Dig Beneath Design Podcast

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Essential communication tips to help designers get more great ideas off the ground.

  1. 08/11/2025

    Jess Hodge transforms passion into new perspectives, on MasterChef, travel and designing with Country.

    When the COVID lockdowns hit Sydney, landscape architect Jess Hodge turned to cooking for stress relief, discovering a talent that got her into Season 13 of MasterChef Australia.  Her passion for plants and food sparked a hunger to learn about native ingredients and collaborate with Indigenous knowledge holders. Now, Jess is principal landscape architect at Yerrabingin, a Designing with Country practice in Sydney. She shares the milestones, mentors and attitudes that helped shape her unconventional career journey. Find out how to ride waves of opportunity, keep an eye out for burnout, and what to do when a prime minister walks out of your presentation. This episode is produced in partnership with the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA).

    38 min

  2. 12/15/2024

    Terrence Stapleton says good leaders listen, ask questions and include diverse voices.

    Pouring beer and waiting tables during uni, Terrence Stapleton would never have dreamed of his fabulous future career. Now he’s a successful landscape architect leading TCL’s Sydney studio, with rich, complex projects all over Australia.  Terrence reveals how he learnt to be confident in his own strengths, champion his team and curate diverse voices to get the best results.  Find out how to hold your own when your client has 20 years more experience and keep your cool when fighting to save trees on an infrastructure project. Plus, ways to flip the script at your next design review panel.

    34 min

  3. 10/20/2024

    Libby Gallagher champions climate resilience with clarity and courage.

    Dr Libby Gallagher designs major parks in Sydney, teaches at leading universities and advises government on urban tree canopy. Her Cool Streets research gained national media coverage and was featured in the Powerhouse Museum’s 100 Climate Conversations. But Libby’s success hasn’t come easy – she reveals the leaps of faith that forged her career path, the long days and late nights spent honing her work and the courage it’s taken to make sure her message of climate resilience reaches as many people as possible. Find out how to welcome critique but stand firm against unjustified attacks, how to translate your research into action and why facing your fears can lead to surprising results.

    31 min

  4. 08/06/2024

    Bo Wong speaks like she swims: with purpose, presence and joy.

    Freelance photographer Bo Wong has done things most sole traders only dream of. Like take an 8-month creative sabbatical, swim in the ocean daily, even collaborate successfully with family and friends. Now she supports other creative freelancers trying to juggle life, work and wellbeing through mentoring, retreats and her Soul Traders podcast. Bo is the kind of facilitator who sets clear guidelines and leads by example. She puts incredible care into her communication, and refreshingly, is exactly the same in real life as she appears online. Find out why it’s better to be respected than liked, when to use containers in your communication, and the three words you need to remove from your emails right now. Links www.bowong.com.au @b_o_w_o_n_g

    34 min

  5. 05/14/2024

    John O’Callaghan designs interactive and fun ways to engage with urban planning.

    As a young planner, John O’Callaghan created a buzz in the industry. Instead of rules, regulations and tedious town hall meetings, he kickstarted initiatives like Idea Bombing Sydney, online blogs and social media to get his peers engaged with cities. Now, after ten years leading strategic planning and engagement company JOC Consulting, John shares how he learnt to slow down, find his voice and focus his energy in order to have the greatest impact. Find out how to disrupt a highly regulated industry and harness the latest tech for powerful engagement, plus what John really thinks about planning jargon.

    35 min

  6. 11/18/2023

    Nicole Larkin taps into beauty, love and memory to spark conversations.

    Nicole Larkin is an architect, artist and an expert on ocean pools. Her Byera Hadley Travelling Scholarship canvassed all 59 pools along the NSW coast, allowing Nicole to create opportunities, forge connections and bring a fresh perspective to coastal design, planning and policy. Find out what it takes to go from recent graduate to respected expert, ways to supercharge your career and even generate dream projects, plus what needs to go up front in your next presentation. Links www.nicolelarkin.com @thewildedge @nlarkin_design

    30 min

  7. 07/13/2023

    Chris Moller says the language of architecture isn’t images or words, it’s making.

    Host of Grand Designs New Zealand for six years, Chris Moller is a charismatic TV star. But behind the camera is an erudite architect urbanist who challenges the way we live, build and think. Chris has taught at prestigious architecture schools, run practices in the UK, the Netherlands and New Zealand, and invented a prefab building product called Click-Raft. His latest project is a community centre in Christchurch inspired by a giant shellfish. Find out why architects don’t need project managers, how the power of communication lies in our hands, and what really went on behind the camera of Grand Designs.   Links http://cma-u.com https://thelocalproject.com.au/articles/rebuilding-mt-pleasant-community-centre-quick-on-the-rise-feature-article-the-local-project/ https://www.archify.com/au/archifynow/tight-knit-mt-pleasant-community-centre https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64YjQI65PRk   Acknowledgements City on a Roof and City in a Room were collaborative projects between Chris Moller and Pavlov MediaLab (Nathalie Beekman and Thuur Caris). Rosie Wyatt Chang is a regular collaborator with Chris Moller on numerous projects.

    32 min

  8. 12/11/2019

    Helen Lochhead believes authentic communicators make strong leaders.

    Helen Lochhead sends a refreshing jolt of energy through the architecture profession. As the first female dean of the Faculty of the Built Environment at UNSW Sydney, national president of the Australian Institute of Architects and one of the Australian Financial Review’s top 100 women of influence, she’s ambitious, resilient and inspiring. Helen shares insights on communicating ideas within private practice, the public sector and academia. Find out how to impress a design review panel, how to beat imposter syndrome and embrace your own leadership style, plus essential tips for student presentations.

    29 min
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Essential communication tips to help designers get more great ideas off the ground.

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