We’re pleased to have Tuxedo Tom on board, have a read about what he is up to at the moment. Tell us about you and what you do? I’m a creative graphic designer living in London. I moved to London from Stoke-on-Trent to study design at Goldsmiths and after graduating in 2005 I went on to design billboards at Clear Channel before working as an art director at Orange which became Everything Everywhere. Now, I head up the design team at the Greater London Authority where we create campaigns to engage Londoners with the great stuff in their city. I live in Stamford Brook with my wife Sue and our green budgerigar Buddy. In my work and personal projects I love geometry, repetition, stark shapes and beautiful type. Tell us about Bow Tie t-shirt? It has an abstract bow tie screen printed at the neck which gives the white t-shirt a playful half formal look – on the one hand it smartens up black jeans and high tops – on the other it dresses down a suit jacket – most of all, it’s geometric fun. What inspired you to make Bow Tie t-shirt? I think a mixture of just wanting to do something with clothing and a fascination with a sort of 80s postmodern style – think Moonlighting. I really liked the idea of a print t-shirt that worked with other clothes – and mainly just thought if I didn’t try it I’d wish I had. What are you working on at the moment? At work we’ve just finished an Olympic Games legacy campaign I directed – the Gifts of the Games – which is live now and features some lovely photography by James O Jenkins – you can see it on Creative Review’s blog. Now that’s complete we’re just starting on Christmas and New Year’s Eve campaigns along with some stuff for 2013. Outside of that for my personal work I’ve really gotten into photo optic repeats – especially of clouds – so I’ve been taking pictures with a new camera I got and cropping, flipping and repeating them to create patterns – there’s a Pinterest board here. Last but not least, what are your thoughts on affordable design? There should be more of it. I’m really keen on the idea of everyday things – whether they’re products, adverts, packaging, digital experiences – being well designed and beautifully executed – I suppose that’s accessible design to an extent. If things are as good as we can make them – and that can be a beautiful food label as much as a playful product – then I think the thinking and consideration that’s gone into it means that design is more present for everyone – and that in turn inspires even more – hopefully. You can see more of Tom’s work here.  

POSTED BY:THE POUNDSHOP