My Life In Design Podcast

This week Claire is joined by Bryan Edmondson of London based design studio SEA, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary. He’s lectured in universities around the UK, speaks at conferences globally such as D&AD, Birmingham Design Festival and Northern Design Festival. He has work held at museums including the Cooper-Hewitt in New York City; and has created and worked with brands such as Jamie Oliver, EMI, Monotype, Adidas, Rolls-Royce, Christie’s, Nokia and GF Smith.

In this episode, Byran talks to Claire about:
+ Founding and growing a design studio over three decades and working across multiple sectors, including music, fashion, hospitality, beauty, and outdoor brands 
+ The importance of business education, professional representation and support for the design industry 
+ Advice for emerging designers: focus on quality, develop a distinctive voice, learn from design history, and persevere through rejection

LINKS:
Red Setter
Dba
SEA

This week Claire is joined by graphic artist, printmaker and designer Anthony Burrill. He’s renowned for his ability to distill ideas into simple yet striking forms. His work is represented in the permanent collections of the V&A, the Design Museum in London and the Cooper-Hewitt in New York; and been exhibited internationally at institutions such as the Royal Academy in London, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and the Triangle in Milan. He’s spoken globally at design conferences in cities including London, Berlin, Barcelona, Toronto and Mumbai. Anthony also has an upcoming exhibition at London's National Theatre starting on the 22nd of October.

In this episode, Anthony talks to Claire about:

+ Early opportunities creating animations and graphics for MTV, followed by freelance work in advertising
+ Moving from commercial projects towards making independent artwork, prints and books
+ How letterpress printing and the phrase “Work hard and be nice to people” shaped a defining series of prints and his career (and the origin story behind that iconic print) 
LINKS:
Red Setter
Dba
Anthony Burrill

This week Claire is joined by legendary bookmaker, Irma Boom, who marks our 100th episode in the series. Irma Boom is the most widely renowned and laureated book designer in the world today. She's commonly known as the 'Queen of Books', having created around 600 of them. In her bold, experimental style, she challenges the convention of traditional books in both physical design and printed content. She was the youngest ever recipient of the Gutenberg Prize, and since has received over 50 more awards. A selection of her books are held from the permanent collection of MoMA and a personalised Irma Boom archive has been set up in the University of Amsterdam and the Vatican Library.

This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at D&AD’s London headquarters.

In this episode, Irma talks to Claire about:

+ Treating book design as an artistic, idea-led practice rather than simply designing a cover 
+ The role of collaboration, creative control and persistence in bringing books to life
+ Creating for brands like Chanel, and researching the history of books through archives and libraries, including the Vatican Library
LINKS:
Red Setter
Dba
Irma Boom

This week, Claire is joined by Tim Perry, a trained industrial designer who led the agency Webb deVlam through to its sale in 2016. Before that, Tim worked in design strategy at the height of Nokia’s success. He has judged for D&AD and Creativepool and is now a consultant, working with leaders of independent design agencies to help them grow. He has also developed a series of training courses focused on the business side of design.

In this episode, Tim talks to Claire about:

+ His time working at Nokia at its peak selling over a million handsets a day - and the impact of the iPhone launch
+ His move into packaging design, then scaling an agency and navigating the complexities of its sale
+ How he moved into design strategy consulting and advising independent agencies on growth
LINKS:
Red Setter
Dba
TP Consulting
Signal Awards

This week Claire is joined by Greg Quinton, the co-chief creative officer of Design Bridge & Partners. Greg’s team has won over 2,000 awards at the highest level in design, over 380 D&AD pencils, including two black and over 20 yellow pencils. They’ve won 30 Cannes Lions, including the Grand Prix and Greg was jury president there this year. He served two terms as D&AD trustee and chair of education and is a coach at Imperial College London. He’s the co-author of the updated A Smile in the Mind, a graphic design university course favourite and has worked on brands such as HSBC, London Symphony Orchestra, The National Gallery and Aston Martin. 

In this episode, Greg talks to host Claire about:

+ His luck in having creativity as part of the DNA of his family and being a right-brained person 
+ On the importance of finding your passion and not chasing the money 
+ How he doesn’t believe in perfection and that we’re all a work in progress
LINKS:
Red Setter
Dba
Design Bridge & Partners