Following training in a family commercial art business, John Frostell studied graphic design in Sydney and worked with design and advertising agencies in his birthplace, Sweden. In 1986 he joined Australia’s internationally acclaimed Cato Design for a period of four years.
John started business in 1989 as Principal of Dialogue Visual Communication Pty Ltd, a graphic design company engaging work for a diverse client base. The company focuses on consultation, creative and production services for communication projects associated with branding and marketing.
His work has appeared in Graphis magazine and has won categories at the Melbourne Art Directors Club Awards and the Australian Graphic Design Association National Awards. A series of John’s work was selected for appearance in an IdN (International Designers Network) publication and was awarded ‘Distinction’ in their Decade Design Awards.
As a past National President of the Australian Graphic Design Association, John has involved himself with development and promotion of the graphic design profession in Australia. He has lectured communication and graphic design to industry and tertiary education bodies. In October 1997, John was awarded the inaugural AGDA ISS Fellowship to represent Australia at the 17th ICOGRADA World Congress and General Assembly in Uruguay.
Commencing 1998, Dialogue was contracted for a period of ten years designing and producing a quarterly, English language, management and executive publication for Japan’s multi-national ($10B US) home products company, Kao Corporation.
During 2002-07 John was retained as a consultant by Simm Design in roles of business advisor, design manager and senior liaison with clients such as Suncorp, ANZ Bank, Medibank Private, Siemens and the Melbourne International Jazz Festival.
As an extension to the client relationship developed with James Gallagher with clients in Japan, the consultancy Gallagher Frostell was formed in 2009 to serve clients with connections between Japan and Australia. The partnership covered a range of projects, including a market entry for Japanese home builder Ichijo into the Australian market.
Dialogue Visual Communication is now in its third decade of business and has recently been involved with branding, marketing communication and website development for a NSW government ombudsman’s office; re-branding and print publishing for a Melbourne-based aged care services provider; business-wide branding, marketing, e-commerce, product development and advertising for an Australia outdoor clothing manufacturer; start-up branding and communication; and comprehensive re-branding of a mid-sized legal practice in Sydney.
John regularly partners with communication professionals for specialist projects in Australia and offshore.
