THE AUSTRALIAN DESIGN PRIZE WAS ESTABLISHED TO RECOGNISE INDIVIDUAL DESIGNERS WHO ARE MAKING, OR HAVE MADE, A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT IN AUSTRALIAN DESIGN OVER THE COURSE OF THEIR CAREER.

Vince Frost is dedicated to designing a better world. The Founder, CEO and Executive Creative Director of Frost*collective is an explorer of mediums and creator of opportunities. He was born in England, raised in Canada and moved to Australia in 2003 – where he built Frost*collective into the positive force it is today. 

Receiving the 2024 Australian Design Prize is a milestone along his lifelong pursuit of progress through design. While Vince’s career can’t be put in a box, he’s known for being a leader, author and the host of the Design Your Life podcast. Vince was also the subject of a retrospective called Frost*bite at the Sydney Opera House. 

Since its beginnings in 1994, Frost*collective has grown into a crew of 45 people. Today, Vince leads their Sydney- and London-based studios alongside a leadership team of 70% women. The Certified B Corporation delivers projects across the globe that shape the way we live, work and play. Frost*collective’s design disciplines are diverse, extending to strategic branding, experience design and environmental design.

While Vince’s focus is on the impact of design rather than individual recognition, his contribution to the design industry has been recognised across the globe. His achievements include:

• Executive Committee member of D&AD
• Member of IGA (Alliance Graphique Internationale, Switzerland)
• Honorary Fellow of ISTD (International Society of Typographic Designers, London)
• Board Member of the University of Technology Sydney’s Entrepreneurial Advisory Board

We sat down with Vince to explore his journey from design student to an industry name that led to being honoured with the 2024 Australian Design Prize. 

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GDA: The Australian Design Prize recognises those who are making or have made a significant impact in Australian design. What legacy do you hope to leave behind in the Australian design industry?

Vince Frost: It’s an interesting question because I’ve never really thought about creating a legacy… I just feel like I’ve always been focused on making the most of every day and every opportunity… I wanted to create an environment for other people to thrive in. I want to help people, individuals and organisations to be the best they can be. 

Design is a phenomenal tool. Design is a phenomenal career. The opportunity to help people is a real privilege and an honour, but as well as you do it, you always believe that you could do it better. That keeps us honest, that keeps us determined, that keeps us evolving. Frost*collective projects have received hundreds of awards around the world, which is something special for the whole team to carry with them.

One thing I do, I guess if there was any form of legacy, is my podcast. We’ve had about 150 guests so far. … I have the privilege of talking to other humans about their lives, how they got into what they’re doing, that very honest kind of conversation… That’s a library of conversations that will hopefully be there for a very long time… I think that’s really a wonderful thing to be part of.

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Is there a moment in your career that you look back on as your ‘big break’? Did you recognise it at the time it was happening?

Vince Frost: This November I turn 60. This November, the business turns 30. 40 years of my life, I’ve been a designer and working on projects. I’m in the process of doing a book and an event on the last 30 years. So, there’s a lot of reflection happening that is not just for this award.

I calculated that 30 years is 10,950 days. Every single one of those days I would have been working on a design problem, or working on my business, or having conversations with people about potential opportunities and stuff like that.

When I was at school, we moved around a lot as a kid in Canada and then came back to England. I got really behind academically so I bombed at high school. My Mum suggested I go to art school. And luckily, I got into this foundation course, which was a year of doing product design, textiles, fashion, graphic design, animation, video productions and all that kind of stuff.

​​After that year, we were told, ‘You need to choose one.’ And I’m like, ‘Ah, I like all of it. I like aspects of each and every one of those things’. Then, there was no choice but to choose. I chose graphic design or visual communication at the time, but in my mind, I was always thinking more broadly.

When I look back, I realise that I designed a business that is much more of a specialist team. It’s a generalist business that can help people and organisations in a whole bunch of different ways. 

So, we’re not just a visual communication, graphic design, branding business. We’re far broader than that. I guess exposure to that broad foundation year really changed my direction in life. 

GDA: You’re someone who creates across so many different mediums. Frost*collective encompasses multiple design disciplines. Would you say exploration is something you’ve always valued in your work? 

Vince Frost: Yeah, I think that there’s a playfulness to what we do. We often talk about the opportunity to play. When someone comes to us and commissions us or asks us to pitch something, there’s this opportunity to have some fun…

When [a project] first comes in, you don’t know what it’s going to be. That’s kind of terrifying and exciting in equal measures. There’s that, like, ‘Oh my God. How exciting… Oh, my God. What do we do?’

… We call it the discovery phase – looking for ideas or insights that influence our strategy and our approach. These are ideas that come from the project, not ideas that are put on a project. 

That is a really, really, really exciting time… Because it’s not art. It is a commercial agreement and you’ve got to find the magic. You’ve got to try to find the idea that in time, comes to the surface through continual play and exploration and questioning.

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GDA: What’s the most rewarding part about being in your position as a leader? 

Vince Frost: We’ve been an independent company for 30 years. So it’s kind of unusual because a lot of companies of our scale get bought, or they sell, or they close, or the leadership changes over time.

I guess that one of the greatest privileges is actually having a business that, for a whole bunch of other people, is their livelihood as well. It is a place for them to grow. It is a place for them to be exposed to incredible projects and connections. Connections with clients and other creative people. That is something that I’m really proud of, but at the same time I don’t take that for granted.

I’m in business because I want to help individuals start a business, or with the planning of their life through Design Your Life, or with their brand. Helping people to connect with places, finding their way around a place, etcetera, there’s so many ways that we help people. 

For me, that was a kind of an ‘aha’ moment a few years ago… Traditionally, people just think we’re a design company, or a graphic design business or a branding business. When I dug deeper, I realised that it was about helping people across society because of all the kinds of projects we touch…that is something which is really, really beneficial, because it helps us understand people in a more meaningful and genuine way. So we’re ultimately designing for people and to make a positive difference.

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GDA: And the most challenging? 

Vince Frost: It has been really, really, really hard at times to evolve, from a creative person, from a designer, into a business person and running a business. I got into business kind of by default…that whole process of growing beyond yourself was initially incredibly hard.

Luckily, I reached out to mentors, different business people and coaches. That helped me enormously to evolve from working in the business to working on the business and understanding what that meant. By no means have I got it all sussed out but I definitely feel a lot better by going through that journey of questioning. 

That’s how I came about writing my book. Design Your Life was on the back of me hitting a wall with my health. I kept burning myself out. I kept fighting myself, as opposed to designing my life and working out, how do I be the best ‘me’ in my life – to then be able to help others achieve that themselves?

So, the thing that I found the most challenging was possibly the stress of business and the business of design. But it’s something that I’ve embraced on a journey of learning and trying different things, along with my partners and my team to achieve greater success. 

Ultimately… Yes, I am personally receiving this Award, but I couldn’t have done any of it without my team… The projects today and the projects over the last 30 years have been an incredible collaboration with a whole bunch of incredible people in my team and clients. 

You’ve spoken to your commitment to designing a better world. Frost*collective recently became a certified B Corporation. How has this impacted the types of projects that you choose to take on?

Vince Frost: It makes a big difference to attracting brands and businesses that equally want to be doing the right thing in the world, whether it’s a big property development or a startup.

Designing a better world is definitely something that we’re focused on. We don’t want to be just doing design that looks nice…we want to design for people and we want design to be effective. We want design to be minimising the impact on the Earth as well. 

Since we became a B Corp, and even previously to being a B Corp, we would turn down projects that we felt were manipulative or in some way, or damaging the Earth, or damaging people, even indirectly. 

Every single time an opportunity came in, we’d always be questioning it. Going back and forth and going, ‘Yes, it’s great revenue or great opportunity. But…’.  

There’s only been a handful of times over the years that we’ve turned things down because of that, but the B Corp gives us clear guidance around that too. So there is kind of a filter that you put across your decisioning around taking on projects. That has helped us in that regard as well, because it can be really hard to navigate that. 

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GDA: If you could say one word to someone about to start their first day of design study, what would it be? 

Vince Frost: That’s hard… I’m thinking of so many different scenarios of how you can answer that. Can I say a couple of them? 

GDA: Yes.

Vince Frost: ‘Trust’ is really important. Trust yourself. Trust the process, Trust the evolution of what might come to you, in terms of the idea that what you put in comes back to you…

Maybe ‘deep’. In terms of, immerse yourself in it, dig deep.

I want to say something like ‘enjoy’, but it feels a bit light-hearted to me. But then ‘relentless’ sounds too harsh… ‘Determination’?

…Or maybe ‘help’. How do you use design and the design practice to truly help people in a beneficial way? Not superficially, not just for sales, but help the consumer, help the end user, help your clients achieve their goals. Help people have better lives. 

GDA: What does receiving the Australian Design Prize mean to you?

Vince Frost: I am humble and appreciative of any form of recognition. Whether it’s a client knocking on the door because they’ve seen what we’ve done and they want to commission us to do something, or an award such as this. I’m quite blown away by it… 

I struggle with being elevated, when really, I’m just a grafter. I’m just someone who wants to get on and make stuff and do stuff and solve problems and help people.

People turning 60 seem to be getting this award. For me, my career isn’t done yet. Yes, I’m older, possibly wiser. But, I’m still learning, I’m still playful, I’m still determined and I’m still hungry.

I think design has got us into the messiness of this world. A lot of bad things in this world are through design. You know, anything that’s not nature has been designed. I also believe that design is helping us solve the real problems of the world for the better. So, I think design is incredibly powerful and has so much potential. I really wish that each and every one of us is utilising its potential for good. 

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Vince’s legacy on the Australian design industry is still being written. In his career so far, he has proven the power of optimism. He sees opportunity where others don’t and always says yes to positive change. 

This ethos is reflected in his response to our request for a single word of advice to design students. Vince doesn’t settle for one word, just as he doesn’t settle for one design discipline. He sees potential in multiple solutions. His open-mindedness is fundamental to Frost*collective, a place where choice, collaboration and exploration become agents for progress.

Vince’s utilisation of design to improve lives deserves to be celebrated – congratulations on receiving the 2024 Australian Design Prize. 

THE AUSTRALIAN GOOD DESIGN AWARD OF THE YEAR IS AWARDED TO ONLY ONE EXEMPLARY PROJECT ACROSS ALL DESIGN DISCIPLINES AND CATEGORIES. 

WITH ONLY ONE PROJECT EARNING THIS TOP ACCOLADE EACH YEAR, IT REPRESENTS THE VERY PEAK OF DESIGN EXCELLENCE AND INNOVATION. 

Picture this: a surgical platform that has more than 150 enhancements and 10,000 times more computing power than its previous generation. Da Vinci 5  by Intuitive isn’t just about impressive stats; it’s about transforming the everyday experience of surgeons and care teams. 

It introduces an ergonomically designed console for unparalleled comfort¹, empowering surgeons to effortlessly control every aspect through seamless component integration. Da Vinci 5 merges form and function flawlessly, offering Intuitive’s most advanced surgical tool to help surgeons achieve peak efficiency and performance.

Awarded the Australian Good Design of the Year, Intuitive’s da Vinci 5 exemplifies this redefined design innovation. By combining collaborative creativity with solution-focused thinking, this advanced minimally invasive surgical platform offers greater surgeon autonomy and streamlined workflow that may help hospitals address staffing challenges. It sets new benchmarks for efficiency, and provides valuable insights with the aim of helping surgeons improve patient outcomes. 

[Da Vinci 5 – Winner of the 2024 Australian Good Design Award of the Year. Image: Intuitive]

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To step behind the design, we spoke with Russell Blanchard, Director of Product Design at Intuitive. He discussed the collaborative design process that created the da Vinci 5, highlighting how a blend of skills helps tailor the technology to meet specific needs.

“There’s many different areas of expertise at Intuitive, so there’s a lot of different perspectives that come into a project like this,” Russell Blanchard explained. 

“We collaborate very closely with mechanical design engineers, an incredibly impressive group of individuals who make the products work. They are responsible for actually inventing the robotic technology that makes the products function as intended. Industrial and Interaction designers work shoulder to shoulder with engineering so that the technology is intuitive and easy to experience and interact with.” 

“We also partner with the Clinical Development Engineering team. They are engineers with surgical training so they’re the ones who define how to solve the clinical tasks of a surgical procedure in order to help surgeons achieve the clinical outcome they are aiming for.” 

“In building the industrial design team, we had to make sure that we were educating ourselves on understanding the clinical workflow, contextual environment, the surgical techniques, and what the surgeon and care team are trying to accomplish.” 

“Working with the clinical development engineers was great exposure to the point of view of the surgeon and what they are actually trying to do in each stage of a procedure. Are they cutting? Are they suturing? What are the ergonomics of surgery that we’re designing to support and improve? They’re fantastic partners to work with,” Russell added.

As the head of the Industrial Design Team, Russell’s emphasis on user interaction and close collaboration with the Human Factors Engineering group was crucial in designing the da Vinci 5 system. The Human Factors Engineering team’s approach supported the safe, user-friendly, and effective system operation, leading to its successful reception among medical professionals.

The excitement surrounding this launch has surpassed customer expectations. Da Vinci 5’s design and engineering enhancements, including new surgeon controllers, powerful sensors, and vibration and tremor controls in the robots arms, make it the smoothest and most precise integrated system Intuitive has developed to date.

[Da Vinci 5 – Winner of the 2024 Australian Good Design Award of the Year. Image: Intuitive]

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Russell also highlighted the role of innovation in their design process, pointing out that the da Vinci 5 System integrates cutting-edge features like Force Feedback technology, which is one of the most exciting advancements.

“This technology allows surgeons to sense the push and pull forces exerted on patient tissue and translates forces in three dimensions, from the instrument tip to the surgeon hand controllers. It’s an impressive achievement by the Intuitive engineering teams,” he explained.

Further developments include new surgeon controllers and enhanced vibration and tremor controls, all designed with user experience in mind, with comfort a priority. 

So that innovation is carried through to da Vinci 5, we’ve made the console experience for surgeons even more ergonomic by design and through extended adjustments, allowing surgeons to find the right fit for surgical viewing and personal comfort,” added Russell.²

“We’ve improved the ergonomics. We’ve tried to really reduce the physical strain surgeons can experience. The da Vinci 5 surgeon console allows surgeons to sit down comfortably and sit upright.”

Creativity is another cornerstone of their design philosophy. “Creativity is inherent in the way we solve problems. We always start with first principles and what are the core problems we’re trying to solve? What are the core constraints and what is the outcome we’re trying to enable?”

Russell added, “Creativity is ingrained in the way that we work, in the spaces that we use internally. It’s a very practical hands-on ‘prototype to learn culture’. We have extremely diverse teams, which always breeds creativity, because you have multiple perspectives on the same problem.”

Intuitive’s focus on innovation and creativity highlights their dedication to progressing healthcare design, so that their solutions are both state-of-the-art and highly effective. The da Vinci 5 embodies holistic quality, encompassing everything from user experience performance and efficiency to its construction and manufacturing.

[Da Vinci 5 – Winner of the 2024 Australian Good Design Award of the Year. Image: Intuitive]

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This year’s Australian Good Design Awards theme, “The Design Effect,” highlights how exceptional design can transform individuals and communities, with da Vinci 5 exemplifying this impact.

“It’s truly shaping the future of healthcare design. To me, that’s the ripple effect. It’s a great product in the hands of skilled surgeons,” said Russell. 

Russell added the significance of da Vinci 5 receiving the Australian Good Design Award of the Year. 

“I think everybody who’s worked on the platform can take pride in this win. It means a lot to me personally, because joining Intuitive, eight years ago, was an exciting opportunity to grow an industrial design capability, to augment the already tremendous engineering prowess.”

“They’d already been very successful putting incredible technology out there that had made waves in the surgical space. For me personally and for the rest of the design community here, I think it’s a really nice recognition that Intuitive can be known not just for great pure engineering, but also for great design and user experience, and to be recognised in Australia and on a global stage.”

“The last eight years have really been building that capability of design, establishing the value of design, building the collaboration between Intuitive teams and the balance in order to be able to influence projects that were happening. So to me, it’s a testament that we’re heading in the right direction. There’s still plenty of room to grow and many exciting challenges coming in future. It’s a great testament to the impact that design has had on this company.”

Good Design Australia congratulates Intuitive for their groundbreaking design of da Vinci 5.

 “This innovative design is poised to create benefits for both medical professionals and patients. By placing user-centred innovation, collaboration, and solution-oriented thinking at the heart of healthcare design, da Vinci 5 paves the way forward,” said Rachel Wye, Managing Director of Good Design Australia. 

1. Compared to Intuitive da Vinci X, Xi, and SP systems. ↩︎
2. Compared to Intuitive da Vinci X, Xi, and SP systems. ↩︎