Hi, I’m Tom.

I’m a UI designer & front-end developer who trained as an architect.

Born in Kent, the Garden of England, I founded Rook Design Ltd. in 2014.

After building a house (and more than a few models), I graduated with BArch in Architecture from the University of Nottingham in July 2011.

I spent a year as architectural assitant at Hawkes Architecture Ltd., best known for the Crossway PassivHaus, which was featured on Grand Designs and became one of Kevin McCloud’s 10 Grandest.

Deciding to shift course in the industry rather than return to education, I moved back to Nottingham and started as in-house designer for Halsbury Travel Ltd.

Over two years there I honed my graphic design, identity, and front-end development skills, managing the visual presence of seven brands across a massive spectrum of international trips & tours.

I had the chance at Halsbury to design & develop an internal social network, CRM tools, and my own front-end framework Opal Coast which underpinned these and our client-facing sites.

As my role at Halsbury evolved and I balanced more freelance work, I founded Rook Design, an agency focused on delivering high-quality digital products and bespoke interactive experiences.

Born out of East London and now collaborating on two continents, Rook has launched sites for Vision 4 Sport and Lectures in 2016, as well as joining amazing builds like Boom 97.3.

In Toronto and working with OneMethod, I had the opportunity to lead a front-end role for incredible clients like Kijiji Dealertalk, Nestlé Canada, and the CFL, with a focus on interactive and engaging UI.

And when we weren’t working we had an ok time.

I’m also in a band. Obviously.

We’re called ZIGO, we’ve been playing since the ol’ school days and our mums buy all our records.

You can hear our latest one on Spotify.

When our bassist is distracted I do our album artwork, and when we’re not recording I do the same for others.

IRL

Out there in the real world, my proudest achievement is running a marathon.

On 22^nd April 2012 (I know, let it go) I ran the Virgin London Marathon to raise money for and awareness of Diabetes UK. I was diagnosed with Type 1 in September 2001.

Now you know me a little, tweet me on tweeter. We can twert?

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