Listen: Dominic Russo of Diadem on people, brand and place

Published by
Alice Blackwood
January 10, 2022

Diadem, the architectural signage and wayfinding studio, marks its 21st anniversary with a special podcast featuring Indesign editor Alice Blackwood in conversation with co-founder Dominic Russo.

If you’ve not come across Diadem before, it’s entirely likely you’ve come into contact with their work ­– perhaps on a daily basis. It could be on your way to the train, or walking through a shopping centre.

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It’s that sense of place and the way you navigate it that is designed and shaped by the company.

ANZ Martin Place, Sydney, photo courtesy of Diadem.

Twenty-one years ago Dominic Russo founded Diadem with Adrian Calleri and John Saddington. With a background in industrial design Russo, Calleri and Saddington would establish their integrated signage and wayfinding practice to operate at the intersection of architecture, branding and human behaviour.

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Today they are a multi-national business working across Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the wider Asia Pacific.

In this special anniversary podcast, Indesign editor Alice Blackwood chats with Russo about creating authentic connections and engendering culture; the impacts of the pandemic on wayfinding; its future in a technologically advanced world; and the most memorable adventures and collaborations it has experienced over the past 21 years.

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Australia Post, Melbourne, photo courtesy of Diadem.

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