicolette plays a pivotal role in developing high profile projects for a wide range of clients such as universities, local governments, peak bodies for health and arts organisations. Since joining in 2012, Nicolette has brought her thoughtful, concept-driven approach to some of the studio’s most significant documentation and publication projects, including the annual dKin magazine for Deakin University’s alumni. Nicolette brings extensive capabilities in developing design systems and a killer eye for detail. Her work has been recognised with an appearance in Touch Magazine; an AGIdeas New Star finalist award; and an AGDA award for Typography.

Sam Curcio
Designer

Sam’s design skills bring great value to Studio Binocular’s projects – from digital and print campaigns, to city-wide wayfinding signage programs to innovative B2B projects. Since joining in 2013, she has played a key role in the branding and collateral for events, festivals and launches, including Melbourne Music Week, Simply Brilliant and the Small Business Festival Victoria; as well as major benchmark projects for the Cities of Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. Sam has a positive, can-do attitude, and also has a penchant for illustration, and her work has been shown at Gallery1988 in LA.

Clara Yap
Designer

Clara joined our team in 2016, following the completion of her Honours year at Swinburne. She has since contributed to many of the core clients within the studio, across a broad range of projects. She has worked on integrated behaviour change campaigns, publications, physical activations, as well as extensive digital advertising and social media for clients such as Yarra Valley Water, City of Melbourne and the City of Yarra. Clara brings a considered, versatile and professional approach to all projects – and an ability to hand craft letterforms the way all designers dream of.

Camilla Walker
Account Manager

Camilla began her career as a copywriter, writing for clients like Volkswagen and ME Bank. She switched to account management in 2013, honing her client service skills on the Zoos Victoria account, the Royal Academy of Engineering and Alzheimer’s Society in London, and as the publishing assistant at frankie press. Camilla brings her friendly and flexible approach to all projects at Studio Binocular, supporting our clients with a truly responsive account management service.

Nicolette Atkinson
Designer

Nicolette plays a pivotal role in developing high profile projects for a wide range of clients such as universities, local governments, peak bodies for health and arts organisations. Since joining in 2012, Nicolette has brought her thoughtful, concept-driven approach to some of the studio’s most significant documentation and publication projects, including the annual dKin magazine for Deakin University’s alumni. Nicolette brings extensive capabilities in developing design systems and a killer eye for detail. Her work has been recognised with an appearance in Touch Magazine; an AGIdeas New Star finalist award; and an AGDA award for Typography.

Nicolette Atkinson
Designer

Nicolette plays a pivotal role in developing high profile projects for a wide range of clients such as universities, local governments, peak bodies for health and arts organisations. Since joining in 2012, Nicolette has brought her thoughtful, concept-driven approach to some of the studio’s most significant documentation and publication projects, including the annual dKin magazine for Deakin University’s alumni. Nicolette brings extensive capabilities in developing design systems and a killer eye for detail. Her work has been recognised with an appearance in Touch Magazine; an AGIdeas New Star finalist award; and an AGDA award for Typography.

Sam Curcio
Designer

Sam’s design skills bring great value to Studio Binocular’s projects – from digital and print campaigns, to city-wide wayfinding signage programs to innovative B2B projects. Since joining in 2013, she has played a key role in the branding and collateral for events, festivals and launches, including Melbourne Music Week, Simply Brilliant and the Small Business Festival Victoria; as well as major benchmark projects for the Cities of Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. Sam has a positive, can-do attitude, and also has a penchant for illustration, and her work has been shown at Gallery1988 in LA.

Clara Yap
Designer

Clara joined our team in 2016, following the completion of her Honours year at Swinburne. She has since contributed to many of the core clients within the studio, across a broad range of projects. She has worked on integrated behaviour change campaigns, publications, physical activations, as well as extensive digital advertising and social media for clients such as Yarra Valley Water, City of Melbourne and the City of Yarra. Clara brings a considered, versatile and professional approach to all projects – and an ability to hand craft letterforms the way all designers dream of.

Clara Yap
Designer

Clara joined our team in 2016, following the completion of her Honours year at Swinburne. She has since contributed to many of the core clients within the studio, across a broad range of projects. She has worked on integrated behaviour change campaigns, publications, physical activations, as well as extensive digital advertising and social media for clients such as Yarra Valley Water, City of Melbourne and the City of Yarra. Clara brings a considered, versatile and professional approach to all projects – and an ability to hand craft letterforms the way all designers dream of.

Blake Fullwood
Designer

Blake joined us in 2018, bringing with him nearly three years of experience in the community services space. Blake has proven to be an invaluable member of the team – with an enviable ability to solve unique communication challenges in a thoughtful and nuanced manner. Since joining our team, Blake has brought complex ideas to life across clients such as the Connected Cities Lab, The University of Melbourne, Polyglot Theatre, Her Place and the City of Melbourne.

Hannah Bacon
Designer

Our newest recruit, Hannah was a stand out graduate from Swinburne’s honours program – having gained insights from industry based learning programs with the likes of IBM, Orora Packaging, Telstra and the Australian Government. She gives back to the design community through teaching in the Bachelor of Design, and brings a refreshingly positive attitude to everything she touches. Working alongside Studio Binocular’s senior members, Hannah’s expertise includes illustration, publication design and digital campaigns.

Richard Seyb
Design Director

As Design Director, Richard is responsible for strategic problem solving, design leadership and contributing his considerable insights to all briefs. Richard is comfortable working on a wide range of media – from traditional brand mediums, to complex executions in the digital realm.

Richard has a genuine passion and vision for creating stand out, market-leading brands – and his ambitious design approach balances sophistication with purpose, ensuring the best possible project outcomes. Brand experience includes FIFA, the Discovery Channel, ANZ and the University of Melbourne.

Martine Smithies
Account Director

Martine is responsible for managing and overseeing projects from creative brief to final implementation, whilst ensuring that client briefs, timelines and budgets are met. She has managed creative and production teams to deliver integrated campaigns and major national rebrands, and brings this confident capability (and a love of systems and processes) to her role at Studio Binocular.

Martine’s client experience includes: Australian Super, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), Respect Victoria, Sustainability Victoria, IBACC and the Little Group.

Blake Fullwood
Designer

Blake joined us in 2018, bringing with him nearly three years of experience in the community services space. Blake has proven to be an invaluable member of the team – with an enviable ability to solve unique communication challenges in a thoughtful and nuanced manner. Since joining our team, Blake has brought complex ideas to life across clients such as the Connected Cities Lab, The University of Melbourne, Polyglot Theatre, Her Place and the City of Melbourne.

Hannah Bacon
Designer

Our newest recruit, Hannah was a stand out graduate from Swinburne’s honours program – having gained insights from industry based learning programs with the likes of IBM, Orora Packaging, Telstra and the Australian Government. She gives back to the design community through teaching in the Bachelor of Design, and brings a refreshingly positive attitude to everything she touches. Working alongside Studio Binocular’s senior members, Hannah’s expertise includes illustration, publication design and digital campaigns.

Hannah Bacon
Designer

Our newest recruit, Hannah was a stand out graduate from Swinburne’s honours program – having gained insights from industry based learning programs with the likes of IBM, Orora Packaging, Telstra and the Australian Government. She gives back to the design community through teaching in the Bachelor of Design, and brings a refreshingly positive attitude to everything she touches. Working alongside Studio Binocular’s senior members, Hannah’s expertise includes illustration, publication design and digital campaigns.

Richard Seyb
Design Director

As Design Director, Richard is responsible for strategic problem solving, design leadership and contributing his considerable insights to all briefs. Richard is comfortable working on a wide range of media – from traditional brand mediums, to complex executions in the digital realm.

Richard has a genuine passion and vision for creating stand out, market-leading brands – and his ambitious design approach balances sophistication with purpose, ensuring the best possible project outcomes. Brand experience includes FIFA, the Discovery Channel, ANZ and the University of Melbourne.

Martine Smithies
Account Director

Martine is responsible for managing and overseeing projects from creative brief to final implementation, whilst ensuring that client briefs, timelines and budgets are met. She has managed creative and production teams to deliver integrated campaigns and major national rebrands, and brings this confident capability (and a love of systems and processes) to her role at Studio Binocular.

Martine’s client experience includes: Australian Super, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), Respect Victoria, Sustainability Victoria, IBACC and the Little Group.

Martine Smithies
Account Director

Martine is responsible for managing and overseeing projects from creative brief to final implementation, whilst ensuring that client briefs, timelines and budgets are met. She has managed creative and production teams to deliver integrated campaigns and major national rebrands, and brings this confident capability (and a love of systems and processes) to her role at Studio Binocular.

Martine’s client experience includes: Australian Super, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), Respect Victoria, Sustainability Victoria, IBACC and the Little Group.