I realised at a young age I could think differently.
I enjoyed challenging presumed knowledge and questioning recognised thought.
I'm Lithuanian and was raised in Adelaide, Australia and both of these cultures strongly influenced me as I grew up.
I
studied a variety of subjects through university - social anthropology,
political philosophy, buyer and consumer behaviour, journalism and
organisational communication.
All I knew was that I loved people, society and ideas. At 20 I won the Shell LiveWIRE
award in my hometown and the entrepreneurial bug bit. At the time I
couldn't see how such a wide background of subjects and interests could
inter-connect and be of value.
Little did I know they would lead
full circle. On graduating, I lived in London for seven years and
started traveling the world interviewing experts and innovators in
their field to gain an insight into emerging social, cultural and
consumer trends. I briefed companies like the Virgin Group, British Sky Broadcasting and JWT on these trends.
Rather
than trying to figure out what's next, I was always more interested in
what's important. I lived out of suitcases on projects in places like
Tallinn, Stockholm, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Mumbai. I wrote
point of view articles on global urban culture, the future of the
workspace and worldwide attitudes to special occasions and ideal
moments.
I envisaged what Japanese department stores would look like
in 2017. I took bankers from the Netherlands on innovation and
inspiration tours of London to help them create a more consumer
responsive financial industry in their homeland. I created colour
swatches of the future visual communication of freshness and worked with
FMCG companies on new product development projects to help create iced
beverages and fabric softeners.
In 2008 I settled in Tokyo to work on the concept design of a first class airport lounge. More creative and strategic direction projects followed in Japan, and Tokyo became my base.
I'm a Contributor for CNNGo, t5m.com, Canvas8 and the David Report. I also blog for them. I also write a monthly column - 'Kristina Dryza views from Asia' - for the World Entrepreneur Society. I take great pleasure from lecturing and speaking at conferences and Designboost is one of my favourites.
I'm also very proudly a Business Ambassador for the State of South Australia.
I love participating in all forms of culture, lifestyle, cuisine, arts and history. I'm known for taking the attitudes, emotions and behaviours driving global consumer trends and using these insights to create new products, services, spaces and experiences. Making a dreamed future real.
A lot of my work is under NDA, but what I can, I've posted under the Media section. But of course, a personal conversation is always more meaningful and special. I'm always traveling, so drop me a line and if we're in the same place at the same time, let's meet for a coffee: kristina@kristinadryza.com
