DA Conversations Podcast with Brian Richards

Kia Ora and welcome to Design Assembly Conversations. In this series we talk to Aotearoa NZ designers, hear their stories and celebrate their work. I’m DA founder Louise Kellerman and in this episode I spoke with Brian Richards. In 1987 Brian founded Richards Partners - a design and strategy studio based in Auckland and today he continues to lead the team. He's been recognised as one of NZ's foremost brand strategists, has helped to found NZ's first masters of design management at Unitec and in 2007 he received the black pin award from the Designers Institute of NZ. Brian and I sat down to record this conversation at the end of 2019. We were both looking forward to 2020 and all that it would bring. It is important to place the conversation in context of being prior to the uncertain landscape and challenges brought about by Covid-19. The virus arrived in New Zealand in February and on the 25 March 2020, we went into Level 4 lock-down. This podcast is released on the 28th of April 2020 as we transition into Level 3 which dictates the design community remain working from home as our economy cautiously restarts.