Some people take a lifetime to find their true north, the thing they want to spend their days working on.

That’s not the case for Sean Perkins. Growing up in South Yorkshire in the 70s, it wasn’t cool to get good grades. Even though he was smart, he flunked almost everything. Everything, but art. From a young age he was exposed to, “the future, all this incredible visual culture”, by way of Japanese mementos his dad would bring back from work trips to Tokyo. And the fashion his mum would wear after disappearing to the fashion shows in Paris to stock her boutique in Huddersfield.

Today, he’s one of the most influential graphic designers of our time. He’s created visual identities for some of the world’s most recognisable brands with his London-based studio North Design. And the brands and clients relationships he builds — they stand the test of time. Some of his identity systems are still being used 20+ years after he and his partners Jeremy Coysten and Stephen Gilmore first created them. Think Tate Modern, Barbican Centre, West Kowloon Cultural District, ACMI. And perhaps most notably, the project that put his name on the map as a young designer, the UK’s most iconic roadside assistance company, the RAC.

Listen in as Vince and Sean discuss, growing up buying albums for the covers, learning from Gert Dumbar, and the highs and lows of running their respective studios. 

Some people take a lifetime to find their true north, the thing they want to spend their days working on.
That’s not the case for Sean Perkins. Growing up in South Yorkshire in the 70s, it wasn’t cool to get good grades. Even though he was smart, he flunked almost everything. Everything, but art. From a young age he was exposed to, “the future, all this incredible visual culture”, by way of Japanese mementos his dad would bring back from work trips to Tokyo. And the fashion his mum would wear after disappearing to the fashion shows in Paris to stock her boutique in Huddersfield.
Today, he’s one of the most influential graphic designers of our time. He’s created visual identities for some of the world’s most recognisable brands with his London-based studio North Design. And the brands and clients relationships he builds — they stand the test of time. Some of his identity systems are still being used 20+ years after he and his partners Jeremy Coysten and Stephen Gilmore first created them. Think Tate Modern, Barbican Centre, West Kowloon Cultural District, ACMI. And perhaps most notably, the project that put his name on the map as a young designer, the UK’s most iconic roadside assistance company, the RAC.
Listen in as Vince and Sean discuss, growing up buying albums for the covers, learning from Gert Dumbar, and the highs and lows of running their respective studios.

Your life is the biggest design project you will ever undertake!

In his Design Your Life podcast series, Vince Frost discusses how design principles can be applied to everyday life with a group of leading creative guests.

Listen in as designers, journalists, CEOs and founders reveal the key turning points in their lives and talk about the role design has played in shaping the success of their brands and careers. designyourlife.com.au

Vince Frost is the CEO and Executive Creative Director of Frost*collective, a strategic creative group dedicated to designing a better world through human-centered design. Its goal is to design experiences that enrich lives by combining specialist skills to tackle complex challenges and drive superior results.

Your life is the biggest design project you will ever undertake!
In his Design Your Life podcast series, Vince Frost discusses how design principles can be applied to everyday life with a group of leading creative guests.
Listen in as designers, journalists, CEOs and founders reveal the key turning points in their lives and talk about the role design has played in shaping the success of their brands and careers. designyourlife.com.au
Vince Frost is the CEO and Executive Creative Director of Frost*collective, a strategic creative group dedicated to designing a better world through human-centered design. Its goal is to design experiences that enrich lives by combining specialist skills to tackle complex challenges and drive superior results.

In his Design Your Life podcast series, Vince Fro…

Design Your Life with Vince Frost

In his Design Your Life podcast series, Vince Frost discusses how design principles can be applied to everyday life with a group of leading creative guests.

Listen in as designers, journalists, CEOs and founders reveal the key turning points in their lives and talk about the role design has played in shaping the success of their brands and careers. designyourlife.com.au

Vince Frost is the CEO and Executive Creative Director of Frost*collective, a strategic creative group dedicated to designing a better world through human-centered design. Its goal is to design experiences that enrich lives by combining specialist skills to tackle complex challenges and drive superior results.

In his Design Your Life podcast series, Vince Frost discusses how design principles can be applied to everyday life with a group of leading creative guests.
Listen in as designers, journalists, CEOs and founders reveal the key turning points in their lives and talk about the role design has played in shaping the success of their brands and careers. designyourlife.com.au
Vince Frost is the CEO and Executive Creative Director of Frost*collective, a strategic creative group dedicated to designing a better world through human-centered design. Its goal is to design experiences that enrich lives by combining specialist skills to tackle complex challenges and drive superior results.

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