Design Your Life with Vince Frost (Vince Frost)

Not many people can say they grew up in an architecturally designed home furnished with modern classics featuring black lacquered ceilings and slides for transitioning between floors. 

Daniel Boddam can. He also spent weekends playing with architectural drawings and materials on the floor of his parents' studio, so it’s no surprise he’s established himself as one of Australia’s most sought-after high-end residential architects and furniture designers.  

These days he’s focussed on his new furniture showroom, due to open in Melbourne in the coming weeks, and using local materials in an effort to reduce the embodied carbon footprint of his work. 

Listen in as Vince and Daniel discuss being exposed to his mother’s colourful homeland Venezuela as a child, the first piece of furniture he fell in love with and the life-changing 'dark period’ in his life. 

https://danielboddam.com/ 

https://www.instagram.com/danielboddam/ 

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In the third instalment of the exclusive Australian Made series, Vince chats to Dr. Brandon Gien who is the Founder and CEO of Good Design Australia and Chair of Australia’s annual Good Design Awards. At a time of so much uncertainty in the world, the Australian Made series will focus on brilliant people here in Australia, celebrating designing and making local.

Good Design Awards, is the longest-running design award program in Australia with its origins dating back to the Industrial Design Council of Australia (IDCA) established in 1958.

Brandon has spent the past 25 years advocating for the value of design to improve our social, economic, cultural and environmental quality of life at a national and international level. 

Listen in as Vince and Brandon discuss how he got so heavily involved in design and his role in Good Design Australia as well as why Taiwan and Singapore are two surprising leaders in the design world. 

The pair also touch on the growing issue of AI, how developing countries have the highest potential for design and reiterated the importance of designers taking charge in the fight against climate change. 

Enjoy! 

Good Design Australia 

Design Your Life

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In the first instalment of the exclusive Australian Made series, Vince chats to Shelley Simpson the founder of Mud Australia. At a time of so much uncertainty in the world, the Australian Made series will focus on brilliant people here in Australia, celebrating designing and making local.

Mud Australia was founded in 1994. The porcelain range, designed by Shelley, combines handmade processes with clean lines, an array of mesmerising colour palettes & all without compromising functionality. The end result is a product that neatly intersects a minimalist aesthetic with an artisan finish. Their porcelain happily fits in any interior, providing a timeless alternative to mass produced ceramic design. Listen in as Vince and Shelley discuss the first bowl she ever made, how she launched her business through a government incentive scheme and her rise from selling her creations on the weekend at local markets to establishing Mud as an Australian ceramic icon.  

Every piece of Mud is handmade in their Marrickville Sydney studio using a highly nuanced and hands-on process. Through Shelley’s creative vision and sage business mind, Mud Australia has become an Australian design icon with stores across the world including Sydney, Melbourne, Los Angeles, New York and London.  The brand has organically attracted a high profile fanbase of chefs and celebrity names including Gwyneth Paltrow, Nigella Lawson and Bill Granger.

Enjoy! 

MUD Australia 

Design Your Life

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In the sixth episode of our Design Your Life Architecture Series - From Lego to Skyscrapers, Vince chats to renowned architect and long-time friend Neil Durbach, Director of Durbach Block Jaggers. 

Neil has designed some of Australia’s most unique and beautiful spaces, from Judith Neilson’s mysterious performance venue, Phoenix Central Park, to the famous Droga Apartment.  

He debates with Vince about whether simplicity makes good design, how growing up in South Africa during the Apartheid era influenced his career, and why sketching and collaboration builds a more creative world. 

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Architects are often drawn to designing buildings that are iconic because they’re incredibly sculptural or different. But it’s designing what he calls ‘Everyday Buildings’, and making them better, that makes this one tick. His firm believes it’s these background buildings that often make cities special. 

Paul Monaghan, who co-founded the incredibly successful architecture practice Allford Hall Monaghan Morris in 1989, is an internationally acclaimed architect whose work is focused on redefining the built environment. He’s the Liverpool City Region’s first Design Champion, advises government on how to promote high-quality design for cities and is a generous educator and speaker. He’s also committed to helping young and disadvantaged architects get a foot in the door. 

Listen in as Vince and Paul discuss; growing up in 60s Liverpool with his dad’s set squares in the living room when The Beatles were still around, the power of being able to sketch an architectural idea by hand, and the incredible task of working on the UKs House of Commons. 

https://www.ahmm.co.uk/ 

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As an architect, are you influenced by the environment you grew up in, even if your work looks vastly different to where you spent your formative years? John Pawson thinks so. He grew up in the north of England in the 1950s with his four sisters, playing with kids from houses around their family home. Despite being a master of minimalism, he grew up in a house that was quite the opposite. 

John Pawson CBE has spent over forty years making rigorously simple architecture. His work spans everything from London’s Design Museum to the Czech Republic’s Cistercian Monastery, Calvin Klein’s store on Madison Ave in New York and a range of private homes and the furnishings to go with them. His work is defined by the use of natural materials, a sensitivity to light and spare spaces that have a feeling of calm. 

At a turning point in his life as a young man, Pawson set off on a ‘round the world ticket with nothing to lose. His first stop was in Nagoya, where he had the idea to become a Buddhist monk. When that failed, he went to Tokyo and met Shiro Kuramata.  

Despite having no formal qualification as an architect, his accolades are many. They recognise his influence as one of the world’s leading architects. In 2007 he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his contribution to architecture in the UK. 

Listen in as Vince and John discuss knocking down walls to redesign Hester van Royen’s rented flat, the moment Calvin Klein turned up to his office unannounced in 1993 and how starting out can often feel painfully slow. 

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Next in our Architecture Series - From Lego to Skyscrapers, Vince speaks to industrial designers’ Henry Wilson and David Caon; friends turned co-founders of Laker Studio to design sustainable, functional objects for the home and workplace.

But how do you balance everyday function and sustainability when our needs for life constantly change? In this episode, they uncover the duo’s early encounters with design, and why understanding how we live day-to-day has helped them design sustainable objects for life.

From Wilson’s famous A-Joint joinery systems and his bespoke interiors for Aesop, to Caon’s time working with Marc Newson in Paris and his award-winning cabin interiors for the flagship Airbus A380 – the pair’s collaboration at Laker Studio has taken their practice to new depths.

Find out how deep they go.

https://www.henrywilson.com.au/

https://www.caonstudio.com/ 

https://www.laker.studio/

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Being in the business of helping people live healthier and happier is quite a goal, but the Alessandri brothers have done it. By elevating the importance of positive workplace culture in building their brand and products, they’ve found global successful. 

Pierluigi Alessandri is the Vice President and Co-founder of Technogym, one of the most successful wellness and innovation businesses in the world. Pierluigi emphasises, it’s the people on the team and their passion who make the business what it is today. 

When he and his brother and business partner Nerio started the business in 1983, they never could have imagined they’d be the Official Supplier of the Olympic Games for eight consecutive games, since Sydney in 2000. Or that Wellness, a concept introduced to the world by Nerio ten years later, would dominate the zeitgeist for years to come. 

Listen in as Vince and Pierluigi discuss designing exercise equipment that is seen as art, starting a brand and $3.2B global business out of their garage, and what it feels like to have more than 50 million people using your products every day.  

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Designing gratitude to create social and economic change.

Being thankful can change our entire perspective on the world. It has been proven to improve not only mental health, but physical health too. Most importantly, it is a powerful motivator to get people to take action. And action is what’s needed in our modern world. 

Kim McDonnell is a social impact innovator, futurist, entrepreneur, speaker and author whose focus is on shifting mindsets to create social and economic change. With her global impact organisation, Thankful, she’s promoting gratitude to make real change for a more sustainable, equitable and happy world.  

It hasn’t been an easy ride. After 25 years working for leading advertising and marketing agencies such as Leo Burnette and Publicis Worldwide, and founding her own award-winning data business CUBED Communications, in 2013 she turned her family’s life upside down. Unable to get funding for what is now a very successful social impact organisation, she gave up what would universally be seen as a very success life. She sold everything - her homes and her business - and took the kids out of school to start again. They moved from Sydney to New York in pursuit of a more meaningful life. It was worth it. Just ask the United Nations. 

Listen in as Vince and Kim discuss selling everything to start again, trademarking the word ‘thankful’ globally and why being thankful has been proven to be good for our mental and physical health. 

https://www.thankful.org/

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Is it possible for businesses to balance their responsibilities to people and the planet, while also making a profit?

As the CEO of B Lab Australia and New Zealand, Andrew Davies’ job is to help corporations transform and grow in terms of environmental and social factors, without sacrificing their bottom line. And it’s not just about a management ethos, it’s about the seismic changes happening in our world and businesses of all shapes and sizes realising their current model may not survive the next ten years.

In this first episode of our Design for Good series, focused on some of the incredible people running B Corps around the world, Davies explains how businesses become B Corp certified, and why this isn’t a trend.

Listen in as Vince and Andrew deep dive into the birth of corporations, how Patagonia have done it right, and consider the question – could Coca Cola ever become B Corp certified? 

https://www.bcorporation.com.au/ 

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Having one of your designs in the permanent collection of the V&A in London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York sets the tone for someone who’s been hugely successful in their career. A design icon, some might say.

Bill Amberg is one of the most highly regarded leather workers in the world. So, it’s a shock to learn he flunked out of school to take a job on an oil rig in his teens. His passion for leatherwork began thanks to his architect mother who would bring home cobblers’ offcuts from the town he grew up in – Northampton – known as the centre of leather and shoemaking in Britain. 

Amberg credits the moment he walked into Paul Smith’s first store in Covent Garden in the 80s and the fashion designer immediately bought his leather bags for the shop as a turning point in his career. His work in architecture and interiors grew alongside his hugely successful accessories business and is now the focus of Bill Amberg Studio. Today he supports young practitioners from a wide range of skilled crafting backgrounds to become successful businesspeople themselves. 

Listen in as Vince and Bill discuss working in the creative industries in London in the 90s, the sustainability of leather and how his famous Rocket Bag came to be. 

https://www.billamberg.com/ 

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Next in our Architecture Series - From Lego to Skyscrapers, Vince speaks to Studio Bright Director Melissa Bright. 

For every residential, civic and educational project, Melissa and her team blend heritage with innovation. From the award-winning Ruckers Hill House to 8 Loftus Lane at Sydney’s new Quay Quarter, Studio Bright are helping shape our cities for generations to come. 

In this episode, Mel explains how every space has a lasting impact on our future cities, and why designing with optimism can take architecture to new heights.  

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DYL X D&AD Impact series with Wood Pencil Winners – Meet Q

In the fourth instalment of our exclusive series with D&AD, Vince chats with Emil Asmussen the creator of Meet Q, the world’s first genderless voice for AI.

The project was launched alongside Copenhagen Pride and has since received immense global coverage from the BBC, Fox News, The Guardian, The World Economic Forum and was even selected as a research partner for the UN Women program.

Many of us are unaware that gender bias has long been engrained within society and technology companies are only further cementing this issue through the placement of specific voices for different roles. Meet Q is an example of what the future holds if we break down gender stereotypes; a future of ideas, inclusion, positions and diverse representation in technology.

Listen in as Vince and Emil discuss navigating the intricacies of creating a genderless voice from design, narrative to physical construction and how despite the immense praise there was some backlash from an unlikely source, right wing conspiracy movement QAnon.

The pair also touch on the difference in creative journey when a project is self-initiated and when it is client led.

Enjoy!

Meet Q - The Genderless Voice - D&AD

Emil Asmussen

Design Your Life

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Landing a job at the London architecture firm you idolise right out of college is a good sign for any young architect, particularly one from another country. Landing the Great Court at the British Museum as your first project is another. Any architect starting out with these two achievements under their belt would wonder, ‘Where to from here?’

Daniel Goldberg is known for his progressive approach to designing from the inside out, with a focus on spatial theory and anthropology. His childhood interests of art and the technical aspects of how things are built have evolved into a wildly successful architectural career focused on the psychology of the way people want to live. 

As Founder and Principal at State of Craft – the multi-disciplinary global design studio famous for their integrated approach to architecture and interiors – he’s worked on some incredible projects including The Shard residences in London and One Sydney Harbour. He’s won the John Barrett Award, was nominated Young Engineer of the Year in 1999 and has had his work published in leading design magazines around the world including Wallpaper, Detail and Architectural Digest. 

Listen in as Vince and Daniel discuss what he learnt in his formative years working for Sir Norman Foster, why designing a yacht is akin to designing a small world, and Edward Hall’s 1960s science of proxemics spatial psychology theory. 

https://www.stateofcraft.co.uk/ 

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Vince Frost speaks to one of the most daring, most colourful and most awarded interior designers, Yasmine Ghoniem. 

As one of Vogue Living’s top 50 creatives, her new interior design studio, YSG, is shaping some of Australia’s boldest residential and hospitality spaces. One year in, and it’s already won big at the 2020 Australian Interior Design Awards.

In the latest Design Your Life - From Lego to Skyscrapers episode, Yasmine talks to Vince about using her Middle Eastern heritage, creative confidence and passion for performance to break traditional moulds, and how sculpting the experience of space has a lasting impact on the design of people’s lives.

Expect the unexpected.

https://ysg.studio/ 

https://designyourlife.com.au/ 

https://www.frostcollective.com.au/

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DYL X AGI

I am excited to kick off our exclusive series between Design Your Life and Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI) with Danish born Typeface Designer Henrik Kubel the president of AGI, UK.

Henrik is a founding partner of A2/SW/HK & A2-TYPE, an independent design and Typography studio established in London in 2000. The studio specialises in Design, Art Direction and Typeface Design and works internationally with a wide range of clients including us.

He has designed fonts for the likes of The New York Times Magazine, Moscow Metro, Aperture Magazine, LinkedIn, Instagram and Google.

In this unconventional interview I run through a number of topics which Henrik holds near and dear from the similarity between athletics and typeface, his unrequited love for his cat to why he no longer drinks alcohol.

We delve into the significance of print media, why language and letters are so fascinating and penultimately why we all must be positive and enjoy every little aspect of life.

Enjoy!

A2-TYPE

A2/SW/HK

Design Your Life

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Ep 3 of the exclusive 'The Brief is You' series with Vince Frost and Prof. Joel Pearson.

In the third episode of ‘The Brief is You’, Vince and Joel discuss some helpful strategies to make your mind and body more resilient with the ultimate goal of improving your wellbeing. The pair explore the three pillars of wellbeing; sleep, exercise and diet and how making minor changes such as anchoring rhythms and timing the consumption of that glass of wine or bowl of ice cream can have hugely rewarding effects on your physical and mental health. 

This time, the brief is you. Learn from Australia’s leading expert on the brain on how you can take off in 2021, learning how to understand and harness your mind and creativity whilst designing your life.

To ensure you are the best version of yourself in 2021, we have partnered with Cognitive Neuroscience Professor Joel Pearson, to dissect how our brains work and what you can do take control of yours this year. Prof. Pearson is an internationally recognised leader in human consciousness research and applied cognitive neuroscience currently developing new methods to measure dimensions of the human experience previously thought to be immeasurable including creativity, imagination, memory, entrepreneurship, intuition and decision–making. 

Prof. Pearson is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of New South Wales, a National Health and Medical Research Council fellow and founder of UNSW Future Minds Lab, MindX and Agile Science. 

https://www.profjoelpearson.com/ 

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Welcome to the 3rd and final episode of the exclusive Design Your Life x Alliance Graphique Internationale series. In this episode Vince chats with Marina Willer, the first female partner at Pentagram London.

Marina is a graphic designer and film-maker with an MA from the Royal College of Art. Marina has led the design of major identity schemes for Tate, Amnesty International, Oxfam and most recently, the Opera Ballet of Flandres.

A talented film-maker, Marina’s first feature film, ‘Red Trees’, premiered at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and was released worldwide by Netflix. A personal story of her family’s escape from the Nazi occupation of Prague to start a new life in Brazil.

Listen in as Vince and Marina chat about the eeriness of the current digital landscape we find ourselves in, why being present and finding inspiration in everything is so important.

The pair also delve into the value of perseverance, the inspiration for her film ‘Red Trees’ and her love for film-making and the diversity of up and coming designers.

Enjoy! 

Marina Willer - Pentagram 

AGI

Design Your Life

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How much do the environments we inhabit impact our health and wellbeing? And does our emotional state impact our physical health?

Dr. Esther Sternberg is internationally recognised for her discoveries in the science of the mind-body interaction in illness and healing, and the role of place in wellbeing. She is a pioneer and major force in collaborative initiatives on mind-body-stress-wellness and environment interrelationships. 

Her inspirational and popular books — there are three, the latest ‘WELL at WORK: Creating Wellbeing in Any Workspace’ has just been released — are backed by science and are changing the way we design public and private places for people.

Dr. Sternberg’s list of achievements is extensive. She’s advised the World Health Organization and the Vatican, and briefed high level U.S. Federal Government officials. She’s also moderated a panel with the Dalai Lama and been recognized by the National Library of Medicine as one of the women who ‘Changed the Face of Medicine’. She has authored over 240 scholarly articles and edited 10 technical books on the topic of brain-immune connections and design and health. 

Her two decades-long research with the U.S. General Services Administration, using wearable devices to track health and wellbeing in the built office environment, is informing healthy design standards for workplaces in the public and private sectors around the world. 

Listen in as Vince and Dr. Sternberg discuss immersive reality nature recharge rooms, being one of only ten girls in a class of 110 at medical school and the best prescription for a healthy building. 

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In the 80s, Stiff Records, the British independent Punk Rock and New Wave record label, had an open-door policy. You could walk in and pick up posters, stickers and pin badges most days of the week.

Jeremy Leslie was one of the kids doing just that. He’d catch the bus over to Notting Hill from the London College of Design to visit the shop. Originally, he was there for the music, but it was the storytelling in the design that made a lasting impression.

Leslie is an internationally recognised creative who’s been making magazines for over four decades. He’s also the founder of magCulture, the iconic London magazine shop. After having his eyes opened to the world of design by a thoughtful art teacher, he’s gone on to art direct quarterlies, monthlies and weeklies, and spent the noughties developing award-winning magazines at John Brown Publishing.

He’s written four books about editorial design, and in 2018 was awarded the Mark Boxer Award by the British Society of Magazine Editors for services to the magazine industry.

Listen in as Vince and Jeremy discuss the legendary English graphic artist Barney Bubbles, their favourite magazines of the 90s (The Face and i-D), and how the independent print scene has been empowered by digital and the internet. 

https://magculture.com/ 

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This is the second episode of the (Re)Design Your Life series which will explore how the lives of individuals across the globe are getting on, how their lives have changed, what their coping mechanisms are and insights into what the future holds for us.

In this episode, Vince chats with Sarah Wilson the author of I Quit Sugar about how her career as a journalist, best selling author and social activist, prepared her for the COVID-19 experience.

Sarah began her extremely successful career with News Corp where she quickly became the magazines youngest opinion columnist at the age of 24. By 29, she was appointed as Editor of Cosmopolitan magazine, before moving onto to host the first season of MasterChef in 2009. To this day it is the most watched show in Australian history.

Sarah touches on the current worldwide situation saying “for anyone who is out there, working at home and is used to working in an office environment where you are guided by meetings and various things which tell you what to do next, accept and acknowledge that is a real adjustment. It is not a bad adjustment thought. I say, game one. Let’s see what the hell comes out of this”.

Along with her expert advice, Sarah also shares her tips and inner thoughts as how to repurpose your anxiety to unlock and channel creativity, finding your purpose and navigating the uncertain.

Sarah Wilson

Design Your Life

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The Australian art scene has dramatically evolved over the past decade. A place that was once seen as belonging to wealthy collectors has opened up to absolutely anyone who is interested and inspired. ‘Front page news’, once dedicated to sport, has recognised the important place of art in our everyday lives. 

Kym Elphinstone is the Founder and CEO of Articulate, Australia’s leading communications consultancy for culture and the arts. She’s represented many of Australia’s biggest cultural institutions including the National Gallery of Australia, Carriageworks and the Powerhouse Museum through to more than 12 temporary public art projects for John Kaldor as well as grass-roots festivals and art fairs platforming emerging artists. She’s had a major impact on the profile of the arts in this country. 

She cites her background in law as a formative experience but one that didn’t offer the creativity she yearned for. In London in the early 2000s, she realised she needed to pursue her first love: the arts. After moving to Sydney, she soon took up a role at the MCA, and a few years later found herself starting her own business with the Biennale of Sydney as her first client. 

Listen in as Vince and Kym discuss the difference between art and design, why it’s important to only work with people and on projects you believe in, and public art as placemaking. 

https://articulatepr.com.au/ 

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All creatives suffer from some level of self-doubt, imposter syndrome or lack of inspiration. It’s unavoidable. The good news is, it’s possible to harness our feelings of inadequacy and turn them into something useful. 

Richard Holman is a creative, author and speaker who believes creativity is one of the most valuable qualities humans have. He’s dedicated the past few decades to helping people feel more confident creatively, so they can come up with better ideas. 

After 20 years working on brands such as the BBC, Discovery and National Geographic, he now spends his time coaching, hosting masterclasses, speaking, writing and podcasting to inspire creativity. In his recently published book, ‘Creative Demons and How to Slay Them’, he does just this. 

In this second episode in our Fit-ish series Vince and Maria Briganti, Creative Director of Frost*collective’s Environments team, chat with Richard about all things creative. Tune in as they discuss why it’s best to delay evaluation and continue with creation, how bad ideas can lead to places of originality and hacks for the most common creative demons. 

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Music has a powerful impact on our emotions, and can amplify what we're experiencing in a way we’re often not aware of. When watching a film, sometimes we don’t perceive the music, but it's there. Impacting our emotions. Elevating our feelings. Music can help set the scene for a time period. And when you really know your stuff, you can make the audience tingle by allowing a hip-hop beat to invade the world of Elvis. 

Anton Monsted is Head of Music at Amazon Original Movies and has worked with some of the biggest names in music and film including Herbie Hancock, Jay-Z and George Doering. But he’s most famous for his work with Australian director Baz Luhrmann, who he most recently collaborated with on the hit biographical music drama Elvis. 

Monsted’s career trajectory is almost the stuff of movies, he was the boyfriend with time on his hands on the set of Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet in 1996. When he realised there was a place for him there, he set about advertising himself internally while painting the walls. Before long Baz asked him to put down the paint brush and pick up a research folder. He became Leonardo DiCaprio’s assistant on the shoot, got involved in the music, and his path began to unfold, leading to his first Music Supervisor credit on Moulin Rouge! all while in his early 20s. 

Listen in as Vince and Anton discuss translating 1920s jazz into hip hop with Jay-Z, why listening to music is like being in the company of an old friend and designing music to guide an emotional response. 

Anton's Spotify playlists: 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1jq8MQrr4kE9hLeBxsKVRi?si=5049970f8f50494e

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6rDWdtbFDXXcmjE1ejzn0T?si=54ab5efde6c54676

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5HDyNVBazSvCbFEAd6VgI6?si=5475e73e3e51411a

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1YbHA0Wm2TxJOww4DZXfdp?si=462ca069b75e49a0

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6r5f4eN4wjZ6MnrRNF2m2x?si=5761b563f0ed4f2b

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/72EpYQvlrUXpmR4mNgudXC?si=d034930a3bf24589

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The media landscape has changed dramatically over the past decade. One person who has lived through the changes with her dream job intact is Katrina Strickland.

The journalist and author is editor of one of Australia’s most widely-read magazines, Good Weekend, which appears in print and online every Saturday in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. After realising that the law career she’d studied for didn't float her boat, Strickland secured a cadetship in the business section of Melbourne's Herald Sun. Later, she transitioned to covering and editing the arts before moving into magazines, first at The Australian Financial Review, where she edited its monthly glossy magazine for three years, and then, six and a half years ago, to Good Weekend. For someone whose father warned her, when she said she wanted to be a journalist, that, “many journalists are alcoholic no-hopers”, her determination and consistency has paid off.

In 2013 her book, Affairs of the Art, about the role those left behind play in burnishing a late artist's reputation, was published by Melbourne University Publishing. Today, her gratitude for and commitment to a career she considers a huge privilege show no signs of slowing down. 

Listen in as Vince and Katrina discuss why human stories make for the most-loved content, the brutal pace of working on a weekly publication, and what can happen in the black window between when you go to print and when your publication comes out in the world.

https://www.smh.com.au/good-weekend 

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When your work takes you outside the boundaries of our atmosphere, the Earth and her limits come into sharp focus.

James Chin Moody is co-founder and CEO of Sendle, a 100% carbon neutral technology company and major disruptor revolutionising parcel delivery around the globe.

Born into a family of engineers on his father’s side — he’s named after his great-great-uncle, who built the Sydney Harbour Bridge — and artists on his mother’s, he possesses the unique and powerful combination of a mind that’s both mathematical and creative.

As an Engineering and IT graduate he landed the job of Chief Systems Engineer for FedSat, the first Australian satellite to be launched in 30 years, and has held influential positions with the CSIRO and UNESCO.

A recognised expert on innovation, sustainability and the circular economy, he is the co-author of The Sixth Wave: How to Succeed in a Resource-Limited World, published in 2010.

Listen in as Vince and James discuss how his experience as a Satellite Engineer helped form his relationship to space and sustainability, becoming the first tech B Corp in Australia and the importance of purpose for shaping the businesses of the future. 

https://www.sendle.com/ 

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In episode 28 of the Design Your Life Podcast Vince chats with Paul Frasca, a passionate hairdresser and determined environmentalist who alongside his partner Ewelina Soroko have created the innovative and hugely successful recycling business, Sustainable Salons Australia.

The program collects up to 95% of the salon’s waste bin and repurposes it in various ways such as using hair for the making of wigs, utilising pet hair to help clean oil spills or turning old salon bottles into fashionable sunglasses.

What started out in the garage of his parent’s house has now grown into a nationally focused venture which to date has collected more than 90,000 ponytails that have then been repurposed for cancer and alopecia sufferer. Additionally, over 125,000 kg of metals have been diverted from landfill and in excess of 100,000 meals have been provided to homeless people through recycling proceeds.

Paul shares how it all began, what’s been achieved and where they’re heading. He also touches on some key business tips in championing a new age of consumer decision making and even throws in a few tips on hair!

Enjoy!

Next episode we will begin our exclusive 6-part collaborative series with some of the D&AD Impact and Future Impact award winners. Each episode will deep dive into a winning projects process, drivers and process behind creating positive change for the world and its inhabitants. 

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In some families, the parents’ DNA instructs so clearly the way their children think and work that it’s impossible to deny the familial impact. Jason Bruges is the product of just this. His dad was a software and computer engineer, and his mother a trained artist. Both influenced where and how he came to be a multidisciplinary artist and designer.

His eponymous Jason Bruges Studio is internationally renowned for creating interactive spaces and surfaces that sit between the world of architecture, site specific installation art and interaction design. Considered a pioneer of this hybrid in-between space, Jason has subsequently paved the way for a new genre of design studios, artists and designer-makers.

After graduating from Oxford Brookes University in London, Jason borrowed £1,000 from his dad for an airline ticket and flew to Hong Kong to meet his grandfather at the airport. He’d only met him a handful of times before. Within weeks he had a job offer from the famed architect Norman Foster. This later led to his role at the groundbreaking brand experience agency, Imagination back in London, where his work on the Millenium Dome was considered an early example of interaction design. It was soon after, in 2002, that Jason created his own studio.

Listen in as Vince and Jason discuss how being noticed by Tom Dixon helped him start his studio, the influence of Jean Nouvel’s animated façades, and designing a hotel lobby in 2002 that changed colour based on the clothes of guests passing through.

https://www.jasonbruges.com/ 

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Hurricane Katrina and the Northern Rivers Floods may have happened over a decade apart and on opposite sides of the world. But the disasters have a lot in common. New Orleans and Lismore found themselves caught in the eye of the storm when the cities, both located for prosperity around a major waterway but on compromised ground, were inundated by water and devastated in the process. 

The other thing these disasters have in common are Elizabeth Mossop and Dan Etheridge. The academics met in New Orleans at a two-day symposium called ‘Reinhabiting NOLA’ in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Mossop was instrumental in the creation of the Coastal Sustainability Studio at Louisiana State University, a multi-disciplinary research laboratory that has been profoundly influential in the direction of Louisiana’s efforts in resilience planning and design. Etheridge worked for Tulane University helping to establish applied research coastal restoration programs.

The two clicked and stayed in close contact, but they could never have imagined they’d end up working together, using their research and experiences in New Orleans to help plan a thriving future for Lismore following the floods. Together, at Living Lab Northern Rivers, they’re doing just that.

Listen in as Vince, Elizabeth and Dan discuss; how growing up with science-obsessed fathers shaped them, experiencing New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and why we need to do things fundamentally differently to thrive in our changing world. 

https://www.llnr.com.au/ 

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In the fifth instalment of the exclusive Australian Made series, Vince chats to Khai Liew a multi-disciplinary designer based in Adelaide. At a time of so much uncertainty in the world, the Australian Made series will focus on brilliant people here in Australia, celebrating designing and making local.

The next guest is one of the shinning lights in Australian furniture design. Immigrating from Malaysia to South Australia in the 70’s Khai Lew’s early career in product design was heavily shaped by his fathers love for danish furniture. Developing the skills learnt from Germanic cabinet makers Khai quickly became a master of woodwork and design. Fast forward to today and Khai has been commissioned to create every piece of furniture in Judith Neilson’s Sydney home, Indigo Slam and even to create one off pieces for Louis Vuitton stores across the world.

Liew is widely recognised for his dedicated contribution to the development of a modernist Australian design aesthetic. In 2010 he was awarded the South Australian of the Year Arts Award by the Government of South Australia, in 2016 he was inducted into the Design Institute of Australia Hall of Fame, acknowledging his important contribution to the Australian design landscape. In 2017, he received the Design Institute of Australia’s “Design Icon” Award, and in 2018, Liew was recognised as a Design Luminary at the INDE awards in Singapore.

Listen in as Vince and Khai discuss the influence of Germanic migrant culture in South Australia in the 70’s, why his father has always been his biggest critic and which material is his preference.

The pair also dive into Khai’s design and build process and what the future holds for him and his practice.

Enjoy!

Khai Liew

Design Your Life

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When we think of life on earth in the context of the universe, being human can seem absurd. That’s what British artist and illustrator Paul Davis thinks. When he was 17, growing up in Somerset in England, his father died suddenly. But he’d already taught him everything he needed to know about space, time and human existence. 

Davis’ sometimes controversial work has been widely published and exhibited. He’s regularly commissioned by international broadsheets and magazines, has created animated idents for BBC Radio 4, and his handwriting has been used in animated adverts for American Express. 

The artist’s craft is born from a deep curiosity about the idiocy and beauty of being alive. And a compulsion to make art as a form of therapy. He doesn’t just want to make art. He has to. And he’s not shy about being satirical. Despite a long battle with alcoholism (he’s been sober for over six years), his work has made him a London icon. 

Listen in as Vince and Paul discuss his experience of alcoholism and thoughts on AA, drawing Trump giving himself a blow job, and how to know when you’ve pushed it too far. 

https://www.instagram.com/paulcopyrightdavis/ 

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For the final episode in our Architecture Series – From Lego to Skyscrapers, Vince speaks with the profoundly significant architect, Karl Fender.  

As an avowed urbanist who loves life in the city, Karl and his firm Fender Katsalidis are responsible for designing some of Australia’s most groundbreaking buildings – from Eureka Tower, Australia 108 and Hobart’s daring MONA gallery to the Merdeka 118 mega skyscraper in Kuala Lumpur. 

 
Vince and Karl explore how an adventurous childhood and early apprenticeship with Robin Boyd shaped his practice, the white lie that shifted his remarkable career, and why apartments mark the future of urban living. 

https://fkaustralia.com/

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How do you recognise a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a moment you can’t put a price on, right at the time it’s happening? How do you know when a twist of fate is pushing you in the right direction? And how do you access the clarity and confidence to put the thing you love before everything else?

Spencer Frost is a multi-award-winning film maker whose 2021 film A Corner of the Earth - an experimental surf adventure set on the rugged, remote and often dangerous coastlines of Iceland - has won accolades around the world.

At 26, he’s found what he wants to do with his life. A blessing he doesn’t take for granted. Among his many achievements he counts BBC Earth, National Geographic and RED BULL Media House as just a few of his clients.

In this latest episode in our Tide for Change series, tune in as Vince chats to Spencer about a near-death experience in the Arctic, fighting to protect Australia’s coastline, and why he spends more time in the water than on land. 

http://www.frostfilms.com.au/ 

https://www.surfrider.org.au/stop-pep-11/  

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Having a knock-out creative career five decades long is one thing. Setting up a charity to inspire the same creativity in the next generations is another. But the iconic British design duo, who are also husband and wife - Sir John Sorrell CBE and Lady Frances Sorrell CBE - have done just that.

Frances and John started their lives in design both aged of 14 when, in different parts of London, they attended free Saturday morning classes at their local colleges of art and design. Neither were from well-off families. John had never been to an art gallery and most of his peers were dropping out of school aged 15 to get jobs. The experience was a revelation that paved the way for full-time study and their careers in design. It was also the prime motivation for the formation of the Sorrell Foundation in 1999 with the aim of inspiring creativity in young people to change their lives and make the world a better place.

After meeting through work, the Sorrell’s launched their now legendary design studio, Newell and Sorrell, in 1976. They’ve redesigned some of the UKs most high-profile organisations, including British Airways, The BBC and the Royal Mail. After 25 years in business, they sold to Omnicom, and have spent the past 25 working to give young people pathways to higher education in the creative industries.

Their achievements and accolades are too long to list. John is co-founder and chairman of London Design Festival and co-founder of London Design Biennale and is a UK Business Ambassador, appointed by successive prime ministers to help promote Britain’s creative industries abroad. John was appointed CBE in 1996, was awarded the Royal Society of Arts Bicentenary Medal in 1998 and holds numerous honorary fellowships and degrees. John was awarded a knighthood in the 2008 New Year Honours List for services to the creative industries.

Frances is a tour de force in her own right. She is Chancellor of the University of Westminster, London, has Honorary Fellowships from the Royal Institute of British Architects, Falmouth University, Hereford College of Arts and Plymouth College of Art. She holds Honorary Doctorates from the Open University, Coventry University and University for the Creative Arts, and has been a visiting Professor at University of the Arts London. As Creative Director at Newell and Sorrell she won over a hundred awards for creativity and effectiveness.

Listen in as Vince, Sir John and Lady Frances Sorrell discuss; cold calling BP fresh out of art school and designing their exhibition stand at the Paris Air Show six weeks later, growing up on the same working-class council estate as Rod Stewart, and why you have to put your money where your mouth is if you really believe in something. 

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Children of immigrants are often hard workers; they’re under pressure to live up to their parents’ dreams. And it’s often thought that creativity and hard work don’t go hand in hand.

Jean Lin has proven quite the opposite. Growing up in Massachusetts she was aware she came from a different place to her friends. But she credits her different upbringing, one focused on valuing family, hard work, integrity, with her success.

Lin is the founder and gallerist of the downtown NYC design gallery and studio Colony. The designer’s co-op in Tribeca that’s changing the way New Yorkers shop for their interiors. With Colony, her goal is to support and foster independent designers and makers. Unlike traditional galleries, who take a 40% commission, her model is based on a monthly co-op fee (to cover the rent) and a small 15% commission. Then there’s The Designers’ Residency, an incubator program that mentors the next generation of young designers. She’s also authored a book, ‘What We Keep’, published by Abrams last year. It offers advice from artists and designers on the joy and benefits of living with the things you love.

Lin originally moved to New York to train as a fashion designer at Parsons School of Design. She always knew she didn’t quite fit in with the fashion set. It was when she landed on her love for art and design more broadly that her career really started to sing. Fast forward to today and she has taught at Parsons, and guest lectured everywhere from Rhode Island School of Design to Pratt Institute and Tama Art University in Tokyo to name just a few.

Listen in as Vince and Jean discuss working on J Lo’s fashion brand, having the transformative realisation that design is literally everything around us and why it’s better value to buy it once and buy it well.

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Sustainability, equality, and connection to country in contemporary Australian architecture are often spoken about. Commonly they’re thought of as nice add-ons. But shouldn’t they be integral to the design process, right from the start? 

Adam Haddow is a globally recognised architect, and Director at SJB, one of the most highly regarded architecture practices in Australia. He has and continues to play a major role in designing the future of Sydney, and particularly loves taking on projects he can walk to from his studio in Surry Hills.

Adam describes himself a context-based architect and is interested in designing buildings to fit in with the fabric of their environment. Recognised as a thought-leader in mixed-use design, his buildings embody ambitions of beauty, delight, joy and surprise. 

Listen in as Vince and Adam discuss sustainability and connection to country in architecture, thinking in three dimensions, and knowing he wanted to be an architect at age six. 

This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at Paramount House in Sydney to celebrate the launch the new brand the team at Frost*collective designed for Eco Outdoor. 

https://www.ecooutdoor.com.au/ 

https://sjb.com.au/ 

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Buckminster Fuller and Cedric Price were mentors when Peter Murray OBE was studying architecture in the 1960s. Peter Cook and the Archigram Group were idols, “they were the Beatles of architecture at the time”. Not a bad selection of teachers for someone interested in the craft from the age of ten. 

Since then, Murray has had a huge impact on shaping the city of London. Although he qualified as an architect, he didn’t become one. His calling was to carve out a huge career writing about and promoting it. He founded the design and architecture magazine Blueprint and the global communications company Wordsearch. And curated major exhibitions at the Royal Academy in London. He also started the London Festival of Architecture - now a significant annual event in the cultural life of the capital. 

Murray has written and published books about architecture, been a Mayor's Design Advocate, Chairman of the London Society and a Visiting Professor at the IE Business School in Madrid. He is Chairman of the Temple Bar Trust and has gathered a huge list of accolades through his career. Including the OBE he received for leadership in the arts, architecture, city planning, design, publication and charity in 2021. He’s also a keen cyclist, raising money for charity each year through cycling, and advocate for active cities.  

Today, his time is focused on the New London Architecture centre, which he founded in 2005 as a centre for debate and discussion about the changing face of the capital. Some might say London is a better place to live thanks to him. 

Listen in as Vince and Peter discuss working in design media in swinging 60s London, how his wildly successful studio Wordsearch came to be, and why, when you see an opportunity, you have to take it. 

https://nla.london/ 

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Some people take a lifetime to find their true north, the thing they want to spend their days working on.

That’s not the case for Sean Perkins. Growing up in South Yorkshire in the 70s, it wasn’t cool to get good grades. Even though he was smart, he flunked almost everything. Everything, but art. From a young age he was exposed to, “the future, all this incredible visual culture”, by way of Japanese mementos his dad would bring back from work trips to Tokyo. And the fashion his mum would wear after disappearing to the fashion shows in Paris to stock her boutique in Huddersfield.

Today, he’s one of the most influential graphic designers of our time. He’s created visual identities for some of the world’s most recognisable brands with his London-based studio North Design. And the brands and clients relationships he builds — they stand the test of time. Some of his identity systems are still being used 20+ years after he and his partners Jeremy Coysten and Stephen Gilmore first created them. Think Tate Modern, Barbican Centre, West Kowloon Cultural District, ACMI. And perhaps most notably, the project that put his name on the map as a young designer, the UK’s most iconic roadside assistance company, the RAC.

Listen in as Vince and Sean discuss, growing up buying albums for the covers, learning from Gert Dumbar, and the highs and lows of running their respective studios. 

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As we continue in our Architecture Series, this week Vince catches up with Kelvin Ho, the Founding Director of Akin Atelier.

Working at the intersection of architecture, art, interior design & branding, Ho and Akin Atelier have created thought-provoking spaces for the likes of Merivale, QANTAS, Google, Dion Lee, Saturdays NYC, AGNSW, Camilla and Marc, bassike and The Australian Ballet.

In his conversation with Vince, he reveals how skate culture has inspired his aesthetic and why designing an emotional experience for the people who work, visit, dine, shop, dance and live in the spaces he creates matters in a way that it never has before.

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In today’s economy, people are more considerate about what they’ll spend money on, retailers have to fight to hold or grow their market share. If there’s one person who knows this better than most, and will be the first to step into the ring, it’s Felicity McGahan.

McGahan is the Group CEO of STRAND, the Australian handbags and luggage retailer, where she is leading a transformational vision for growth by modernising, digitising and internationalising every aspect of the business. Backed up by 20 years at Gap, where she left as VP or North America Marketing, and key executive roles at Reebok, Sportsgirl, Esprit, Cotton On and Sussan, she’s been with amazing brands at the right time. And been mentored by best-in-class leaders, building a reputation for successfully evolving brands for growth.  

Her career in retail isn’t a total surprise. Her Dad had a chain of footwear stores, and her mum was the original Sportsgirl, modelling for the iconic Australian retailer through the 70s and 80s before becoming their ever Wardrobe Consultant, “When I grew up, she was styling Kylie Minogue for Locomotion.” She was destined for it. 

Listen in as Vince and Felicity discuss forging her birth certificate aged 14 to get a job, where she finds her enthusiasm and drive, and what it takes to turn a retail business around.

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Our planet works tirelessly to keep us alive, so why aren’t we doing more to protect it?

Home to dolphins, surfers and tonnes of plastic – oceans are both healing places and places in need of healing. ‘Tide for Change’ explores the life of creative entrepreneurs and the depths they’ll dive to make a positive change for our oceans.

In this episode, Vince chats with the “Mother of Sharks”, Melissa Cristina Márquez. She’s a Latina marine biologist and conservationist, author, television presenter and founder of The Fins United Initiative – all aimed to educate people about diverse sharks, the scientists who study them and why both matter to the future of our oceans.  

They discuss how misunderstanding sharks has cost our ecosystem, the scary discovery from her latest National Geographic expedition to the Arctic, and what we can all do to ensure the survival of sharks – and ultimately – ourselves.

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How do you design homes that inspire feeling? 

In this episode of our Architecture Series – From Lego to Skyscrapers, Vince speaks to the founder of Decus Interiors, Alexandra Donohoe Church. 

The true measure of a home is how it makes us feel, from comfort and romance to inspiration and connection. Alexandra’s rebellious approach to form, balance and tension creates spaces with deep sensory resonance. 

Vince and Alexandra explore their love-hate relationship with Pinterest, how sourcing inspiration can help and hinder originality, and why designing the feeling of space comes down to trusting your gut. 

https://decus.com.au/ 

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In another special edition episode for our architecture series, from Lego to Skyscrapers, Vince speaks to visionary architect Koichi Takada. 

Koichi and his team belong to a new generation of architects who bring nature back into the urban environment. Informed by his Japanese design sensibility, each project embodies Koichi’s commitment to nature’s organic forms—light, air, water, and even sound.

In conversation with Vince, they explore how Japanese culture has influenced his craftsmanship, why architecture should emulate nature to create an emotional connection, and how his unique design approach will shift the construction industry into a more sustainable future.

To explore Koichi’s forward-thinking practice, grab a copy of his first monograph – ‘Koichi Takada: Architecture, Nature, and Design’. 

Explore the monograph 

https://koichitakada.com/ 

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Certainly the world will be a different place after COVID-19, but there are ways we can design positive outcomes for the future, not just for ourselves but for future generations to come. 

This is the first episode of the (Re)Design Your Life series which will explore how the lives of individuals across the globe are getting on, how their lives have changed, what their coping mechanisms are and insights into what the future holds for us. 

In this episode, Vince chats with Penny Locaso about how her role as a ‘Happiness Hacker’ has prepared her for the COVID-19 experience.

Penny left a successful 16-year corporate career, relocated her family from Perth to Melbourne, left an 18-year relationship and started her own purpose-driven company with the sole intent of positively impacting the lives of others. She’s quite used to drastic life changes.

“Focus on what you can control, not what you can’t”, she says. “You can’t control the situation, but you can always control how you respond to a situation”, she says, “which will impact your mindset. Accept the things you can’t change and ask yourself, ‘how am I going to make sure each day is the best day it can be?’”

A well of sound advice and positive guidance, Penny also shares how she’s adapted her business, BKindred, to virtual working, and how the current need for human connection is actually helping to level the professional playing field.

BKindred 

Design Your Life

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As 2021 comes to a close, we’d love to share with you some truly inspiring moments we’ve had on the podcast this year.

From Karl Fender’s thoughts on how we can make the world a better place to Yasmine Ghoniem on growth and Flack Studio on human connection.

From Koichi Takada on nature in the built environment to Sarah Beard on changing behaviours and Konrad Bergström on balancing sustainability with profit.

Listen in wherever you get your podcasts – and we’ll let our guests do the talking. 

Also, we’d love to hear from you. What do you want us to explore on the podcast in 2022? Who would you like to hear from? What would you like to learn about? Visit the link below to contribute. 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QKWMZ6D 

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Buildings pose a huge problem when it comes to carbon, and the architects of today with a conscience are grappling with the environmental debt of the buildings they design. 

Quino Holland, Director at Fieldwork, is tackling the issue with an environmentally conscious sensitivity that also considers how buildings can foster community to improve the lives of the people who live in and around them. 

The award-winning architect credits his childhood growing up in a Peruvian mountain village at the gateway to Machu Picchu in the late 80s with his interest in archaeology and the past. But his sights are very firmly set on using his architecture practice to improve necessary and important community infrastructure and decarbonise construction for the future. 

Listen in as Vince and Quino discuss community-led development, winning the award-winning Collingwood Yards project as a fledgeling architecture practice and adaptive reuse. 

https://www.fieldworkprojects.com.au/ 

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Can government and industry have the most impact when it comes to climate change? Or is it up to the individual to take action? 

Craig Leeson is the 2022 Tasmanian Australian of the Year and a self-described storyteller who feels a personal responsibility to have an impact. The one-time foreign correspondent now makes and sells documentaries to broadcasters around the world so his stories addressing climate change, biodiversity loss, single use plastics and environmental issues are seen far and wide.  

Leeson’s first feature-length documentary, A Plastic Ocean, released in 2017, has been viewed around the world. It’s ranked as one of the world’s top documentaries to watch about the environment, and is still winning awards today. 

In this special edition of our Tide For Change series, listen in as Vince and Craig discuss; being the first media on the ground at the 2015 Nepal earthquake disaster, a transformative evening spent drinking wine with David Attenborough, and the extraordinarily emotional experience of witnessing wildlife literally choke to death on plastic. 

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In episode 25 of the Design Your Life Podcast Vince speaks to Dave Budge, co-founder and CEO of Jaunt Motors. A car share business which up-cycles iconic 4WDs into electric vehicles allowing people to explore the beautiful and remote corners of Australia without costing the environment.

The compelling discussion unravels Dave’s much needed departure from the corporate world and how he came to establish the Jaunt brand which combines his love for land rovers, with his concern for the environment and his innate ability to ‘hype people up about a product’.

Vince and Dave explore the importance of electric vehicles being design focused, the value of creating relationships with the individuals and community which support you and ultimately what the future holds for Jaunt and the electric car share industry.

Enjoy!

Be sure to listen to our next episode featuring London based branding guru Bruce Duckworth!

https://jauntmotors.com/

http://designyourlife.com.au/

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Home to dolphins, surfers and tonnes of plastic: oceans are both healing places and places in need of healing. ‘Tide for Change’ explores the life of creative entrepreneurs and the depths they’ll dive to make a positive change for our oceans. 

First up is Nick Dutton, co-founder of socially-driven surf brand; Mami Wata (aka Mother Water). Based in South Africa, they aim to be a creative force for good – designing and manufacturing locally to create jobs; supporting surf therapy organisation, Waves for Change; and strengthening surf tourism to grow Africa’s economy. 

Speaking with Vince, they explore the need for diverse representation in surf culture, how Nick’s background in advertising has helped build an honest brand, and why they're taking the African surf community worldwide.

https://mamiwatasurf.com/ 

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In a special edition episode for our architecture series, from Lego to Skyscrapers, Vince speaks to David Flack and Mark Robinson of Flack Studio.

Flack Studio is a visionary collective of designers and architects. Whether they’re designing the interiors for Sydney’s soon-to-open Ace Hotel or Troye Sivan’s stunning Melbourne home, every project is an imaginative expression of character and context. 

In this episode, we explore their country upbringing, why their yin and yang relationship helps each project find its individual aesthetic, the importance of commissioning Australian artists, and how they foster creativity from a playful place of ponder. 

https://flackstudio.com.au/ 

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Growing up in public housing on Roosevelt Island in the middle of New York City’s East River, Elie Gamburg went to sleep every night staring at the city’s remarkable skyline from his bedroom window. His father was an artist and his mother a mathematician, so, “I guess I sort of had to do architecture if nothing else.”  

Gamburg is a Design Principal at KPF, a global architecture firm known for designing some of the most innovative and high-profile buildings around the world. Working from New York and London, with a lot of travel around the world in between, Elie has been innovating for cities for over 20 years. His work is consistently sensitive to human scale, urban context, and sustainability. Some of the more famous projects he has worked on at KPF are the Seaport Square Master Plan and Channelside in Boston, Atlantis The Royal in Dubai and NYU Shanghai.  

As a kid, everything was about buildings. Drawing them, looking at them, reading about them. After high school, he spent a summer at Cornell University, to see if he was cut out for his life’s ambition. Unsurprisingly, he was. Much of his time is still spent at school; he’s taught studios at his alma maters, Cornell and Harvard. He was an adjunct professor at NYIT for eight years and has served as a guest critic at Yale to name a few.  

Listen in as Vince and Elie discuss how 100 years ago New York was the Dubai of the times, the concept of Central Social Districts, and why he has Ganesha, the god of wisdom, mischief and fun on his desk.  

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Ep 4 of the exclusive 'The Brief is You' series with Vince Frost and Prof. Joel Pearson.

Are we all born creative? How can you harness your creativity? Why can’t some people imagine? 

These are some of the questions asked in the fourth episode of 'The Brief is You’. Together Vince Frost and Professor Joel Pearson dive into the fundamentals of creativity, exploring the ways it works in your mind, from semantic networks, memory and mental imagery.

The pair also explore why some people have aphantasia (the inability to visualise mental images) and how do those in creative jobs make it work. As well as a look into the early science of flow state, a practice which allows for a task to feel effortless and how practicing it can transform your creative processes. 

This time, the brief is you. Learn from Australia’s leading expert on the brain on how you can take off in 2021, learning how to understand and harness your mind and creativity whilst designing your life.

To ensure you are the best version of yourself in 2021, we have partnered with Cognitive Neuroscience Professor Joel Pearson, to dissect how our brains work and what you can do take control of yours this year. Prof. Pearson is an internationally recognised leader in human consciousness research and applied cognitive neuroscience currently developing new methods to measure dimensions of the human experience previously thought to be immeasurable including creativity, imagination, memory, entrepreneurship, intuition and decision–making. 

Prof. Pearson is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of New South Wales, a National Health and Medical Research Council fellow and founder of UNSW Future Minds Lab, MindX and Agile Science. 

https://www.profjoelpearson.com/ 

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In this episode of our Architecture Series - From Lego to Skyscrapers, Vince speaks to John Wardle, Meaghan Dwyer and James Loder - the Founder and Partners of the internationally renowned design firm, John Wardle Architects.

Whether it's designing the gallery at Phoenix Central Park, private coastal homes, Bendigo Law Courts or shaping Australia’s places of learning, the incredibly diverse undertakings of projects from John Wardle Architects are transforming our private and public life for good.

Together, they unpack why the curiosity to explore something new helped John start his practice, and how the evolution of technology, his diverse team and their empathy towards people have enabled the company to contribute to a better world of design, now and for the future.

https://www.johnwardlearchitects.com/ 

https://designyourlife.com.au/ 

https://www.frostcollective.com.au/ 

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How do you design urban jungles? 

Vince chats with Jock and Hanna Gammon, the founders of Junglefy – one of Australia's leading living infrastructure specialists.  
 

Junglefy cultivates critical connections between people, places and plants. From helping botanist Patrick Blanc build and maintain the world's tallest vertical garden at One Central Park to the ground-breaking Green Spine of Southbank by Beulah – they are turning our cities into urban jungles.  

 
This episode explores what influenced their mutual love for the natural world, how their breathing walls are building healthier environments for our communities, and why we must design our cities for living things.  

 
Listen to discover how we can design a greener, better future.

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For the first Design Your Life episode of 2020 Vince speaks to Alan Aboud, one of the most well-known creative directors in the fashion industry. Alan worked alongside designer Paul Smith for over 25 years constructing the unique look and feel of the iconic brand, including the world-renowned use of the multi-stripe design.

Alan unravels the story behind his early years as a design student and how he first started working with Paul Smith. Through-out the chat he touches on multiple life experiences which shaped his understanding of design whilst also casting some light onto how his mind set has changed over time.

Vince and Alan also trade their thoughts on why it’s integral for creative minds to remain financially savvy in the industry.

Enjoy!

On the next episode of Design Your Life we will be joined by Sydney based hair guru and sustainability entrepreneur Paul Frasca.

https://sustainablesalons.org/

http://designyourlife.com.au/

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Welcome to the first episode of our Design Your Life Architecture series - From Lego to Skyscrapers featuring Luigi Rosselli. 

This series is dedicated to exploring the lives of architects, when did they first discover their love for it, what makes them tick, how do they handle the responsibility that comes with designing places, cities and buildings that will stand for generations to come.

With an eclectic mix of architects from across the world, From Lego to Skycrapers focuses on championing the person as well as the projects. Vince goes behind the façade of an architect delving into their personal and professional lives; from process, inspiration and career highlights, to juggling work with private and family life.

In this episode Vince and Luigi discuss his early life in Milan and how his surroundings were a big influence on his developing passion for architecture. Coming from a family of engineers Luigi and his brother would play with Lego and have drawing competitions of who could design the longest bridge. 

Self described as somewhat of a black sheep Luigi broke family tradition to become an Architect and by the age of 23 had landed in Canberra, Australia as part of a team tasked to help design parliament house. 

From here Luigi developed his love for the softer more humanistic side of architecture aiming always to create a sense of comfort and happiness in all the work he did. This was quickly noticed and through out the years he has won numerous awards, placing his work in the top tier of Australian design. 

Enjoy!   

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We know making lifestyle changes can impact the quality and length of our lives, but which are the changes that work? Is vitamin C ageing? How important is portion control? And does muscle tone impact mood? 

Dr. Norman Swan is a medically trained journalist, best-selling author and award-winning broadcaster. He hosts ABC Radio National’s The Health Report, reports on 7.30, and is a guest reporter on Four Corners. Like most of us, he wants to live better longer. 

Most recently he’s been known in Australia as the straight-talking doctor who led us through the Coronavirus pandemic with his evidence-based reporting on the Coronacast podcast. 

Listen in to the first episode in our Fit-ish series, exploring the idea of the least we need to do for good health, as Vince and Norman discuss slowing the clock on ageing, how control in life impacts our health, and why eighty is the new sixty. 

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Being driven is one thing. But being driven by trauma is another. It’s a special kind of motivation, and when combined with a competitive nature and natural feel for what an audience wants, great things can be achieved.

Aidan Anderson is the Founder and CEO of The Local Project — the fastest growing design platform in the Asia-Pacific region. The platform is followed by design and architecture lovers worldwide, and champions authentic design, showcasing and supporting architects, designers, makers and suppliers. Incredibly, he started it by profiling his friends and local makers on an Instagram account run from his dusty furniture workshop. The Local Project now has an audience of over 4 million across print, video, digital and social media.

Anderson has no formal training, and has always just made the content he wants to see. He first fell in love with design and architecture working on building sites to make extra money in the summers of his teenage years. The furniture workshop opened when he dropped out of an architecture degree at university just three months in. He credits the agility that comes with youth as one of the keys to his success — he was 21 when he started the business in 2016.

Listen in as Vince and Aidan discuss; how Australian architecture is perceived internationally, the powerfully addictive nature of social media, and how the hand you’re dealt defines you. 

https://thelocalproject.com.au/ 

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Next in our Architecture Series – From Lego to Skyscrapers, Vince speaks to the prolific British designer, Tom Dixon – internationally heralded for his extraordinary furniture, lighting, accessories and interiors.  

Designing his life has been one of constant creative reinvention – playing punk music and running nightclubs, welding steel into radical furniture, working with luxury Italian goods with Cappellini, Creative Director at Habitat and Artek, and finally instigating his iconic eponymous brand. 

 
Listen in as they explore what it means to be a commercial designer, how a motorbike accident drove him towards design, and why after so much world-renowned success, Tom still considers himself an up-and-coming designer. 

https://www.tomdixon.net/en_gb/ 

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In life and in business, how big a part does luck play in our success? And are our good ideas really good at all?

Professor Frederik Anseel is the newly appointed Dean of the University of New South Wales’ Business School and an expert in what works, and what doesn’t, in business. He’s spent his career researching organisational psychology, leadership, how to motivate people, how to treat colleagues with respect and how to be authentic. It’s this combination of the study of management and psychology that changed from a very niche field to one of wide-spread interest during the COVID pandemic.

Anseel grew up in a small town 15 minutes from the French border in Belgium, where education, even university, is free for all. One side of his family are engineers, the other teachers. It’s clear how his upbringing has defined his view of life, value of education, and area of academia. 

Listen in as Vince and Frederik discuss; how the 2008 GFC shifted the narrative for the hero CEO paradigm, the art of getting office politics right and the surprising origins of the Type A personality. 

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This 150th episode, part two, of Design Your Life coincides with the 30th anniversary of Frost*collective.

If you tuned in to Episode 150, you’ll know that over recent weeks, we’ve asked our audience to ask Vince anything. In this episode, you’ll hear his son Luca Frost ask Vince a selection of these questions and interview him about what motivated him to move his life and business to Australia, and the failures and successes along the way.

If you’re not familiar with our host, Vince Frost is the Founder, CEO and Executive Creative Director of Frost*collective. He’s also a globally recognised and awarded creative who is passionately committed to designing a better world.  

After becoming the youngest Associate Director at the infamous London design consultancy Pentagram, he started his own studio, Frost* Design in 1994. Together with his team and leading arts and cultural organisations, government, and business he works to help bring visionary ideas to life.  

This year, Vince was recognised with the Australian Design Prize by the Australian Good Design Awards for his impact on Australian design, and named as an Indesign Luminary. He is an Executive Committee member of D&AD, a member of IGA (Alliance Graphique Internationale, Switzerland) and Honorary Fellow of ISTD (International Society of Typographic Designers, London) and a Member of the University of Technology Sydney’s Entrepreneurial Advisory Board. 

In 2006 Vince was the subject of a retrospective at Sydney Opera House and he continues to be an international ambassador for the design industry, judging and speaking on the value of design and how it can change people’s lives and our world for the better. 

Listen in as Vince and Luca discuss meeting Anna Wintour and feeling out of place at Japanese Vogue, the phone call from Peter Clemenger that changed everything, and what he’s most proud of. 

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Born in the small town of Hastings, New Zealand, Derek grew up in a working-class family with limited financial means and modest aspirations. His unexpected passion for photography ignited when he was a young bank teller and noticed a wedding photographer's bank statement, revealing the potential to make a living from photography. This serendipitous moment set Derek on a journey that has taken him around the world, from Sydney to Los Angeles, London, and back to Sydney. Along the way, he has worked with high-profile names such as Stella McCartney, David Walsh (MONA) and Donald Trump (in his pre-President days). 

Throughout his career, Derek has learned that mastering photography goes beyond understanding technical aspects like light, composition, and form. It's equally about communication, direction, and most importantly, honesty. “That’s kind of all you have – honesty. I think people appreciate you when you are honest with them”.  It’s this kind of transparency that helps him capture the best images and achieve the best results for his clients. 

Listen in as Vince and Derek discuss the role of communication when working with individuals, agencies, magazines and fashion brands, and how photographing Stella McCartney unearthed a surprising connection to a Beatles parade he attended as a baby.  

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Designing sustainable tall buildings is no mean feat. Especially when the average lifespan of a commercial office building can be as little as 20 years.

Oliver Tyler, Managing Director of WilkinsonEyre, one of the world’s leading architecture firms, spends his time doing exactly that. Delivering projects like the Battersea Power Station redevelopment and the award winning 8 Bishopsgate building in London with engineering and sustainability at the forefront. He’s helped build some of the most remarkable landmarks in the world.

It seems his career was destiny. Aged eight or nine he was told, ‘you ought to be an architect’, thanks to his interest in building things and drawing things. Around the same time his parents were rebuilding a property, and the process of seeing drawings manifest into a built form captured his imagination for good.

Tyler’s other key projects include the recently completed Elizabeth Line Liverpool Street Station, the £500 million reconstruction and oversite development of London's Bank Station and the Emirates Air Line cable car over the River Thames. He has a particular interest in the technical development of materials and the advancement of building envelope design and has guest lectured at Oxford Brookes University, is an editorial board member of the New Steel Construction magazine and sits on the judging panel for the Structural Steel Design Awards.

Listen in as Vince and Oliver discuss why he knew wanted to be an architect at just eight years old, building tall buildings among London’s medieval streets, and what the city will look like in 50 years’ time. 

https://wilkinsoneyre.com/ 

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Designing the future of how we live and work is a hot topic, and one that has businesses worldwide wondering how they can get people back into offices in a post covid world. 

Ryan Anderson is Vice President of Global Research and insights at MillerKnoll, the makers of some of the world’s most iconic modernist and contemporary furniture, and an expert in workplaces of the past, present and future. 

He and his team of researchers survey over 40,000 people annually to understand how to create the best possible spaces for working and living. And he’s not afraid to go deep when it comes to remote work, distributed work and the future of the workplace. 

Listen in as Vince and Ryan discuss the emblematic nature of modernist furniture, how Herman Miller’s iconic Aeron chair was initially ridiculed and why the best offices are the ones that offer variety and choice. 

Try the Herman Miller work from home survey to check the health and productivity of your WFH set up. 

https://wfh.hermanmiller.com/ 

https://www.millerknoll.com/en-GB 

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How does scent impact our mood and mind? Why is it important to design for all the senses? And what do you do when you realised you’ve designed a life you no longer want? 

As a partner in the world’s largest law firm, Craig Andrade was living the life he’d aways dreamed of. Or was he? It was during a candle-making class he’d decided to take on a whim he realised the transformative power of scent and his deep spiritual connection to fragrance. 

From the moment on, Craig’s life changed - he’s now a perfumer with a highly-successful artisanal luxury fragrance house. He’s passionate about sharing Australia’s extraordinary botanical heritage and specialises in natural botanical fragrances using often-unknown and unused Australian native scents. 

Listen in as Vince and Craig discuss designing for all the senses, finding the strength to make brave life changes, and the Frost*Chapters tri-layer candle they have created together. 

Visit Frost*shop to shop the collaboration. 

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Facade Design doesn’t have the high profile of architecture, but its impact on how we experience our cities and buildings, as well as their environmental impact, is significant. 

Troy Donovan is Principal Facade Designer at Prism Facades and is one of the foremost voices in façade design worldwide. He works closely with architects on public and commercial projects to design, detail and construct the faces of some of the most iconic buildings around the world. Case in point; he’s the Lead for the Sydney Opera House Trust Bronze Project to redesign the architectural bronzework for the interior and exterior of the entire precinct. 

Thanks to his phenomenal technical drawings and knowledge sharing, some of which he does live, Donovan has amassed an impressive Instagram following. Although he doesn’t see himself as an academic, he uses the platform to educate and inspire. 

Listen in as Vince and Troy discuss the niche industry of facade design, appropriating techniques from automotive production for architecture, and why the AMP building at Circular Quay is his favourite building in the world. 

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In the sixth instalment of the exclusive Australian Made series, Vince chats to Will Dangar one of Australia's foremost landscape designers. At a time of so much uncertainty in the world, the Australian Made series focuses on brilliant people here in Australia, celebrating designing and making local.

Despite losing his job in the early 90’s due to the recession Will bounced back by starting his own lawn mowing business. From there his love for plants and landscape design grew rapidly, most notably due to the push and influence from his wife Julia. 

Will Dangar's 25-year career has seen him build some of the country's most iconic residential landscapes. Will began his working life at a cattle station in Queensland before moving down to Sydney to become a labourer. Despite losing his job in the early 90’s due to the recession Will bounced back by starting his own lawn mowing and landscape business.

Will quickly developed a reputation for his refined design aesthetic, no-nonsense manner, and highly creative approach to problem solving. Now not only managing his landscape design business Dangar-Barin-Smith, Will is also the creative director of Robert Plumb, a distinctive Australian design and construction brand synonymous with quality craftsmanship and a practical, refined aesthetic.

Listen in as Vince and Will discuss the importance of empowering your employees and why embracing failure is paramount and how a business deals with its mistakes is what defines it.

The pair also delve into how a corporate Christmas tree side business almost sunk Robert Plumb, the business’ relationship with internationally acclaimed architect Luigi Roselli and why Will owes so much of where he is today to his wife Julia.

Enjoy! 

Dangar-Barren-Smith

Robert Plumb

Design Your Life

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DYL X D&AD Impact series with Wood Pencil Winners – See Sound

'We want to get you guys on the biggest global stage we want to get you out there with the likes of your competitors. No one knows who you are and thats a shame and I think thats what we did its been an incredible for us as a whole collective internally but also for Wavio to be finally able to get the recognition they deserve for the incredible work they are doing'

In the third episode of our exclusive series with D&AD, Vince chats with Kristen Bell & Corinne Feight. The pair work for world renowned healthcare advertising agency, Area 23. A business which aims to dismantle the barriers that stand in the way of true innovation.

Their project See Sound has the goal of providing sound equality for the 466 million people world-wide who are currently deaf or hard of hearing. Their smart home hearing system aims to provide users with much needed situational awareness in the home.

When a sound occurs, See Sound uses its database collated from YouTube clips to make a prediction which then alerts the user on their device with a vibration and a message. 

Listen in as Kristen & Corinne explain the dramatic event that lead to the See Sound's inception a long with an open minded business move which partnered them up with then competitor Wavio. 

Enjoy! 

D&AD - See Sound 

See Sound | Wavio 

Design Your Life

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Music is emotional, and sound is a powerful tool for tuning in to feelings and memories. Music helps us recall people, places and experiences. A song can take us back to a time in our lives we may not have thought of for years or even decades. 

Dan Higson and Nick West know this better than most and are leading the way when it comes to creating memorable and emotive sonic branding and music strategy for brands with their globally awarded sound studio, Smith & Western.  

Dan began his career trying to be a pop star in 80s London. He even made it onto Top of the Pops, the iconic British music chart TV show. Around the same time, Nick was in Japan, going to music festivals in the mountains on weekends. Later he paid his way busking with a didgeridoo while learning how to write music in his basement. 

Listen in as Vince, Dan and Nick discuss the science behind making music and sounds, why you can’t copywrite chord progressions or drum patterns, and how AI is impacting their industry. 

https://smithandwestern.com.au/ 

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This is the fifth instalment of the (Re)Design Your Life series which explores how the lives of individuals across the globe are getting on, how their lives have changed, what their coping mechanisms are and insights into what the future holds for us.

In this episode Vince chats with Andrew Tuck, the editor of internationally acclaimed magazine Monocle. Andrew has been the editor of Monocle since launch in 2006. Since then he has been central to the development of all of Monocle’s editorial projects including the radio station, Monocle 24, and their move into book publishing.

Andrew also presents shows across Monocle 24, including his own weekly programme about city living, The Urbanist. He is a regular speaker at conferences on urbanism, quality of life and the media.

Vince and Andrew discuss why the property industry needs to take note of the current changes but might not want to rush to apply them yet as well as the increasing need for companies to take their employees health and wellbeing much more seriously in the future. 

The pair also delve into a multitude of other topics surrounding Monocle magazine such as how it creates the right global balance with its stories, its surpassingly strong Australian contingent, how the magazine is currently responding to the global pandemic and the interesting variety of readers which the publication attracts. 

Enjoy! 

Monocle Magazine

Design Your Life

Take the Design Your Life Survey!

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Warehouse living gained popularity in the 60s and 70s in major urban centres, particularly New York. Industrial buildings were empty, and artists loved their affordability and vast open layouts. But it wasn’t until the 80s that Australia caught on. 

Jeff Provan co-founded Neometro, Melbourne’s long-standing design-focused and socially led development group in 1985. He is an active and integral figure in Melbourne’s design community with a raft of accolades for his approach to design, construction and sustainable development. 

Jeff’s ongoing commitment to creating homes that make people happy, connect them with their local community, and improve health and wellbeing has a huge ongoing impact on how people live in the city. And his philosophy for creating places that will stand the test of time and be loved by the people who live in them is summarised in The Framework For Healthy Buildings, which will be published in October. 

Listen in as Vince and Jeff discuss the eternal appeal of warehouse living, designing buildings for people to love, and the elements needed to create a truly healthy place to live. 

https://neometro.com.au/ 

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In this episode of our series on the home, architecture and interiors – From Lego to Skyscrapers, Vince speaks to Deborah Bibby - the inspiring storyteller dedicated to interior and lifestyle design.  

As founding editor of award-winning interiors magazine Real Living, editorial director of The Together Project, and author of The Originals – a beautiful book dedicated to beach houses, Deborah’s iconic career continues to bring people and brands together through meaningful stories and great design.  

Listen in as they chat about her approach to keeping it simple, rebelling against trends and how her extraordinary childhood experiences have left lifelong impressions on the way she lives and the stories she tells. 

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This is the third episode of the (Re)Design Your Life series which will explore how the lives of individuals across the globe are getting on, how their lives have changed, what their coping mechanisms are and insights into what the future holds for us.

In this episode, Vince chats with good friend Jonathan Ellery about how his career as an internationally acclaimed designer, new work process innovator, artist and publisher has prepared him for the events surrounding COVID-19.

Founded some twenty years ago the independent design studio, Browns, has continually received accolades and world-wide recognition to their name with featured clients including FIFA, Channel 4, Design Council and BAFTA. In 2005 the publishing arm, Browns Editions, was formed from a fascination with the materiality of books, manifesting with an on-going series of collectible artist publications. In addition to this Ellery began his own multi-faceted art journey. 

Ellery’s method of thinking is focused on (re)defining a new work process, one that is immersed in freedom as opposed to being driven by a finite selection of known working parts.

This considered approach has aroused attention in the art, design and publishing industries, specifically in Japan, where the distinction between such fixed categories has long been disregarded.

Where will this lead us? How can this approach be used to (re)design a different future?

Browns Design London 

Browns Editions 

Jonathan Ellery 

Under One Roof

Design Your Life

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What role does design have to play in creating a successful and liveable world for future generations? And how does life-centred design come into this equation? 

Bruce Mau is a globally recognised and awarded designer and innovator. He’s spent the past three decades funnelling his energy into projects that contribute to a better world including designing; a sustainability platform for Coca Cola, a social movement platform for Guatemala, and an institute for entrepreneurial designers. 

Mau is also the Co-founder alongside his life partner Bisi Williams and CEO of Massive Change Network, an organisation dedicated to working with leaders to envision an abundant future and accelerate massive, sustainable change and positive impact for organisations and the planet. 

His life-centred design approach is grounded in the belief that people are just one part of our larger ecosystem and environment, and everything we do as humans has implications for the health of our planet. Economic, ecological, environmental and social consequences are given the same weight and consideration in the design process. 

Listen in as Vince and Bruce discuss growing up in Canada, starting their careers at Pentagram London, and the social responsibility of using design as a force for good.

Watch the video of their chat here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lct6W9okxts 

https://www.massivechangenetwork.com/ 

https://www.unsw.edu.au/arts-design-architecture/engage-with-us/innovation-hub/massive-action-sydney  

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Most of us grow up with a basic understanding of Greenpeace and the work they do. But being aware of the organisation's first ‘creative confrontation’ happening close to home as a child is a fairly unique experience. And watching a life path unfold into a position of power in how the ‘peace’ in Greenpeace plays out in today’s fragile world? That could be considered a calling. 

David Ritter is the CEO of Greenpeace Australia Pacific where he works to achieve the company’s mission of securing an Earth capable of nurturing life in all of its magnificent diversity. 

It wasn’t a straight trajectory for Ritter. He describes his childhood as informed by, “a narrative of depletion”, and his career path via a law degree as, “a lack of imagination”. But now, he’s certain he’s in the right place. 

Listen in as Vince and David discuss the impacts of growing up a child of a refugee, how the historic Mabo decision has impacted his life, and why we all have a world-changing superpower. 

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Welcome to the fourth episode of our Design Your Life Architecture series - From Lego to Skyscrapers featuring Tribe Studio Architects Principal, Hannah Tribe.

In this episode Hannah recalls her early years in a creative household and how her father’s architectural career had an influence in her pursuing architectural sketch design at university leading to her first job at renowned Australian practice Durbach Block Jaggers, before starting her own practice a year later. From the first job renovating a friend’s house Hannah talks about the growth of her business from its formation in 2003. Tribe Studio Architects believes every building and design - regardless of scale - should make a public contribution to the urban fabric and enhance the community, whilst also contributing to our collective sustainable future. 

Vince and Hannah go on to discuss the climate crisis, the danger of some new technologies and tactics that Hannah’s studio utilises to reduce damage to the planet. The pair also dissect the negative building trends which are developing post Covid as well as the current property crisis and how it is affecting younger generations.  

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What imprint do we leave today, for tomorrow?

Next in our Architecture Series – From Lego to Skyscrapers, Vince chats to Angelo Candalepas, known for designing the stunning Punchbowl Mosque amongst some of Australia’s most elegant apartments and offices. 

With deep philosophy, they discuss how considering the longevity of an environment can reflect the passage of life, and why designing buildings with life not only enable optimism in society, but have the power to change the world. 

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Sasha Titchkosky is on a mission. If everything goes to plan the Co-founder and CEO of Koskela, the furniture and homewares business she founded and with her partner Russel Koskela in 2000, will be 100% emission zero by 2030. That means absolutely no emissions. Zero.

On top of that, the lawyer and accountant is the inaugural chairperson of the B Corp Climate Collective and she spends her spare time supporting her local independent parliamentary candidate. She believes this is the best way to bring about a desperately needed shift in the way the Australian Government works and addresses public issues – the top of her list? Climate action.

Listen in as Vince and Sasha discuss; her ambition to become the Patagonia of the furniture world, her motivation to design a profitable yet conscious business model as a template for others and leaving the world liveable for her children. 

https://koskela.com.au/ 

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How do the mind, body and emotions work? How can we fine tune them for dynamic activity in today’s overstimulating world? And how does a rugby-playing beer-drinking agricultural economist become a meditation guru? 

Tim Brown has been called Australia’s most experienced Vedic Meditation teacher and has taught over 6,000 people to meditate over the past 20 years. He learnt the craft from Thom Knoles, who is credited as the first Westerner to be inducted by a great Indian guru. 

From children as young as five years old to elite athletes and corporates, he has proven anyone can benefit from the calm, clarity, creativity and energy that comes from meditating. In fact, he believes it can help us solve some of the huge challenges facing our world. 

Listen in as Vince and Tim discuss a time of life-changing reflection in the Fergana Valley of Uzbekistan aged just 24, the incredible neuroscience behind the power of meditation, and how un-overwhelm-ability will change your life. 

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In the past decade, the debate about the role of books in our increasingly digital world has been a hot one. This devotee of the printed form is unequivocal. She believes content online has simply pushed publishers to make better books.  

Emilia Terragni is Associate Publisher at Phaidon Press, the world’s leading publisher of books on art, design and culture. Phaidon turns 100 this year. Terragni has been there for 22, specialising in books on architecture, design, food, fashion and art, and is considered one of the most influential editors working in the field today. 

Born and raised in Como, Italy, by a creative family where books were incredibly important, she ran away aged 19 to study in Venice. A PHD in fine art set her on the path to a career as a curator or art critic. But it was during her time in the archives of the Vitra Design Museum cataloguing the work of architect Mexican architect and engineer Luis Barragán that she met with Phaidon, and the rest is history. 

Listen in as Vince and Emilia discuss working together on Nan Goldin’s iconic photography book The Devil’s Playground in 2003, the privilege of working with the prolific British graphic designer Alan Fletcher to his dying day, and being named The Queen of Cookbooks by the Wall Street Journal. 

https://www.phaidon.com/ 

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The smallest change can make the biggest difference, especially when it starts a groundswell. This was the case for Sarah Beard – filmmaker and CEO of the pollution revolution; Take 3 For The Sea. 

If everyone took just three pieces of rubbish from the beach, we could all make a real difference. Growing up in Fiji, Sarah saw her crystal-clear beaches quickly turn to rubbish dumps. Like many countries, the lack of infrastructure to deal with waste effectively meant little was being done to fix the problem.  

For Sarah – visual storytelling was a crucial component in helping combat the climate crisis; if she could show the world how dire our situation was, perhaps she could provoke meaningful change. For over 25 years, she produced some of the world’s most thought-provoking conservation films. Most recently, she’s extended her positive impact by joining Take 3 For the Sea as CEO.  

In the latest episode of our ‘Tide For Change’ series – Vince and Sarah unpack the power of filmmaking to send a warning sign, why we must design a circular economy for our future, and the simple things that can inspire and influence world change. 

https://www.take3.org/ 

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DYL X D&AD Impact series with White Pencil Winners - The Lion's Share Fund

‘The future is not something which is coming towards us, it’s whatever we do next.’ - Rob Galluzzo

In the first episode of our exclusive series with D&AD Vince chats with Rob Galluzzo the Executive Producer of Sydney-based production company FINCH and the co-founder of animal conservation initiative The Lion’s Share.

The charity aims to direct half-a-percent of a participating company’s media buy towards wildlife conservation when they use an animal in their advertising. With US$120 billion spent on advertising, that included animals last year globally, what seems like a small fee can go a long way to making a big difference.

The initiative is co-founded by the United Nations, fully supported by David Attenborough and has been highly awarded, winning a D&AD White Pencil and a Grand Prix at the Cannes Lion.

Listen in as Vince and Rob discuss the process behind getting such an ambitious operation off the ground, how $50,000 stopped 200 elephants a year being poached and what’s next for the growing charity.

https://www.thelionssharefund.com/content/thelionssharefund/en/home/

https://designyourlife.com.au/

https://www.frostcollective.com.au/

https://www.finchcompany.com/

https://www.dandad.org/

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Welcome to the third episode of our Design Your Life Architecture series - From Lego to Skyscrapers featuring Zaha Hadid Architects Director, Gianluca Racana.  

This series is dedicated to exploring the lives of architects, when did they first discover their love for it, what makes them tick and how they handle the responsibility that comes with designing the places, cities and buildings that will stand for generations to come. 

In this episode Gianluca delves into his early life in Rome and what brought him to London where he completed his postgraduate studies at the Architectural Association, obtaining his Master’s degree in Architecture and Urbanism.  

Gianluca goes on to discuss how his career began with Zaha Hadid Architects in the year 2000 and the significance of their first major project and one of Rome’s most talked about contemporary buildings, the MAXXI - National Museum of 21st Century Art and Architecture.  

The boldly imaginative and controversial building sat in heavy contrast to its traditional surroundings in the Flaminio neighbourhood of Rome. Despite initial scepticism the site has become a cultural hub and went on to win the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Stirling Prize. 

Gianluca shares many of his learnings from being a part of such a ground breaking and significant project. 

Vince and Gianluca go on to discuss the importance of not following trends when designing public buildings, but to design for the users and their habits in and around the site along with the need for ample natural light and public areas for communication and connection. 

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DYL X D&AD Impact series with White Pencil Winners – Don’t Look Away

‘We need to move beyond thinking of gun violence as a gun control problem and more of a behavioural change issue.’ – Oriel Davis-Lyons

In the second episode of our exclusive series with D&AD, Vince chats with Oriel Davis-Lyons, Creative Director of Droga 5 in New York and creator of Don’t Look Away.

The initiative asks the question – if you think of gun violence as an epidemic rather than a second amendment right, are there different ways to tackle it?

While current legislation focuses on gun restriction and regulation for short-term gain, Don’t Look Away looks at influencing real behavioural change, for long-term impact.

In a society that’s experiencing statistic fatigue when it comes to gun violence, the campaign places graphic picture warnings on ammunition packets, similar to those found on tobacco packets, in an attempt to educate and confront gun owners with the risks of owning a gun.

Listen in as Oriel shares how the experience of his six-year-old practising school lockdown drills led him to embark on the long-road to get his solo initiative into the public realm.

Don't Look Away

Design Your Life

Oriel Davis-Lyons

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People are considered lucky when they find something they’re skilled at and love, then make it their vocation. Growing up with a parent they’ve inherited that skill and passion from helps, especially when they’re exceptionally talented.

Both Louise Olsen and Stephen Ormandy have parents who helped them on their path to a life shaped by creativity. Olsen’s father, John Olsen, who passed away aged 95 in 2023, is arguably Australia’s most famous artist. Her mother was a painter, too. Ormandy’s mother was a sculptor, who tirelessly championed his creative pursuits. He knew he wanted to be an artist from age five.

After meeting on the first day of art school in Sydney — it was love at first sight, depending on who you ask — the two became best friends. After graduation, they set about creating a tangible product people would want to buy. By the late 80s they were making jewellery for Kylie Minogue and INXS and opening a tiny shop in Sydney’s Strand Arcade. Dinosaur Designs, their jewellery and homewares business, is 40 years old next year. They have seven stores in Australia and one each in New York and London, with stockists globally. 

They’re also both successful artists in their own right. Not to mention their daughter Camille. The trio are preparing a group show to be held in Paris later this year. 

Listen in as Vince, Louise and Stephen discuss; being born into the art world, how they’ve made their marriage and business work and how children have a natural ability to get inside a subject when it comes to art. 

https://www.dinosaurdesigns.com.au/ 

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In the fifth episode of our Design Your Life Architecture Series - From Lego to Skyscrapers, we speak to the founder of Smart Design Studio - William Smart. 

William is behind some of the most iconic public and private buildings in Australia, from Chippendale’s Central Park precinct to Judith Neilson’s award-winning home, Indigo Slam.

At each pivotal moment of William's life and career, we discuss the creative influences that shaped his distinct voice in design: from his country up-bringing to a gentle nudge from a university professor, to the culture and nightlife of European living and his unwavering love of mid-century cars.

And how a knock on his door from Judith Neilson opened the creative opportunity of a lifetime.

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Welcome to episode 150! This week, we’re turning the mic on our host.

In a serendipitous turn of events, this 150th episode of Design Your Life coincides with the 30th anniversary of Vince Frost’s other baby, his strategic creative studio, Frost*collective.

Over recent weeks, we’ve asked our listeners and social media followers to ask Vince anything, and today his eldest son, Luca Frost, is in the interviewer’s chair.

If you’re not familiar with our host, Vince Frost is the Founder, CEO and Executive Creative Director of Frost*collective. He’s also a globally recognised and awarded creative who is passionately committed to designing a better world.  

After becoming the youngest Associate Director at the infamous London design consultancy Pentagram, he started his own studio, Frost* Design in 1994. Together with his team and leading arts and cultural organisations, government, and business he works to help bring visionary ideas to life.  

This year, Vince was recognised with the Australian Design Prize by the Australian Good Design Awards for his impact on Australian design, and named as an Indesign Luminary. He is an Executive Committee member of D&AD, a member of IGA (Alliance Graphique Internationale, Switzerland) and Honorary Fellow of ISTD (International Society of Typographic Designers, London) and a Member of the University of Technology Sydney’s Entrepreneurial Advisory Board. 

In 2006 Vince was the subject of a retrospective at Sydney Opera House and he continues to be an international ambassador for the design industry, judging and speaking on the value of design and how it can change people’s lives and our world for the better. 

In the first of this two-part series, Vince unpacks his childhood, adolescence and early years as a designer. We cover everything from his move to Canada from England as a young child, where his dad would build igloos in the back yard, to what motivated him to go to design school, and what it was like working at the famed international design studio Pentagram in 1980s London.

Listen in as Vince and Luca discuss being chased by skin heads after moving back to England from Canada in 6th form, watching Alan Fletcher, John McConnell and David Hillman, “designing stuff, before computers,” and typesetting Polaroid magazine in five languages with John Rushworth.

Tune in next week to hear him respond to our audiences’ questions in part two. 

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Ep 5 of the exclusive 'The Brief is You' series with Vince Frost and Prof. Joel Pearson.

Can you design your life? 

This is the question Vince Frost asked himself over a decade ago, yes was the answer. Since then he began applying his principles of design to his own life. This helped him find his flow: he became more reflective, more alive to the senses, more in touch with the people in his life and more aware of his value. 
In the final episode of the ’The Brief is You’ series Vince and Joel delve into designing your life discussing what are some of the most important actions you can take to design the kind of life you want to live. 

The pair deep dive into the idea of safe experimentation - the act of testing the waters in your life be it skydiving or something less extreme like learning to ride a horse or taking the pottery course you’ve always thought about. You never know what you are missing in your life until you try it. 

Joel also touches on the importance of routine and why having structure in your life can free your mind to think of more important things, as well as why the secret to achieving your goals is to not tell anyone about them. 
Listen in to hear this and many more insightful questions answered in the fifth and final episode of the series. 

This time, the brief is you. Learn from Australia’s leading expert on the brain on how you can take off in 2021, learning how to understand and harness your mind and creativity whilst designing your life.

Prof. Pearson is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of New South Wales, a National Health and Medical Research Council fellow and founder of UNSW Future Minds Lab, MindX and Agile Science. 

https://www.profjoelpearson.com/ 

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Welcome to the second episode of the Design Your Life Architecture series - From Lego to Skyscrapers featuring 3XN partner Fred Holt.

This series is dedicated to exploring the lives of architects, when did they first discover their love for it, what makes them tick, how do they handle the responsibility that comes with designing places, cities and buildings that will stand for generations to come.

In this second episode Vince and Fred discuss how despite all the issues COVID-19 has brought it has also helped positively push the discussion on how buildings should be designed. Smart buildings are now a priority allowing for increased airflow and enable occupants to be more dispersed when moving through them.

Fred touches on many aspects of his life from his childhood, growing up in a 60-acre Californian ranch roaming around on his bike and building forts of hay to starting his career as an architect in a San Francisco practice and attending Harvard graduate school of design all before moving to Denmark’s 3XN in 2010.  

The pair go on to discuss their thoughts and roles in the large Sydney Quay Quarter development project, why being an architect is all about creating moments and human experiences that you wouldn’t find anywhere else, how the innovation department GXN is increasingly involved in all the work they do and how Fred balances the demanding hours of the work week with his weekends making killer danish rye bread. 

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In episode 26 of the Design Your Life podcast Vince chats to highly revered designer Bruce Duckworth the, co-founder / co-chairman of multinational design agency Turner Duckworth.

From humble beginnings Bruce explains how he and his friend Dave Turner built the company, the learnings they made as they grew and took on clients such Amazon and Coca Cola and life after its acquisition by Publicis.

The pair also discuss some of the do’s and don’ts of starting a design company, what it takes to make it into something which can stand the test of time and finding the right balance between being design led but also money focused.

Enjoy!

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After inheriting a Nikon F3 camera from his photographer uncle in his teens, Andrew Quilty set about casually documenting life. Later, when he was studying photography in the day, and working in a bottle shop at night, a regular took an interest in his work. He turned out to be a photo editor at the Fairfax media company; this was a time when Australia newspapers were punching above their weight on a global stage. Fate had set the wheels in motion for a life and career Quilty never could have imagined.

Today, Quilty is a multi-award-winning photojournalist whose work has been published by The New York Times, BBC News and TIME Magazine - and garnered accolades worldwide. He’s won a World Press Photo Contest award, a Pictures of the Year International award, a Sony World Photography award and six Walkley Awards, including the Gold Walkley, the highest honour in Australian journalism. 

On a two-week assignment in 2013 to shoot the Afghani cricket team he fell in love with Afghanistan and spent the next eight years living in and documenting the wartime country and its people. He’s travelled to two thirds of the country’s 34 provinces and produced two books on his time there. The first ‘August in Kabul’ is a novel about America’s last days of occupation, and the second ‘This is Afghanistan’ is a visual record designed in by Vince Frost with Wing Lau. Both books are published by The University of Melbourne - ‘This is Afghanistan’ will be released this month. 

Listen in as Vince and Andrew discuss; the ethics of beautifying death and tragedy, how recently media have become fair game in war zones, and the story behind his harrowing Walkely Award Winning photograph and article ‘The Man on the Operating Table’. 

Buy 'This is Afghanistan' - https://www.mup.com.au/books/this-is-afghanistan-hardback 

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Architects and building materials are synonymous, but an inquisitive entrepreneur with a passion for using natural materials to create spaces with soul has flipped the architectural surfaces industry on its head. With his collaborative approach, premium product and innovative approach to business Ben Kerr, the Founder and CEO of Eco Outdoor, has the world’s leading residential architects knocking down his door. 

Kerr’s hugely successful – now global - business with over 100 highly engaged employees supplies and installs natural architectural surfaces and outdoor furniture to architects in Australia and the USA. In his early days Kerr studied history and economics in London and went on to work as a political researcher for TV. After flunking an interview with the award-winning current affairs program Insight, he decided to help his landscaper brother and saw an opportunity in product. With what started as a pile of pebbles he’s created an international design-led business with purpose focused on his love of modern history and architecture.  

Listen in as Vince and Ben discuss the role products play in design, how to ignite and direct passion in people, and how the pallet of materials used to build China’s ancient cities are very similar to those we use today. 

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Working to have a positive impact is one thing. Working to have positive impact at scale is another. It’s a pursuit that needs an attitude of aggressive optimism to last the distance, and an openness to ongoing learning to succeed. 

Kevin Finn is an internationally recognised designer, advisor and author who started his career in Dublin at the studio that has designed all of the album covers for U2 and was Joint Creative Director of Saatchi Design in Sydney for seven years. A self-confessed risk-taker, in 2007 Kevin moved with his now wife from Sydney to Kununurra, a remote town in Western Australia. It’s where he founded TheSumOf, the independent design business he now runs from Brisbane on Australia’s east coast.  

As the founder, editor and publisher of Open Manifesto, an independent journal focused on design, social, cultural, political and economic issues, he’s interviewed thought-leaders and some of the biggest names in design from around the world. He’s also recently published Brand Principles, a book focused on sharing his 30 years of experience in branding businesses. 

Listen in as Vince and Kevin discuss working with the godfather of design thinking, Edward de Bono, the beauty and spontaneity of authenticity, and how impact equals return for businesses. 

https://thesumof.com.au/ 

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When you grow up in a family of inventors, you learn no idea is a bad idea, and anything is possible.

With confidence in the knowledge that mistakes are learnings, and the way to make better innovations is to push the boundaries, Konrad Bergstöm is changing the world.

Described as one of the most successful entrepreneurs of our time, the Swede is the founder of the multi-billion-dollar company Zound Industries, the makers of the innovative headphones and speakers loved the world over.

These days he’s focussed on saving the oceans through his electric boating company, X Shore. After turning his life around, switching a fast-paced international career to a life closely connected to his roots in nature, his energy and passion are contagious.

Listen in as Vince and Konrad discuss his game-changing electric boats, Scandinavian design culture and how his experience in the Swedish Special Forces shaped his connection to nature. 

https://www.xshore.com/ 

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Collette Dinnigan has a storied history as one of Australia’s must successful fashion designers. Ever. But that’s just one chapter of her creative life. 

Her adventurous spirit and love of colour, fabric and proportion make total sense in the context of her childhood. In the mid 70s, her father built a yacht and set sail from Durbin, South Africa for the world with his young family. When they settled in New Zealand her creative mother got involved in textile design, Collette would get the remnants and patterns, piecing them together into garments. 

Her list of accolades is long. Collette became the first Australian to mount a full-scale ready-to-wear collection in Paris in October 1995, and in 1996 was invited by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture to show on the prestigious Paris Fashion Week schedule. By the early 2000s, she was the darling of the international fashion scene. Dressing celebrities who didn’t want to wear the old houses on the red carpet, but something more youthful and new. In 2013, she was ready for change. Never afraid to take a risk, she controversially closed the doors to her business, instead of selling. When you get to know her, you’ll understand why. 

Today, her focus on collaborations and interiors satisfies her creative drive. She’s collaborated with luxury brands like Qantas, Audi and Dom Perignon, authored children’s books, designed interiors for restaurants and hotels and created wallpapers and ceramics. She’s even been on Celebrity MasterChef, a credit to her commitment to pushing herself outside her comfort zone. She’s authored two coffee table books, the second, ‘Bellissima, An Australian—Italian Affair’, designed by Vince is on shelves in all good bookstores today. 

Listen in as Vince and Collette discuss her love of interiors, gardens, food, friends, curiosities, art and travel, why she chose to shut down her business rather than sell it, and rolling down 40-foot waves in the Indian Ocean. 

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The craft of graphic design has changed dramatically since the 80s. Computers. The popularisation of branding. Over the past four plus decades John Rushworth, the design behemoth Pentagram’s longest serving partner, has seen it all. Despite these seismic shifts, he believes the thinking and innate human ability it takes to do truly impactful work hasn’t changed. 

Rushworth has had a huge impact on the world of design. He’s delivered graphic solutions to clients across almost every industry from Polaroid to Great Western Railway with his in-dept approach to design. Working closely with his clients, he works to draw out what it is that truly makes them who they are. Then turns them into strategically focused and visually compelling brands. He’s also had a huge impact on Vince Frost – he was his boss at Pentagram and the person who has influenced his career and design philosophy more than any other creative. 

Growing up in working class Yorkshire, he’d never heard the word design. It was a student teacher at his, “if I’m honest, pretty bad school,” who’d studied the craft that set a task to design an album cover that his eyes were opened. At age 14, he was good. At his Preston College of Art graduation show he was picked up by Conran Design Group. A year later he moved to Pentagram, just in time for their 10th birthday party. In 1987 he became the studio’s first associate and two years later was the first employee to be invited to become a partner. 

The creative has been member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI) since 1994 and a Director of the Outset Contemporary Art Fund since 2012. His work has been exhibited worldwide and has received many international awards including a gold medal at the Lahti Poster Biennale and multiple D&AD silver pencils.  

Listen in as Vince and John discuss the business of design, the impact of computers and AI on the design process, and what Vince learned working under him at Pentagram in the 90s.   

https://www.pentagram.com/ 

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Marijke Spain is part of the creative team at Leo Burnett who conceived the award-winning ‘One House to Save Many’ project for Suncorp Group. It’s a creative solution designed to address the destruction of Australian homes brought on by our changing climate and brings together a group of experts to prototype and test what could be Australia’s most resilient home.

Collaborating over many months, Suncorp partnered with CSIRO, James Cook University (JCU) and Room11 Architects to create a truly impactful solution to a real problem for our modern world.

The project is a beautiful demonstration of how simple thinking can solve complex problems and the power of creative talent in bringing big ideas to life. It’s no surprise the project won a Wood Pencil at the D&AD Impact awards this year. 

Listen in to episode two of our Designing for Impact series in collaboration with D&AD as Vince and Marijke discuss how the project came to life, what to do if you morally object to a brief and how simple thinking can solve complex problems. 

https://www.dandad.org/awards/professional/2022/235897/one-house-to-save-many/ 

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How do you design wellbeing?

In this episode of our Architecture Series - From Lego to Skyscrapers, Vince speaks to two of the Directors of Kerry Hill Architects, Seán McGivern & Patrick Kosky.

They discuss how designing with empathy and decisive clarity has helped continue Kerry Hill’s legacy, and why applying this practice to a building’s natural context can create therapeutic spaces for wellbeing. 

Listen in as they unpack their approach to designing globally recognised luxury resorts, striking private residences and empathetic city-shaping projects as spaces for rest, relaxation and stillness.

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This is the fourth instalment of the (Re)Design Your Life series which explores how the lives of individuals across the globe are getting on, how their lives have changed, what their coping mechanisms are and insights into what the future holds for us.

In this episode Vince chats with Mike Walsh, author and CEO of Tomorrow, a global consultancy on designing companies for the 21st century. As an international nomad and futurist, Mike advises some of the world’s biggest organisations on digital transformation and disruptive innovation in this new era of machine intelligence.

Mike travels over 300 days a year worldwide: researching trends, collecting case studies and presenting on the future of business and leadership.

His most recent book, The Algorithmic Leader: How to be smart when machines are smarter than you, offers a hopeful and practical guide for reinventing leadership and organisations in the modern world.

Mike and Vince delve into the future of our world particularly the massive changes that will occur post pandemic. One such shift will be the increased implementation of AI which has the potential to create mass unemployment unless properly readied for. Mike outlines a number of ways in which individuals can prepare for the changes which will inevitably occur and how you can walk a completely new career path.

The pair also touch on the resilience of the human race, the polarisation of science and information in today’s world, how interconnected differing cultures actually are and the importance of accepting data.

Enjoy!

The Algorithmic Leader

Design Your Life

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Growing up with a dynamic, upbeat and straight-talking New York City businessman for a father is one thing. Building a career as a highly successful no-nonsense creative business consultant is another. But the two are most certainly intertwined. 

Emily Cohen is the author of Brutally Honest, a book of, ‘no bullshit strategies to evolve your creative businesses’. She’s also a business consultant who has successfully partnered with over 500 leading creative firms worldwide to help them become more effective, profitable and fun to work with. 

She confesses she’s not a great designer, but she’s proven she’s an excellent connector and industry advocate, and campaigns endlessly for the value of the profession of design. 

Listen in as Vince and Emily Cohen discuss knowing when your work is adding value to the world, solving clients' problems, and the value the business of design can bring. 

https://emilycohen.com/ 

https://nobs.events/ 

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