Brian Collins on Fighting Second Dragons, the Power of Orange Ties and the Future of Creativity

In this episode of The Creative Boom Podcast, Katy Cowan sits down with Brian Collins – the legendary co-founder of COLLINS, the design company behind work for Spotify, Dropbox and Mailchimp – for a conversation that's part masterclass, part storytelling, and entirely unforgettable. Brian reveals how a childhood moment involving a bright orange tie taught him the importance of standing out, persistence and courage. He explains his idea of the "second dragon" — why every creative challenge hides a deeper problem beneath the obvious one – and how this philosophy has shaped COLLINS' approach to some of the world's biggest brands. He also shares a health scare that forced him to confront what really mattered, his unflinching take on AI as an "alien intelligence" that creatives must learn to work with, and why he gave up chasing happiness in favour of something far more powerful. It's a big, generous episode with lessons on resilience, imagination and the future of design... all told with Brian's trademark humour, wit and energy.