Chairman and Creative Director / Frost*

A member of D&AD (Design and Art Directors, London), ISTD (International Society of Typographic Designers, London) and the AGI (Alliance Graphique Internationale, Switzerland), Vince Frost plays an active role in the global design community, regularly siting on international judging panels and lecturing at colleges and conferences around the world.

In the early 90’s he 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. Since then, many awards have come Vince’s way, including D&AD silvers, golds from the New York Society of Publication Designers and gongs from the New York and Tokyo Art Directors’ Clubs.

In 2004 Vince made the move to Sydney, where his famous Surry Hills (NSW) studio, Frost*, now employs 40+ people. Calling Australia home for more than 7 years now, Vince continues to work for global clients and win international accolades. Working on a diverse range of projects, from environmental graphics and exhibitions to magazine and book design, corporate identity, brand strategy, advertising and interactive design, Vince’s approach is all about exceptional ideas and adhering to the philosophy that ‘anything is possible’.

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.