Meet the designer behind our new KSWT set

The lights that sunsets in the desert southwest produce, the texture of the rocks in the desert and the beautiful landscapes.

These are the elements of the desert southwest that designer Julia Sampsel used to design the brand-new set for 13 On Your Side.

“Well since Yuma is a desert community I wanted to use some natural elements so one of the sets has some stones in it,” explains Julia Sampsel, owner of Simplified Home. “We still wanted the set to look very modern, we wanted to update it with clean simple colors but we wanted to think of the material that is in this environment and make it more local and make it feel like not any other set that is out there.”

Sampsel knew she wanted to be in design since she was young. The military spouse and mother of two children imagines that if she wasn’t designing the interiors of Yuma’s homes she would probably be at home ‘ mommying ‘ as she says.

A small business in North Carolina that was her own had to be uprooted from the east coast to the desert southwest after her husband was stationed in Yuma to fly the F-35’s.

Here in Yuma, she partnered with Master Finishes, a local contractor who was tasked with building the new sets for KSWT and sisters station KYMA .

A first for the local Yuma businesses, but not a challenge.

Sampsel said, “We have tried to do it a little more affordable and keep it local using items that are available here in Yuma.”

Some of those local businesses included CR Custom Cabinets who are responsible for building the anchor desks that will be displayed.

Designing the sets for both stations was something new for Sampsel, she wanted to design something that will bring KSWT into a new era of television as the local television broadcaster traded in an actual physical set for a digital set created on a green screen.

Not only is it exciting for 13 On Your Side, but it is also an exciting moment for the viewers at home as they will get to experience a whole new set with a brand-new anchor desk, new monitors, and a whole new look and feel to the way news is delivered to you every day.

Sampsel knows the importance of viewers getting a feeling of trust and familiarity when watching 13 On Your Side.

She explains the importance of having set, as every night when we “come into the [viewers] home they recognize what station they are watching.”