Vince Frost – 2024 Australian Design Prize
- Published on: 23 September 2024
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
