Design Your Life with Vince Frost

Vince Frost
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Design Your Life with Vince Frost

Your life is the biggest design project you will ever undertake! In his Design Your Life podcast series, Vince Frost discusses how design principles can be applied to everyday life with a group of leading creative guests. Listen in as designers, journalists, CEOs and founders reveal the key turning points in their lives and talk about the role design has played in shaping the success of their brands and careers. designyourlife.com.au Vince Frost is the CEO and Executive Creative Director of Frost*collective, a strategic creative group dedicated to designing a better world through human-centered design. Its goal is to design experiences that enrich lives by combining specialist skills to tackle complex challenges and drive superior results.

  1. Designing 30 years of Frost* with Vince Frost (pt. 1)

    3 DAYS AGO

    Designing 30 years of Frost* with Vince Frost (pt. 1)

    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.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1h 5m
  2. Designing an Australian Italian affair with Collette Dinnigan

    NOV 4

    Designing an Australian Italian affair with Collette Dinnigan

    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.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1h 8m
  3. Designing connection through photography with Derek Henderson

    OCT 21

    Designing connection through photography with Derek Henderson

    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.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1h 16m
  4. Designing interactive art with Jason Bruges

    OCT 8

    Designing interactive art with Jason Bruges

    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/  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1h 18m
  5. Designing a retail revolution with Felicity McGahan

    SEP 23

    Designing a retail revolution with Felicity McGahan

    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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1h 4m
  6. Designing contemporary art with Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran

    SEP 9

    Designing contemporary art with Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran

    What does it mean to exist professionally as an artist? Does being business minded compromise an artist’s creativity? If it’s a frank discussion on the topic you’re after, Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran is the artist to have it with.  Nithiyendran is a Sri Lankan born contemporary artist whose work is often described as bold, hyperbolic, exaggerated and expressive. He’s achieved huge success in his decade-long career — his artwork has been presented in museums, festivals and the public domain, including significant presentations at the National Gallery of Australia, The Art Gallery of New South Wales, The Dhaka Art Summit and Art Basel Hong Kong. In 2019, he received a Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship recognising his outstanding talent and exceptional professional courage, and his 368-page monograph, titled RAMESH, was published by Thames & Hudson in 2022. Heavily influenced by his upbringing as a Tamil migrant in Sydney’s west, Nithiyendran was an incredibly high achiever academically, but it wasn’t until he arrived at the University of New South Wales to begin his BA in Fine Arts that he felt he existed outside a minority. Listen in as Vince and Ramesh discuss why no one in art wants to talk about business, how growing up as a migrant in Australia shaped him and the importance of respecting other people’s work and input. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1h 13m
  7. Designing brands that endure with Sean Perkins

    AUG 26

    Designing brands that endure with Sean Perkins

    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.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1h 2m
  8. Designing brands that Never Sit Still with Mike Tosetto

    AUG 12

    Designing brands that Never Sit Still with Mike Tosetto

    Not every path to success is a straight one. Mike Tosetto knows this firsthand. From growing up in Sydney’s Inner West as a skate kid who took photos with a disposable camera of the local street art — or, as her calls it, ‘mad graph’ — to living out back for two years at Ayres Rock Resort, to playing didgeridoo on stage at the Glastonbury music festival. His path has been anything but direct. After realising his job at a supermarket chain wasn’t going anywhere, he got a job at a publishing house, and started hanging around the graphic design department and tinkering with computers with the IT guys. But it was when he stumbled upon a University of Sydney open day that things really started to unfold in the right direction. He got into a digital media master’s degree, and his path was set. Today, Mike runs one of the foremost animation studios in Australia. Creating motion branding for businesses like Samsung, Adobe, Adidas, Microsoft, Google, Binge and Bugatti, translating strategic concepts into motion. Listen in as Vince and Mike discuss being burnt out and not being able to see the woods for the trees, the relentless pursuit of delivering great outcomes, and the future of motion design.   https://neversitstill.com/  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    1h 5m
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Ratings & Reviews

4.8
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

Your life is the biggest design project you will ever undertake! In his Design Your Life podcast series, Vince Frost discusses how design principles can be applied to everyday life with a group of leading creative guests. Listen in as designers, journalists, CEOs and founders reveal the key turning points in their lives and talk about the role design has played in shaping the success of their brands and careers. designyourlife.com.au Vince Frost is the CEO and Executive Creative Director of Frost*collective, a strategic creative group dedicated to designing a better world through human-centered design. Its goal is to design experiences that enrich lives by combining specialist skills to tackle complex challenges and drive superior results.

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