Interviews

Based in London and Kyoto, Noriko Okaku explores the laws and transcendent forces that shape the world. Integrating theoretical frameworks from philosophy, religious studies, quantum mechanics, and information thermodynamics with myths, legends, and occult folklore, she combines collage, animation, VR, and AI technologies and performance to create works that encourage active participation from the audience and present diverse perspectives.

Fast becoming a key-player in the ever-growing resurgence of cinematic psychedelia and library music, Oscar ‘SHOLTO’ Robertson is set to share his debut album ‘Letting Go of Forever’. An ambitious, 26-track project that pulls from the worlds of jazz, soul, kraut rock, and 60s & 70s soundtracks, spanning influences ranging from Piero Umiliani & David Axelrod, through to ‘On The Corner’-era Miles Davis and Mozart’s ‘Lacrimosa’. SHOLTO’s ability to channel these influences - recontextualising musical forms spanning over a hundred years and capturing a retro, analogue feel with a contemporary twist - is beautifully reflective of the record’s main theme. We caught up with Oscar to talk about creativity, the inspiration behind his work and how living and working in a city like London affect his creative output.

Mathushaa Sagthidas is a London based freelance photographer, stylist, set designer and art director with interest in fine art and contemporary fashion. Mathushaa’s work often examines her identity - Tamil Eelam ethnicity and British nationality, which is reflected through traditions, history and fashion photography. We caught up with Mathushaa to talk about creativity, the inspiration behind her personal project 'Not Just Brown, Not Just Indian', and living and working in the city.

Kasper Bjørke is a multidisciplinary creative, based in Copenhagen. He is a prolific music producer, Dj, remixer and artist manager. He has produced a lot of music since 1999 in various projects and under his own name. He is undoubtedly one of the most renowned and versatile Danish producers on the international electronic music scene. Since 2023 Kasper is focusing on establishing his new imprint Sensitive Records. We caught up with Kasper to talk about creativity, the inspiration behind his work and living and working in the city.

Filippos Fragkogiannis is a graphic designer and art director based in Athens, working as a freelancer since April 2019. His projects center around visual identity, posters, advertising, and digital content, and he regularly enhances type foundries with bold imagery. Filippos' research-based approach is rooted in semiotics, symbolism and the mechanics of visual language. In 2018, he founded Certain Magazine, an independent curatorial platform that chronicles contemporary graphic design and celebrates handpicked design projects from around the world.

Tim Saccenti is a photographer and director based in New York City. His practice fuses his love of experimental art, technology and music. His immersive, futuristic work has made him an in-demand creator for forward thinking clients worldwide. He is one half of creative studio “Setta”, working with curator and artist Dina Chang, with offices in New York City and Los Angeles.

John Mastro is a designer and creative director from Melbourne, Australia, with over 15 years of experience in brand strategy, identity design, and packaging design. In 2015 he founded Date Of Birth, a brand creation agency specializing in identity and experience design. We caught up with John to talk about design, creativity and living and working in the city.

Currently living and working out of New York City and Portugal, the Argentinian native Constanza Vallese developed an early interest in art from observing the projects of her family. She was encouraged by her grandmother’s oil paintings, her father’s experiments in sculpture, and her mother’s affinity for interior design. After studying film at UBA (University of Buenos Aires) she moved to New York. We caught up with Constanza to talk about creativity, the inspirations behind her work and living and working in the city.

Born into a working-class family in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Jorge Camarotti is a Brazilian filmmaker based in Montreal since 2003. Since his beginnings in filmmaking 10 years ago, Jorge has directed a dozen short films, both documentary and fiction, remaining true to his mission of giving voice to the most aggrieved individuals of our society. His most recent project 'Ousmane' has been screened in more than 60 festivals around the world, and the film won 15 awards including two Academy® Awards Qualifying Festivals.

Alice Mourou is the founder and creative director at .Oddity Studio, a branding and innovation design agency based in Hong Kong. She believes in simple ideas that build brands stories, from strategy to visual language and tech. Her designs are often described as distilled to the core essence where nothing can be added or removed. Her work has been appreciated by international design associations such as D&AD, One Show, Art Directors Club, Asia Pacific Awards and Hong Kong GDA.

Emma Eriksson is currently living and working in New York City as Head of Creative at Forsman & Bodenfors with brands like Crocs, Inkbox, and Diageo. With more than 20 years of creative experience in Sweden and the US, Emma has developed award-winning work for Häagen-Dazs, Absolut Vodka, H&M, MTV and Åhléns Department Store. Prior to joining Forsman & Bodenfors, Eriksson co-founded the creative agency Le Bureau in Stockholm, where she spent 12 years.

Rafael Prieto is the Founder and Creative Director of Savvy Studio a design and branding practice based in New York and Mexico City. The studio's core practice is based on research and exploration of culture – inspired by art and materiality – creating each project in a deeply contemplative manner.

Felix Pfäffli is a graphic designer based in Lucerne, Switzerland. He founded Studio Feixen in 2009 and was inducted into the Alliance Graphique Internationale (AGI) in 2013 as its youngest-ever member. His work includes projects in various design areas. Whether it’s graphic design, interior design, fashion design, type design or animation, the only constant remains the in-depth examination of color, shape and typography.

Élise Rigollet is an independent graphic designer and creative director based in Paris, working in the fields of design for culture, music, publishing and more. She likes focusing on playful combinations of image-making, typography and colour. In 2018, she founded Élise Rigollet Offices, a creative practice and design studio focusing on creating visual and conceptual stories across brand identities, art direction, print and digital design, and illustration.

Happening Studio is an international design studio, cultivating global minds with local sensibility. Specializing in identity design as a studio foundation, they output a wide range of work, from screen-based experiences to printed reading experiences. Often working with small to medium sized cultural institutions and museums, Happening Studio function as a design mediator and facilitator between in-house design, marketing staffs and high level stakeholders. Since 2019, the studio went fully remote and worked from 3 different continents to further establish their design practice and research.

Named “one of the most creative people in business” by Fast Company, and “one of the most influential designers working today” by Graphic Design USA, Debbie Millman is also an author, educator, curator and host of the award-winning podcast Design Matters. Design Matters is one of the world's very first podcasts. Broadcasting independently for 17 years, the show is about how incredibly creative people design the arc of their lives. Debbie is the author of seven books. Her most recent book, Why Design Matters: Conversations with the World’s Most Creative People, was published this year by Harper Collins.

Reeme Idris is an Irish-Sudanese freelance writer based in London. She contributes ideas and interviews for various independent publications about people and places, art and design. We caught up with Reeme to talk about design, creativity and living and working in the city.

Megan Bowker is a practicing graphic designer who is interested in evolving beyond our current definition of those words. After years of practicing commercial design at scale for top branding agencies, she has began an independent practice seeking unlimited and non-traditional applications of these skills.

Baltimore’s Julien Chang writes music that tunnels towards a series of deeper truths, investigating everyday existentialism, love and life, art and the artist. Arriving in 2019 with his critically acclaimed album ‘Jules’, Chang set a precedent with his dreamy debut and is now exacting his focus on 2022 with his forthcoming new studio album ‘The Sale’ out on November 4th, via Transgressive records. 

Dylan Mulvaney is a New York-based graphic designer and head of design at Gretel NY. His expertise lies in translating core values, strategy, and voice into striking visual executions for clients like Apple, Netflix, MoMA, Vice and RISD. He has been honored by the D&AD, the Art Directors Club, the Type Directors Club, and the Fast Company Innovation by Design Awards.

Khyati Trehan is an independent graphic designer and 3D visual artist from New Delhi, India. Her work is textural, playful, emotive and driven by an ache to make the intangible tangible. Khyati’s career has seen her work across disciplines, drawing inspiration from the context of the work and often exploring the edges of all things visual for the likes of the Oscars, New York Times, New Yorker Magazine, Apple, Adobe, Absolut, Instagram and Snapchat. Khyati was one of Print Magazine’s 15 New Visual Artists under 30 in 2017, was chosen as the Artistry Creator of the Year at Adweek’s Creator Visionary Awards, won the ADC Young Guns 19 and most recently, made it to the Forbes 30under30 India List.

Shira Barzilay is an artist whose iconic work is globally recognized through her influential @koketit platform. Her unique and captivating style of drawing and mixed media art has brought her to the attention of some of the world’s leading brands. To date this includes art collaborations with Cartier, Elizabeth Arden, Vogue Portugal, Harper’s Bazaar, N’kd, Lenovo, Revlon, and most recently a design collaboration with Zara. In May 2022 Shira launched her first cover collaboration with international publication Elle Norway. Her distinctive style is recognized for it’s evocative and philosophical musings on our world. “The world is her canvas”

Bénédicte Burguet-Journé is the senior editor of Vanity Fair France magazine and author of the book: What is it about Paris & Fashion. With 10 years of experience as a journalist and editor, she worked as an expert lifestyle writer for Le Figaro and wrote political stories for Shanghai Daily.

Jody Hudson-Powell, together with his brother and life-long creative collaborator Luke Powell, joined Pentagram as a partner in 2015. Originally hailing from Somerset, England, the brothers had great success with their independent design studio Hudson-Powell. Jody has always been interested in the ways technology shapes the way we view and experience the world around us. These interests culminated in an experimental practice developed at Central Saint Martins and a Virtual Environment MSc at UCL’s Bartlett School of Architecture.