February 2014
Vince’s innovative use of photography and distinctive, striking typography has been applied to a variety of work, including the award-winning literary magazine Zembla (UK), The Independent newspaper magazine (UK), stamps for the Royal Mail (UK) and Australia Post and advertising for Tourism Northern Territory. Locally, Vince and his studio work on a wide range of projects from packaging design for Donna Hay, environmental graphics for Qantas and Manta and Coast restaurants for Manfredi Enterprises, as well as the Australian headquarters of The Commonwealth Bank, American Express and Deutsch Bank; exhibition design for Object Gallery and “Freestyle” for Melbourne Museum; set design, identity design and promotions for Sydney Dance Company’s “Cut” production; the identity for Warner Music Australia’s Mushroom Records label, amongst many others. Throughout his career, Vince has collaborated with cultural institutions and specialist practitioners to produce innovative design solutions that are striking in their clarity of communication, conceptual strength and graphic excellence. This includes projects with the V&A (UK), the Serpentine Gallery (UK), The Barbican (UK), The Wapping Project (UK), and the re-branding of the Sydney Opera House and the State Library of New South Wales. Vince continues to work with a broad range of international clients, including Phaidon Press in London, Colliers International, D&AD in London and he was recently appointed Creative Director for the iconic Woolworth’s Department store in South Africa, designing across a number of touchpoints throughout the stores and cafes. The designer also undertakes frequent local and oversees trips for speaking and education engagements and awards judging. This year Vince has travelled to South Africa to speak at Design Indaba and recently presented at Creative Sydney, Semi Permanent in Perth and Squiz in Hobart. He was also a judge in Qantas’ most recent Spirit of Youth Awards and is providing a mentorship to its design category winner. In 2008, Vince was incredibly proud to be selected as one of the Creative Directors for ‘Abundant Australia’, the Australian exhibition at the 11th International Venice Architecture Biennale in Italy. In 2006, Vince’s work was the subject of a retrospective staged at the Sydney Opera House by Object Gallery, in an exhibition that he also designed. That year his work was also featured in a major design exhibition at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum. As a part of the Object Gallery retrospective, Vince’s work was documented in a 500-page book, Frost*(sorry trees), spanning more than a decade of award-winning projects. In a nod to his teenaged art college beginnings, when we would sell his home screen-printed t-shirts to boutique’s on London’s Kings Road, Vince collaborates with internationally lauded artists to produce a bi-annual collection of intelligently designed t-shirts, for men and women. In 2008 he was appointed as one of the Creative Directors for the Australian exhibition at the 11th International Venice Architecture Biennale, co-curating the exhibition and creating the “Abundant” branding and design. Most recently Vince was voted one of the top 100 influential people in Sydney by Sydney Morning Herald’s the (Sydney) magazine. “The grass is not always greener” says acclaimed British designer Vince Frost. In 2004, he packed up his already successful design studio and made the move to Sydney. “My journey to Australia from London was in search of a better work life balance. Only to discover that my passion for helping people is nothing to do with where I am in this incredible world. Its something that genuinely comes from inside. For many, Australia is a tropical holiday destination. I live in a beautiful country; minutes from turquoise warm waters. But I’ve never worked harder in my life”. Vince will take us on a retrospective of his past 10 years of Frost* Design – a rare opportunity to see him on this side of the globe. “Years of counseling, yoga and a number of distraction tactics failed to cure
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me. I am no longer fighting my internal desire of designing 24/7. I am grateful to live a full and exciting life in which thankfully, making things better is an endless task”. In the early 90’s Frost became Pentagram London’s youngest Associate Director and after five years at the design industry’s best “finishing school”, he set up his own London studio, Frost* Design – moving it to Sydney in 2004. A member of D&AD, the AGI and Honorary Fellow of the ISTD, Vince Frost plays an active role in the global design community. Many awards have come Frost’s way, including D&AD silvers and golds from the New York Society of Publication Designers. Frost’s folio was documented in a 500-page book, Frost* (sorry trees). And in 2008, Frost was incredibly proud to be selected as one of the Creative Directors for ‘Abundant Australia’. Frost’s approach is all about exceptional ideas and adhering to the philosophy that ‘anything is possible’.
“The grass is not always greener”
A Frost’s interview from Bak magazine Dear Mr. Frost, first, we would like to thank you for your interest and participation. We hope you’ll enjoy the interview. Good questions for once! Thank you Most people think that, in an artist’s life, childhood is the most important part. Can you tell us about your childhood? Where did you grow up? What kind of things affected your personality? I was born in Brighton England and my parents and I emigrated to Canada when I was 18 months old. I grew up in a little town called White Rock near Vancouver B.C. I was always outdoors. I have lived in 45 houses in my life. I have always been to new kid, the outsider. And as a result spent my childhood sitting on the fence as an observer. It made me a good listener which has helped me in my career. I have lived in England, Canada, England again, Japan, England and now Australia. My dad was a compositor and worked on the Vancouver sun. He exposed me to type and playing with words. In 1989 you joined Pentagram and just three years later, at the age of 27, you became their youngest associate. In 1995 you established your own studio - Frost Design. What are your secrets of success? What motivates you to be successful? My motivation was I was trying to get to a place where i felt good. Being a designer is a great life. But you need to be free from politics and restrictions to be creative. For me I need to be in charge of the destiny of my company to be able to produce good work. You have won numerous awards from numerous designs. When
you look back, which work of you are you proud of most? I am most proud of our latest work. The work I am doing today. I have learnt so much and continue to learn. For me it’s important to put yourself outside your comfort zone. Be in a really awkward place where you either sink or swim. When we look at your designs we see a bold typography, big images and contrast. Which designers inspired you? And how did you achieve such a typographic style? I suppose it just came out of doing stuff. I was able to be more expressive with my designs than I was able to in my real life. I wanted the work to be seen and not over looked. Designers like Alan Fletcher, Nevel Brody, Fabion Baron, Alexy Brodovitch inspired me to be playfull, and confident with the blank page. How do you define “successful design”? What are the mistakes that a graphic designer should be aware of? Design that answers the brief and more. Finding a unique idea that only can come from the opportunity that you have with the brief. It’s a collaboration between you and the client with the objective of making something exist, giving life to an idea and making it reality. Almost every designer has a dream project. Do you have one? What will you be doing in a few years? What are your plans for the future? Now really try not to think about the future. I feel content with where I am today and my focus is on now. My dream jobs are the ones that I am doing. Projects like signage for 400 Sydney parks, stage set for Sydney dance company, TV commercials etc, push beyond being a “print” designer and make me feel very nervous. But you get through and with that learn confidence to tackle the next project face on. Can you tell us about your working habits? What makes you feel comfortable or uncomfortable, and what kind of atmosphere helps you concentrate? I think I answered the first part. I can concentrate anywhere. I have a busy open plan studio with 26 people constantly grabbing me for involvement in projects meetings etc. I have three small children who wake up in the middle of the night and do the same thing. Let’s talk about your hobbies. What makes you happy outside business world? What makes you feel relaxed? I love being with my kids. I love surfing and running. My hobby is being a designer. It’s not a job. It’s not 9-5. It’s a warm nagging feeling that never leaves me. I love making something live. The feeling of cracking an idea gives me a massive rush and the challenge is capturing that feeling for others to share. Our theme for this issue is “2050”. How will the world be 44 years later? Gone. Thank you very much. We would like to thank Bak magazine for sharing their interview with us.
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