You’re creative director of Future Büro in Sydney, what can you tell us about your design philosophy?
Beyond the realm of design, my background is in film and I feel the common ground in both those things is storytelling. To me, that’s the most important thing. Rather than a traditional artist who is faced with a blank canvas, we as designers need to try and distil a brief, find a story and then find an engaging way to tell it. I think that’s more important than technology or design showing off.

What’s one of your personal favourite projects you’ve worked on so far?
Each project I ever worked on had its highs and lows; it’s hard to pick a favourite. Challenge-wise, last year’s 0.7 campaign for the United Nations was a hugely rewarding project. In a year full of twists and turns, we were able to pitch our ideas to the Assistant Secretary General and other senior diplomats at the UN’s Headquarters in New York, which certainly was a career highlight. Sadly, four days before we launched, the UN retracted their involvement in the campaign due to complications surrounding that 0.7% target. We still launched the campaign independently, and the campaign continues to run, driving awareness and donations for some of the hardest working NGOs in the world.

What do you hope your legacy will be?
I think it’s daunting to think about legacy – it unleashes a part of my brain that I find not particularly fun or conductive to mental health. I guess I like to think I somewhat contributed to the addition of a human, emotional quality to a medium that was often perceived as cold and alienating. In a way, I think that’s the influence many creatives with more traditional backgrounds had on the digital space. It has certainly become more creative but it also gained a lot more soul.

You grew up in a small town in Belgium, what can you tell us about your childhood?
The lifestyle in early 1990s Belgium was very different from now. There was very little in the way of art and culture for most of my childhood. Instead, there were lots of farms around and fields criss-crossed with canals and lakes. It was all quite simple, authentic and honest, and I think in some way those values still shape my work today. Geographically, my hometown was in the middle of nowhere but close to everywhere, and I think that’s half the reason I ventured out to the other end of the world – I always had one eye on the horizon.

You embarked on four years of carpentry before you turned to the world of art. What inspired you to make this decision?
I was always interested in the arts and being creative, it just wasn’t necessarily the obvious career path back then. My parents certainly never saw a future post art-degree, and that obviously had an influence on my initial career of choice. I was doing little design jobs here and there for local gigs and exhibitions though, and eventually a fine art degree jumped to the top of my priority list. Funnily enough, I’m still very much interested in carpentry and the craft of making furniture. Maybe one day I’ll revisit that career path.

What advice do you have for aspiring artists who feel torn between the obligation to have a steady, responsible career and following their passion?
It may sound naive, but sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith. Whether it’s in life, love or professionally. I took quite a few of those leaps myself throughout my career, and the pay-off often leaves you hanging. The trick is to be patient and keep pushing on. Opportunities will arise when you least expect it.

You’ve dabbled in film, drawing and design – what do you think drives your creative impulses?
To me, the medium is relative, it’s always about trying to tell a story and convey a message. I believe each story has its own frequency and it’ll lend itself to the right medium. I’ve always loved books and films, so I guess in some way that’s where that drive to tell stories comes from. Maybe one day this obsession will culminate in an actual novel, who knows. I always try to reach further than just being a pure designer/maker and explore different things.

The countdown is on for Analogue Digital. What nuggets of wisdom will you be sharing with attendee this year?
I’ll be talking about some of our latest and greatest projects, and share some insights into the day-to-day process of our Sydney-based studio. In the mids of all that, I’ll talk a bit about my own approach, the value of good design and the role it plays in captivating today’s online audience.

What other sessions are you hoping to catch at the conference?
I’m actually particularly interested in the analogue side of Analogue Digital, so I’ll definitely be checking out Frank + Mimi and Georgia Hill’s talks. I love people who have a unique voice and approach, and who constantly push the boundaries of what they do.

What’s your personal definition of success?
Professionally, I’d like to reach a happy medium between the freedom of art and the realities of design. More importantly though, I’d just like to grow old and be happy. Have lots of pets, tune out of the white noise and explore the world. Travelling and being outside inspires me, I like to think it balances out my life.