1. Your top influences.

Skye Molyneux: My Parents. My neighbourhood.
Eva Krane: Rei Kawakubo – I admire her thinking, her strength and the fact that design is her religion. Matali Crasset – I fell in love with her work when I studied in France, love her haircut too. And the stranger you meet around the airport, on the bus stop or in a café, who you exchange your deepest secrets with and never meet again.

2. The moment you knew you wanted to work in design/architecture/planning industry.

SM: Looking though my Aunty’s pile of ‘Graphis’ magazines from the 70’s. There was an article on Cruz Novillo’s matchbox illustrations and I was captivated by his ability to capture the essence of each animal with such economy. I became a graphic designer with a love for logos.
EK: When my biology teacher busted me for sketching during class.

3. Favourite local landmark/building.

SM: The Opera House. We’re so lucky because it was an expensive, controversial build at a time when our city was so unsophisticated.
EK: Phillip Cook statue in Hyde Park –  I love sitting on the stomp and think about the bigger things in life.

4. Favourite material.

SM: Skin
EK: Concrete – it’s earthy and beautiful.

5. Favourite international landmark/building.

SM: The Statue of Liberty (New York). It was a gift from one country to another and personifies a noble notion of welcoming people who need opportunity.
EK: Trafalgar Square (London) – there is something magical about that spot.

6. Biggest career moment.

SM: Going back to being a graphic design student in San Francisco after working in the industry for 2 years.
EK: Meeting the Campana Brothers and developing a product with them.

7. Dream project to work on (real or imaginary).

SM: I’m part of a group (CLOSE) trying to get a Public High School built for the families living in the inner city of Sydney, as there is little to no comprehensive schools there at the moment. I’d love to be one of the founding mothers of that school…
EK: Graphic art installation with round shapes that turn around in layers and create a moving artwork, powered by solar panels or wind energy.

8. Dream person to collaborate with.

SM: Bill Cunningham – I’d like to ride round New York with him taking photos on the street.
EK: Etienne de Creci – I’d like to create a coloured version of his light show.

9. Favourite decade of design.

SM: 1500AD – switched on, cross-disciplinary ‘blokes’ redefining art, architecture and design.
EK: I still love wearing high-tops and listening to Depeche Mode, so probably the 80’s. Anti-Design is right up my alley!

10. Favourite chair.

SM: Kzm-s001 Nail Spa Massage chair – it confirms my belief that the comfort of chairs are inversely proportionate to their looks.
EK: Probably the hanging bubble chair. I love the ones at the Standard in LA; even though you’re in a busy environment just off Sunset Boulevard, it gives you an instant hit of peace and quiet.

11. #1 concern for the design industry in the coming decade.

SM: Technology is creating the ability for people to design stuff without thought and process. We are becoming very superficial, designing ourselves into corners rather than out of them.
EK: I cannot believe products are still being designed to fail after a year so the consumer has to buy another one. Living in a consuming society has a downside for our ecosystem and this concerns me to put it mildly.

12. Which items in the workplace can you not live without?

SM: Music, natural light, an open window and my computer.
EK: A desk, my mac plus a timber mousepad, a comfortable seat, speaker and more recently various types of artliners, tracing paper, a lightbox and scanner.

13. The most unusual/interesting thing about the way you work.

SM: I actually do most of my creative work NOT at my desk. I’ll think of designs talking to people, I see colourways riding my bike, I’ll solve problems staring at the kettle, and I’ll think of the right thing to say in an email while I wash my hands.
EK: Designing is a very personal process, it comes from deep within. I love dreaming up shapes and textures of past memories and imaginary content. I realised throughout the years that I have a more vivid imagination than others, which entertains me and feeds my output. At times it can get too much also, but that’s just the way I tick.

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