Jeffrey Newman is an industrial designer, who trained in the fourth intake of students for the Industrial Design Diploma at RMIT in the mid 1950s. Jeff established his initial freelance design practice immediately after graduation, and later, following a period at Thorn Electrical, he eventually accepted a position in Myer Store Planning under Don Ward.
His passion for good design and its promotion led him to join the Industrial Design Council of Australia, and he would become its State Director in both South Australia and New South Wales. He was intimately involved in the Prince Phillip Design Awards and wrote on design issues and broadcast about design on Radio Australia. He also had a successful career in retail design with Witchery and worked with the Australian Council for the Arts. A passionate advocate for Australian design, he worked creatively and tirelessly to promote the profession throughout mid-century Australia.
In this conversation Jeff speaks about the town of Moe, Scotch College, RMIT, David Terry, Pat Heffernan, Thorn Electrical, Robin Boyd, Myer Store Planning, Chadstone, Don Ward, Colin Barrie, Brigadier Durrant, Beth Robinson, Rundle Street, Sir Paul Hasluck, Don Dunstan, Witchery, Flinders University, Nixon in China, Australian Council for the Arts, UK Design Council, Ted Worsley, Gas & Fuel Buildings, Stuart Devlin, Arthur Leyden, Richard Carlson, Robert Pataki, Stephen Bailey, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Phillip Prize, Alex Stitt, Phillip Adams, Radio Australia, Digby Hughes and Calvin Coolidge.
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