Australian Design Radio

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In this episode, we talk to Martin Ford and Louise Helliwell about all things Inclusive Design.

Martin is a Senior Social Innovator at The Australian Centre for Social Innovation. With over 30 years of experience, he draws on his background in visual arts and graphic design to work creatively and collaboratively alongside people with lived and living experiences, elevating their voices in the design of policies, services, and systems.

Louise is Partner and Experience Design Director at Folk, where she leads complex service and digital design projects across government, health, housing, and environmental sectors. She’s known for building high-performing teams and shaping national programs that embed user needs at the heart of systems and policy.

Join us as we dive into this topic, exploring what Inclusive Design means, what it looks like when embedded in real projects, and how designers can cultivate a more inclusive design practice.

Thank you Martin and Louise for sharing your insights and experiences with us. If you enjoyed this episode, leave us a review or drop us a line at hello@ausdesignradio.com

Referenced in the episode 👇

Coproduction: Putting principles into practice

Work from Cath Roper, Flick Grey and Emma Cadogan.

In this episode, we talk to Jasmine Phillips on all things digital game design 🎮

Jasmine is a 2D game artist, animator, and founder of Nomo Studio. Born and raised in the Philippines, she studied Game Design and Development before freelancing with studios on titles like Episode, World Chef, and Laboratory Mayhem. Now in Australia, she’s continued freelancing while also starting to develop her own games, most recently collaborating with Fat Alien Cat on their debut indie title Momento.

Join us as we chat about the transition from freelancing to running an independent game studio, the technical complexities of game art, how to navigate government grants and funding, and the challenge of balancing business operations with creative focus.

Thank you Jasmine for sharing your journey and insights with us, and to Josephmark for providing us a space to record in 💙

If you enjoyed this episode, leave us a review or drop us a line at hello@ausdesignradio.com.

Saro is a design strategist, award-winning vocalist & songwriter, and the creative lead at the Museum of Sticks and Stones. Her work explores how creativity, dialogue, play, and design can bring people together to foster social cohesion and build common ground.

Join us as we chat about play and community engagement, the making of MoSS’s game Smorgasboard (with a little demo at the end 👀), and the role of play in building social connection for adults 🏕️

Thank you Saro for giving us your time to talk about games and to Josephmark for providing us with a studio to record in.

If you're keen to get yourself a copy of Smorgasboard, you can get it from the MoSS store here: https://sticksstones.store/

If you liked this episode make sure to leave us a review or get in touch with us at hello@ausdesignradio.com.

In this episode we talk to Dr Zac Fitz-Walter on all things Gamification.

Zac has a PhD in user experience, gamification, and motivational science. He’s the co-founder of the Make It Toolkit, co-runs a game and design studio called Eat More Pixels, and lectures in university Game Design courses.

Join us as we discuss the evolution of gamification, user motivation and engagement, best practices on implementation and real-world examples of gamification.

Thank you Zac for taking the time to chat with us, and shout out to Josephmark for providing us a space to record in.

If you liked this episode make sure to leave us a review or get in touch with us at hello@ausdesignradio.com.

We sat down with James Martin—aka Made By James—partner at Lincoln Design Co. James is a brand designer, storyteller, educator, and relentless sharer of process—someone who’s built an authentic brand and community around his work.

Recorded while James was in Sydney for the Canva Design Advisory Board, this conversation covers everything from designing like a boutique hotel to turning handovers into hugs. We explore why a standout client experience might be more powerful than churning out content, and how staying true to your process can build a lasting, engaged community.

If you’ve ever felt stuck chasing dream clients or uneasy about self-promotion, this one’s for you.

Big thanks to James for sharing his time and insights, and to Canva for hosting us.

This episode, listen in as Aa Design Studio Creative Director, Andrew Ashton sits down to chat with Amber Bonney, founder of The Edison Agency. They dive deep into the world of fast-moving consumer goods, and Amber speaks candidly about her experience with neurodiversity and how it’s impacted her working life.

On this final episode of our ⁠The Design Conference⁠ '24 series tune in to hear Anzac Tasker founder and executive creative director of ⁠Guardians⁠ an agency led by intention, that was born out Aotearoa, New Zealand, speak with Nu Goteh the principal of ⁠Room For Magic⁠, a community-centric research and creative studio based in Los Angeles that instigates equitable exchange.

Their conversation gets into the really big questions: what design is, how we think about it as well as its potential, and how we quantify its value.

A huge thank you to Nu and Anzac for taking the time to record with us, and to The Design Conference team for having us!

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or share it with a friend 💙

In this episode, we hear from Rob Duncan and Dominic Hofstede, Creative Directors and Partners at Mucho. They explore a variety of topics including the perception of Australian Design, challenges with decision-makers and uncertainty, and their insights into wayfinding, with some fun facts on airports 🛫

Special thanks to Rob and Dominic for taking the time to chat with us at the very end of the conference, and to The Design Conference team for having us!

If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or share it with a friend 💙

Studio Emmi

Roes Coach

Listen in as Arielle Bodenstein, Senior Storyteller chats with Claudia Henderson, Strategy Director. These two co-workers/friends dive into everything from handling perfectionism in creative work to acknowledging problems and their importance — plus an insider’s view on life at For The People.

Make sure to check out their conference talks via The Design Conference website.

If you liked this episode leave us a review, or get in touch with us directly at hello@ausdesignradio.com.

Atlassian

Re

Recorded at The Design Conference 2024

Tune in to a conversation between BATE and Martin, founders of ⁠By Fiction⁠, and Casey, the founder of ⁠Play⁠.

They really get into the nitty-gritty of starting and scaling a studio — with plenty of practical insights throughout.

Thank you BATE, Martin and Casey, and thank you to ⁠The Design Conference⁠ (TDC) for having us.

If you liked this episode please leave us a review or share this with a friend 💙

Listen in as Mat Bogust, Design & Managing Director of Think Packaging, chats with Kelvin Soh, founder of DDMMYY.

They share their experiences in packaging design, reflect on the early days of their careers, and discuss the challenges of planning projects that aim to last from 100 to 1000 years.

Make sure to check out their conference talks via The Design Conference website.

If you liked this episode leave us a review, or get in touch with us directly at hello@ausdesignradio.com.

juliesolvstrom.com

Julie's instagram

Check out Guillermo's work:

orbeh.com

Guillermo's instagram

Conference talks on demand here.

If you liked this episode, please share it and or leave us a review. You can get in touch directly on ⁠hello@ausdesignradio.com⁠.

Australian Design Radio is hosted and produced by Matt Leach, Amaani Thassim, Myla Yeomans, and Grace Pointon.

Big thanks to Josephmark for allowing us the use of their recording space this series, and Tae Young for editing and recording support.

If you liked this episode, please share it and or leave us a review. You can get in touch directly on hello@ausdesignradio.com.

Listen in as Richie Meldrum, the founder of Bare Brand Strat, chats to Paul Balfe and Kiel Tillman from Pennybridge Creative. Join them as they talk about all things brand and strategy - from their ways of managing client feedback, to sharing stories in advertising.

Thank you Richie, Paul and Kiel for being a part of it, and to Matthew Haynes and The Design Conference for having us 💜

If you liked this episode we'd love for you to leave us a review, or get in touch with us at hello@ausdesignradio.com and let us know what you think!

In this episode we sat down with Mary Faber, brand & product designer at Josephmark, ahead of her talk at AtypI Brisbane 2024.

Mary speaks with co-hosts Amaani Thassim and Grace Pointon about the evolution of design inspiration, the font design process, how AI shapes up in generating fonts today, and how it might impact the future of the discipline - and much more.

As always, let us know what you think, we love hearing from you!

In this episode, we sit down with two well-loved creatives and content creators - Kel Lauren and Elliot Ulm.

Listen in as they discuss the graphic design content space, the balance between success and self-worth when collaborating with big names, and reminisce about their favourite design software over the years.

This episode was recorded at Canva Create earlier this year, in our signature Designer x Designer format. Kel & Elliot enjoyed this format so much that their started their own podcast called Kelliot! - so if you enjoyed this make sure to check it out, it’s an absolute blast 🌟.

And as always don’t forget to let us know what you think, we’d love to hear from you!

Today we are hearing from Jessica Watson, independent user experience consultant for the built environment. This episode is the start of a new mini-series featuring co-host, Pip Kennedy who asks 'How can design be used to tackle disconnection?'.

Jess is on a mission to revolutionise the way we design and build our places based on radical inclusion and belonging, fostering a strong sense of identity in places and spaces that resonates for generations to come.

When we spoke with Jess she was working FreeState in Experience Direction & Creation. The episode questions traditional approaches and ways of working in the field, and emphasises the importance of understanding the systems we work in and our ability to shift and change them.

In our final episode of the TDC 2023 series, we hear from three heads behind digital product company, Nightjar.
Listen in as Co-Founders Ahmed Meer, Christine Sultana & Bonnie MacTavish, discuss their studio processes, working towards effective collaboration across disciplines, detail their work on THE ICONIC, and more.
Don't forget to let us know what you thought! We’ll be releasing new episodes and series soon.

Listen in as Robyn & Campbell Butler discuss starting a studio, branding process, remote collaboration and much more. Robyn & Campbell are the founders of Lovework Studio, a branding and digital design studio based in Redcliffe Australia.
They’re two incredibly talented creatives and it’s fascinating to hear them share their journey with Lovework. We dive into the collaborative approach they adopt for working with clients and as a team.

Recorded at The Design Conference 2023. If you liked the episode please leave a review, we’d love to hear from you!

Today we’re hearing from Evi-O & Yah-Leng Yu at The Design Conference in 2023. Evi-O is a multidisciplinary designer and artist at Evi-O.Studio and Yah-Leng Yu is the creative director of Foreign Policy.
Listen in as they discuss connection and how we can foster a healthy, safe, and flourishing design industry. They cover a lot, from perceptions and myths around Australian design culture to shifts within the industry as a whole and how it can improve and grow.
It’s been great to get feedback on this series and format, please keep it coming! You can reach out directly or leave a review on Spotify or Apple podcasts, or even send in a voice message.

In this episode we hear from Alistair McCready, founder of Monolith, a typographic design practice based out of Auckland, New Zealand. Alistair speaks with co-hosts Frankie Young and Matt Leach about about what type designers are like and the momentum you need when designing type.


It’s a fascinating and wide ranging chat, covering everything from awards to embracing place and how ‘where you are’ feeds into the work. 



This episode was recorded last year at The Design Conference. If you haven’t already snapped up your tickets for this year, now is a great time to do it!

In this episode we’re dropped into a conversation between two friends, Annette Harcus and Andrew Ashton. Annette is the founder, CEO and Creative Director of Harcus Design and Andrew is the CD of Ashton Design, previously with Edison Agency, Work-Art-Life and Studio Pip and Co. Their chat took us places you wouldn’t usually get in a design podcast.
It’s a great conversation recorded at The Design Conference in 2023. We’d love to hear your thoughts on the episode and designer x designer format in general. You can leave a review or even send in a voice message, right here.

We’re back and beyond excited to share this fascinating conversation between Jasmin, CEO of Innocean Australia and Founder of Fck the Cupcakes, and Kevin from TheSumOf — friend of the podcast and branding expert.

Listen in as they talk the culture of conferences, commercialising creativity and the silent war between design and advertising departments. Ultimately, the episode is about breaking down barriers, having more valuable exchanges and creating a willingness to learn.

And of course, a big thank you to Matt for setting us up with our guests from The Design Conference 2023.

Our last episode on positivity (as part of Adobe MAX 2021) has Sumita and Matt talking with Ve Dewey in London about how she’s remained positive in her squiggly-line career.

Ve has worked for Adobe, Mattel, ReDesign Business and most recently as co-creator for Never Not Creative. In this discussion we look at how she ended up in London, being a ‘servant-leader’ and how the design industry still needs to grow up.

As always, a big thank you to Streamtime, our supporting partner, always finding ways to give back to the Australian design industry. Please give them a try at streamtime.net

Links
Ve's website: https://www.vedewey.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vandewcandew/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/vandewcandew

Articles and podcasts by Ve: https://nevernotcreative.org/posts/tag/Ve+Dewey

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siddhartha_(novel)

Our Adobe MAX21 mini-series rolls on with co-host, Sumita Maharaj interviewing Kris Andrew Small on his backstory, how his process is changing and what it means to be a role model for younger creatives.

Having worked for many large clients like Nike, Apple, Adidas, Channel 4, WeTransfer, Reebok and more, he’s also exhibited internationally at institutions like V&A and The Louvre. Yes, that’s right folks, The Louvre.

Make you check out his talks at Adobe MAX, where he’s doing a number of different sessions. Details in the show links below.

As always, a big thank you to Streamtime, our supporting partner, always giving moments of joy to the Australian design industry. Give them a try at streamtime.net

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Links

Kris’s website: https://krisandrewsmall.com/home

Adobe MAX 2021: https://max.adobe.com/speakers/

MTS9 - Meet the MAX Speaker: Kris Andrew Small: https://portal.adobe.com/widget/adobe/am21/sessions?search=MTS9

MB111 - CJ Hendry: Creative Inspiration (with Kris): https://portal.adobe.com/widget/adobe/am21/sessions?search=MB111

Kris Insta: https://www.instagram.com/krisandrewsmall/?hl=en

The Bloom by TDC. Ep 01: Jo Hook and Kris Andrew Small: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMp4DG1rzSQ

Ocean Bottle: https://oceanbottle.co/pages/earth-day

Kris Interview on The design Kids: https://thedesignkids.org/interviews/kris-andrew-small/

Streamtime: https://streamtime.net/adr2020

1st episode in a new mini-series based on Adobe MAX and their 2021 theme of positivity. Co-host Sumita Maharaj interviews Josie Young about her work, living with chronic illness and stepping away from Christopher Doyle & Co. to start her own thing.

Go here to listen.

Make sure you tune into her presentation at Adobe MAX, aptly titled, ‘Notes on Invisible Illness and Making Work Work for You’ available live Thursday, Oct 283:30 PM - 4:00 PM AEDT and check out Josie’s new site to see her amazing work.

As always, a big thank you to Streamtime, our supporting partner, always trying to give back to the Australian design industry. Give them a try at streamtime.net

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Links

Josie Young Website

Adobe MAX 2021

Design Atlas 012: Josie Young: Staying positive in difficult times

Adobe LIVE: Branding: The Exploration Before the Presentation with Josie Young

Adobe LIVE: Branding: The Presentation After the Exploration with Josie Young

Sydney Design Festival — International Women’s Day “Gentlemen Welcome” — Josie Young

Streamtime

This episode we have Jo Roca and Jason Little from For The People looking at our 5th episode. Jo was just ‘the girlfriend’ and Jason had just opened a studio with two mates. In the time between, FTP has gone on to become one of Australia's most awarded agencies, recently named 4th in D&AD design studio polls.

It hasn’t all been smooth sailing though. Jo and Jas are the first to admit their mistakes and the roads they wished they’d not taken. In this very frank and honest episode, we look back at the ups and downs of running a business and why they never stop learning and trying to improve.

As always, a big thank you to Streamtime, our supporting partner. Give them a try at streamtime.net

This is our final episode in the mini series on ‘how design can help combat stigma’ with co-host, Myla Yeomans. This time we have the pleasure of talking with Olivia Chen and Sam Wearne about the work they do with Studio ChenChen.

We spend a bit of time talking about Chattii, a dating app that prioritises humanity and safety in rejecting the stigma of disability and letting all people find love. This project really sums up Studio ChenChen nicely, where they really immerse themselves in understanding the client and what their needs are. It’s rare that you meet a design team that integrates themselves so completely in their clients. As Olivia says, they effectively become in-house designers.

As always, a big thank you to Streamtime, our supporting partner, a constant rock to the Australian design industry. Give them a try at streamtime.net

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Links

Studio ChenChen https://studiochenchen.com/
Chattii website https://www.chattii.com/
Studio ChenChen Instagram https://www.instagram.com/studiochenchen/
The Design Kids interview with Olivia: https://vimeo.com/582332826
Streamtime: https://streamtime.net/

For this episode we are again at the Design Conference in Brisbane, sitting on the turbine hall stage chatting with Peter Brennan, Founder & Creative Director of Electric & Analog and co-founder and head of brand for non-alcoholic beer Heaps Normal.

Pete has had an amazing career, right across the globe, from art directing for Quicksilver in South Africa, directing innovation at ATOMIC 212° in Australia and working at top agencies in the UK, he has had a wide range of experience across all parts of the industry.

It was through a few discussions that we thought Pete would be perfect for this mini-series, specifically around the role that Heaps Normal is taking in the alcohol category, where they are promoting mindful drinking, being conscious about what’s normal for you and trying to promote a sustainable change to Australia’s drinking habits. Their ad this July really caught a lot of attention where they suggested doing your best, cutting back, rather than complete abstinence — acknowledging that different things work for different people. 

As always, a big thank you to Streamtime, our supporting partner, always finding ways to lift up the Australian design industry. Give them a try at streamtime.net

The start of a new mini-series, where co-host, Myla Yeomans, asks the question, ‘how can design help combat stigma?’

In this first episode, we speak to Keisha Leon, Founder and Director at Leon Design. Keisha cut her teeth in magazine design before taking up a senior position at Lorna Jane. In 2018 she moved to Carbon Creative before deciding it was time to do her own thing.

Being a Waanyi and Kalkadoon woman, Leon Design is a First Nations owned and operated creative consultancy, specialising in conceptual design. We get into the what, why and how in the interview.

As always, a big thank you to Streamtime, our supporting partner, consistently giving back to the Australian design industry. Give them a try at www.streamtime.net

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Links

Leon: www.leondesign.co

Keisha LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keisha-leon/

Cancer Australia: https://leondesign.co/projects/cancer-australia/

Family Planning: https://leondesign.co/projects/family-planning-nsw/

Streamtime: https://streamtime.net/

The original guest in question is Christopher Doyle who joined us way back at the start, on our 2nd show. Chris has been an ADR guest a few times so it was a real pleasure to talk with him and explore what’s changed in the 130 episodes since we first recorded.

We cover the growth and success, but also how he’s needed to scale back to find his happiness again. Chris is, as always, extremely honest and open and it’s a fascinating look into what’s next for him and the studio he’s spent so long building.

As always, a big thank you to Streamtime, our supporting partner. Give them a try at streamtime.net

In our last episode with Co-host, Stephanie Foti, and her mini-series on ‘what makes a great designer teacher,’ Steph and Matt talk to Nicki Wragg, the Chair of Communication Design at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne.

If you work in design education in Australia, there is a good chance you’ve come across Nicki. She is a leader in the field of teaching design and, as you’ll hear, has been doing it for more than two decades. One of the things she’s best known for is leading the team that managed to get Swinburne's Design course online. A momentous task that allowed people all over the world to experience that renowned course. She inspires both her students and her colleagues. And, has been a huge advocate for increasing the public's awareness of the value of design.

As always, a big thank you to Streamtime, our supporting partner—always giving back to the Australian design industry. Give them a try at streamtime.net At the beginning of the episode Andy Wright mentions an article where he spoke to Blair Enns, find it here.

Part two in ‘what makes a great design teacher’ and this time, Matt and co-host, Stephanie Foti, are talking to Felix Oppen from Tiliqua Press and Tiliqua Studio, makers of the award-winning Ligature Journal.

Felix has taught in Universities for over 10 years and has a passion for teaching traditional techniques, specifically where type is involved. He’s concerned with making sure students understand the knowledge, but more importantly, are able to use it. And this is why he’s gravitated to teaching people in his studio, on the letterpresses, so they can get their hands dirty and smell the ink.

As always, a big thank you to Streamtime, our supporting partner, always finding ways to give back to the Australian design industry. Give them a try with a 20% discount, you won't be sorry you did.

On this episode, Matt is joined by Stephanie Foti to interview our favourite creative nomad, Frankie Ratford. We explore the question, ‘what makes a great design teacher,’ a perfect question for Frankie who has been holding Designers Bootcamps all around the world, allowing people to question what it is they want from their career and hit the reset button if they need to.

As always, a big thank you to Streamtime, our supporting partner, always finding ways to give back to the Australian design industry. Give them a try with a 20% discount, you won't be sorry you did.

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Frankie’s website / Frankie’s Insta / Designer’s Bootcamp / The Design Kids / The Aframe