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This week, Claire sits down with Dave Recchia, Executive Creative Director at creative brand consultancy The Team. An award-winning creative director and author, Dave takes us on a journey from his early days in Australia to a 27-year career at The Team in London - shaping iconic brands like Heathrow Airport, McLaren Formula One, NatWest, Coca-Cola, and IBM. 

On the podcast Dave shares his early fascination with visual identities and the importance of curiosity and exploration in shaping a design career, the issue of free pitching and its implications for designers, and he shares advice for aspiring designers on authenticity, adaptability, and embracing new technologies.

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The Team

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In this episode, recorded live at the Northern Design Festival, Claire met up with Claire Parker, Group Creative Partner at The Chase. Claire shares her globe-trotting and award-winning career to date. With over 30 years in the industry, working in major cities including Sydney, Singapore, Hong Kong, Amsterdam and New York, Claire has led global teams, working at agencies including Design Bridge and Saatchi & Saatchi, she’s judged major awards like Cannes and D&AD, and worked on iconic brands including Johnnie Walker, Coca-Cola, Singapore Airlines, LEGO, and Mastercard.

Claire shares her journey into the design industry and the role her Mum played in supporting her path into design education. She talks about the role of strategy in the design process (the fun bit!), and she has some really excellent advice to all young designers on how to get ahead, create a career path, ask for pay rises – and being brave and be more Bowie!

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The Chase

The Northern Design Festival

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Last week at in sunny Barcelona, My Life in Design was recorded live at OFFF with special guest: Marc Català. 

In this in-person episode, Marc shares the story behind co-founding Mucho - a global design agency with studios in Barcelona, San Francisco, and Melbourne, and a collective of 11 partners. With award-winning work for brands like Visa, Aeroméxico and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona, Marc is a creative force, teacher, and global speaker shaping the future of brand design. Marc shares his story of a life in design so far and some of the experiences that have shaped him along the way.

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Mucho

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This week, Claire met up with Claire Robertshaw, Executive Creative Director at Design Bridge and Partners - the world’s most awarded brand design agency. Claire leads the London studio, overseeing creative excellence across one of the most dynamic teams in the industry. She's also a powerful advocate for gender equality, education, and mentorship in design.

Claire talks about the role of education, from GCSEs to foundation courses, in shaping a design career. Why written communication is just as vital as visuals, and the highs and hard truths of balancing motherhood and a senior creative role. 

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Design Bridge and Partners

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This week, Claire met up with the founding editor of Creative Boom, Katy Cowan. A huge creative industries cheer leader, Katy launched Creative Boom in 2009 as a platform to celebrate, support and inspire.

Katy shares how she transitioned from broadcast journalism to PR, to founding Creative Boom. Why engagement and community are essential to Creative Boom’s success, and she talks about the importance of being open to trying new things and learning along the way. 

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Creative Boom

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This week Claire sat down with Laura Stein, Chief Creative Officer at Bruce Mau Design. Laura’s work has earned recognition from D&AD and Cannes Lions. Beyond the studio, Laura has served on the board of the Advertising & Design Club of Canada and presented at leading conferences around the world, from Brand New to Design Thinking. She’s created brand identities for the likes of Sonos, Lululemon, ASX, Harvard, the Smithsonian and more.

Laura shares how her love for language, music, and art shaped her path into design – including a stint in a 90s indie guitar band!

How a pivotal moment in Central America that reignited her passion for visual storytelling, and on being part of the Sonos brand story, turning it from unknown to global brand.

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Bruce Mau Design

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This week, Claire sat down with Spencer Buck, founder and chief creative officer of the global brand consultancy, Taxi Studio.

Spencer discusses the impact of support from key people in his life, from his parents, to art teachers, to industry professionals and his peers. Future trends in design, including the influence of technology and the need for meaningful work, and the meaning and importance of the word ‘alacrity’ on him, his work, and the Taxi Studio team.

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Taxi Studio

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This week, Claire met up with Debbie Millman, the renowned designer and the host of Design Matters. Debbie hosts one of the world's longest-running podcasts and the OG design podcast, which has featured nearly 700 influential creatives and won multiple prestigious awards. She is the author of eight books and has also received the Audio Vanguard Award and a Cooper Hewitt National Design Award, cementing her impact in the design and creative industries. 

In a first for Debbie, she invited Claire into her podcast studio, to record today’s ‘My Life in Design’ episode. Here’s your chance to hear Debbie’s side of the story and her life in design so far.

Debbie talks about her extensive career in design and branding – her time at Sterling Brands and the co-creation with Stephen Heller of the world’s first ever Masters in Branding program at the School of Visual Arts. She discusses personal projects and collabs including her work with Canva and her upcoming book ‘Love Letter to a Garden’ – a visual story of falling in love with gardening (published April 15). And she talks about the importance of business development ‘the pulse of an organisation’ in brand design agencies.

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Debbie Millman | Love Letter To A Garden | Design Matters

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This week Claire met up with with design industry leader Jonathan Sands, former chair of Elmwood, who led the international brand design consultancy for 40 years, completing a management buyout in 1989 and selling the global business in 2021. 

Awarded an OBE in 2011 for services to the creative industries, he has worked with major brands like the BBC, Heineken, and Royal Mail and now serves as a trustee of the Royal Armouries in Leeds.

Jonathan shares the Elmwood ambition to become the world’s most effective design agency demonstrated through awards such as the DBA’s Design Effectiveness Awards, and he discusses the need for greater recognition and support for creative industries in education.

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Jonathan Sands OBE

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This week Claire caught up with Vuokko Aro, the Chief Design Officer at Monzo. She helps the bank’s leadership team use design as a strategic lever across the company as it scales. This all helped Monzo win Marketing Society brand of the year in 2024. 

Vuokko discusses her unconventional path into her current career, from studying economics to working in journalism and eventually transitioning into design. She talks about her experience of working with startups like Citymapper before joining Monzo in 2017. She discusses Monzo's brand evolution and commitment to customer-centric design and shares how her side projects in fashion design and music are important creative outlets.

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Vuokko Aro

Monzo

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