Each year, PTK magazine — a publication of AZ Big Media — showcases the top people and projects to know in Arizona’s commercial real estate sector. Pulling from a competitive pool of nominations and the editorial board’s knowledge of the industry, this annual edition highlights 50 meaningful projects across all product types and influential professionals in 23 different categories. The digital sponsor of PTK magazine is Quarles. Over the coming days, meet the individuals making an outsized impact on the built environment. Here are the Arizona interior designers to know in 2026:
DEEPER DIVE: Read the latest issue of PTK magazine
Ashley Popich
Managing director
Background: With over 20 years of experience working across diverse markets, Popich has honed her ability to align design strategies with client visions, ensuring both aesthetic excellence and functionality.
Favorite project: INSIO at Kierland, which Popich and her team helped design. The development, located in one of the state’s most vibrant areas, blends modern design with functionality, creating an innovative and dynamic space.
Source of pride: Popich’s most significant career accomplishment was her promotion from Design Director to Managing Director of the Arizona office, followed by her expansion into overseeing the Florida office within just two years. She successfully steered both offices, implementing strategies that enhanced financial performance, improved client relations, and fostered a collaborative, results-driven office culture. Her ability to manage multiple offices, while attracting top talent and maintaining strong operational oversight, highlights her exceptional growth and dedication, positioning her as a key leader within the company.
Surprising fact: Popich is a global travel junkie, driven by her love for food and adventure. Her passion for exploring the world goes beyond typical tourist experiences; she seeks out thrilling, adrenaline-pumping activities. From swimming with sharks in exotic waters to paragliding off breathtaking mountain peaks, she embraces the excitement of new challenges. Her travels aren’t just about seeing new places—they’re about immersing herself in unique experiences that feed both her adventurous spirit and her love for diverse cultures and cuisines.
Avalyn Zizzo
Senior design project manager
Background: Originally from Malaysia, Zizzo is a multidisciplinary interior designer whose global background brings rich and unique design philosophy to her work. She began her career in commercial interior design in Kuala Lumpur, joining Phoenix Design One in 2018.
Source of pride: “Being trusted as part of PDO’s leadership team — something that allows me to train and help my colleagues grow and contribute to our company’s culture and success. It’s so fulfilling to watch team members find their place in the design world and know you’ve been a part of it — in the same way my mentors supported me when I was a newbie.”
Favorite project: “The Osborn Maledon corporate office redesign at Phoenix Plaza Tower 2. It was my first large set, with a massive central staircase, which made it quite the learning curve. But it was also challenging and exciting, and a great collaboration between our studio, the tenant, the general contractor and vendors.”
Surprising fact: “Boxing is my therapy. There’s something about the rhythm and focus that clears my mind and keeps me grounded.”
Chloe Friedman
Interior designer
Background: With a keen eye for detail and an innate sense of creativity, Friedman specializes in turning ordinary spaces into personalized sanctuaries that inspire, comfort, and authentically reflect the individuals who inhabit them.
Source of pride: “Completing 43,000 square feet of work from — schematic design through construction administration — during my first year at STG.”
Favorite project: “The Lath House Pavilion presents a striking contrast to its urban surroundings, blending historical architectural elements with modern functionality in the heart of downtown Phoenix. Set against the backdrop of the city’s evolving skyline, its historically inspired design highlights Phoenix’s architectural evolution and ongoing efforts to preserve its heritage amid rapid modernization. At the same time, the Pavilion serves contemporary needs as a communal gathering space, embodying a thoughtful bridge between the city’s past and present.”
Surprising fact: “I lived in the same house in New Orleans my entire life, weathering every hurricane that came our way, until I moved to Arizona for college.”
Erin Yi
Director of hospitality interiors, associate
Background: Having spent her childhood in South Korea, Yi brings a deep appreciation for global perspectives, multiculturalism and a love of travel to her work — fitting for a hotel designer.
Source of pride: “Growing our studio’s hospitality portfolio to include strong and diverse projects — from ground-up urban hotels, to large-scale resort renovations and strategic public space interior renovations — has been my most rewarding accomplishment. I find this satisfying not only because it has helped the practice expand in size and stature, but it has given more colleagues the opportunity to grow and succeed. This consistent growth and level of design excellence paved the way for our office to be named as the 2024 ‘TopID’ by our NEWH chapter and I am very proud of this accomplishment.”
Favorite project: “The Sheraton Phoenix Downtown hotel. RSP was the architect of record on the hotel back when it was first built in 2008, helping to really launch RSP as a hospitality practice. The project was a landmark for Downtown Phoenix, not only due to its size as the tallest hotel tower in Arizona at the time, but also the public-private-partnership strategy behind its inception. Fast forward to 2018, RSP was engaged again on the project, this time for a major renovation that became the flagship property for Marriott International to showcase their new Sheraton Brand globally.”
Surprising fact: “I moved from Korea to Georgia when I was 12 and learned English there. Sadly, my Southern accent faded within about two years of coming to Arizona, but I still use some phrases that garner a quizzical look or two.”
Layna Justice
Director of interior design
Background: Justice oversees every phase of interior design from concept to installation and stays at the forefront of evolving design standards, building codes and aesthetic trends.
Source of pride: Her rapid growth at LGE. Starting as an interior designer three years ago, Justice was quickly promoted to a director role. Since then, she has completed 45 projects and manages a portfolio of 27 active design and construction projects. She established and refined the interior design process to work seamlessly alongside architecture, elevating TI work beyond standard buildouts.
Favorite project: Justice’s favorite commercial real estate project in Arizona is the Rio Salado and Beach Park Master Plan. Having grown up in the state and attended ASU, the project holds a special personal connection for her. The idea began in the 1960s when architecture students at ASU, led by then-Dean James W. Elmore, sketched early concepts for the Rio Salado area. As a former design student herself, Justice relates to the excitement of seeing student ideas come to life.
Surprising fact: After graduating from ASU, she made a last-minute decision to study abroad in Prague for the summer. She pivoted quickly, choosing to live and intern at an architecture firm in Europe without any guarantee of a job waiting for her back in Arizona.
