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 💙

This episode, listen in as Studio Emmi founder Emmi Salonen, chats with mindcoach, Corine Roesner about creative leadership and management skills, as well as diving deep on burnout - from their own personal experiences with it, to crafting environments that might better prevent it, and the importance of addressing the root issues.

Thank you to Emmi & Corine for joining us!

Learn more about our guests:

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 [email protected].

Listen in as Tarra van Amerongen, Head of Design at Atlassian, chats with Patrick Guerra, Founder & CEO of Re, and APAC Lead at M&C Saatchi Consulting.

They dish out some quick fire home truths about the industry, as well as discussing leadership of creatives, dealing with urgency from clients, fostering the space for creativity while steering clear of burnout, as well as getting personal about their own mental health journeys.

Stay tuned next week for another one!

Check out:

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 [email protected].

Listen in as Julie Solvstrom, Illustrator and lettering artist chats to Guillermo Flores, art director, illustrator and graphic designer.

They discuss setting and crossing boundaries as a creative practitioner, building support systems and the importance of community, and being a part of something bigger than yourself.

Check out Julie's work:

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 ⁠[email protected]⁠.

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