Design Your Life with Vince Frost

In the second instalment of the exclusive Australian Made series, Vince chats to Saskia Havekes the founder of Sydney florist Grandiflora. 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. Established in 1995 in a small shop in the Eastern Sydney suburb of Potts Point, Grandiflora was the birthplace of a dream career of Saskia. Since its inception over two decades ago Grandiflora has grown immensely, influencing aesthetic for interior styling, hospitality, fashion, editorial and even the modern rituals of giving and displaying flowers.  Saskia is not just a florist but also an author and a fragrance creator. She has published four fantastic books, a number of them based around the Grandiflora brand and aesthetic. 2013 saw the Paris launch of her first two fragrances and now soon to release her 8th and final one.  Listen in as Vince and Saskia discuss her childhood growing up in the bush, how her parents were big influences on her creatively and how from an early age nature was the driving force of her inspiration.  The pair also discuss how the opening of her business and some of the key findings she has learnt along the way as well as what it is really like to be a florist on Valentines day! Enjoy! Grandiflora Design Your LifeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 LifeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

DYL X AGI   In the second instalment of our exclusive Design Your Life series in collaboration with Alliance Graphique Internationale(AGI), Vince chats with old friend Sonya Dyakova, head of award-winning visual communication agency Atelier Dyakova based in London. After studying in San Francisco, Sonya moved to London, working in some of London’s most highly regarded agencies. Before starting her own studio, Sonya worked with at award winning agencies such as Frost* Design and Kerr|Noble before working with iconic British designer Alan Fletcher at Phaidon Press where she was responsible for the design of books, ranging from contemporary art and design to architecture and photography. Her approach is firmly rooted in conceptual and typographic experimentation developed through research with attention to tactile details. Sonya was responsible for the re-design of Frieze magazine as well as design & art direction of Frieze Masters publication. In 2011 she received a Grand Prix from the Tokyo Type Directors Club. Listen in as Vince and Sonya discuss everything from growing up in Siberia, the power of perseverance, utilising fear to create positive outcomes, how to balance family and work and of course how to make the perfect book. Enjoy Atelier Dyakova Design Your Life Take the Design Your Life SurveySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Take the Design Your Life Survey  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

DYL X D&AD Impact series with Black Pencil Winners – Harmless Guns In the fifth and final instalment of our exclusive series with D&AD, Vince chats with Faustin Claverie the chief creative officer of TBWA Paris and lead on the project, Harmless Guns. TBWA Paris worked closely alongside French 3D printing manufacture Dagoma to tackle the proliferation of 3D printed weapons. They did this through the search and collection of hundreds of weapon blueprints via online forums. Over 400 weapon parts were modified by Dagoma’s team, rendering them harmless through slight, undetectable changes to varying weapon parts. The files were then spread across the deep web and tracked over the course of 8 months. In that time over 13,000 harmless guns were downloaded by users across the world. Listen in as Vince and Faustin discuss why the project was so successful, some of the hysteria around creating harmless guns and what the future holds for TBWA Paris. Enjoy! TBWA Paris D&AD- Harmless Guns Design Your Life Take the Design Your Life Survey!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Take the Design Your Life Survey here!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 LifeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.