My practical experience in the delivery of award-winning, innovative and highly sustainable communication projects has taken me to some amazing places, from a scientific laboratory searching for dark matter deep down a North Yorkshire mine for the Weller Astronomy Galleries to high in the sky on top of the Super Trees looking down on the beautiful Gardens By The Bay in Singapore. I have had the privilege of working with some brilliant people both in the Thomas.Matthews team and as our clients, bringing challenges and complexity to my day to day.

I established the studio in 1997 with Kristine Matthews in a small flat on Bermondsey street. We established it on strong ethical and sustainable foundations, and these continue to be fundamental. I campaign on these at industry and government levels and have established a number of social enterprises that aim to advance the design industry’s capacity to respond to environmental challenges through knowledge sharing and investigation.

My long-term interest in sustainability and materials has led me to share my experience of closed loop thinking with other designers, and in 2012 I founded The Great Recovery, a programme to build capacity and understanding of circular design in the materials supply chain through practical exploration (i.e. tearing things apart and re-designing them). This programme ran through the RSA to 2016.

I have a letterpress print shed in my garden, created campaigns in glass and I collect ocean plastic from around the world as well as holding a Thames foreshore license and am currently a Covid volunteer vaccinator.

I’m a Design Director and Creative Leader with over two decades of experience spanning branding, brand experience, editorial design, and the built environment. I’ve collaborated with both global brands and small start-ups alike, across cultural and commercial sectors.

Starting my career in editorial design for cultural organisations, I’ve gained extensive expertise in print design, whilst my work in retail design and landscape architecture deepened my understanding of placemaking and the powerful emotional responses spaces can evoke.

I lead the talented team at Thomas.Matthews and am involved in all the projects that come into the studio, so my role is naturally multi-faceted and includes managing projects, leading the team, mentoring talent, and building client relationships. With a passion for design as a force for positive change, I continuously strive to create work that is both original and sustainable.

I’m also a confessed chocoholic with a love for nature and the big outdoors.

I joined Thomas.Matthews after working as a Junior Designer at Objectif, who are a Graphic Design studio specialising in design in the built environment as well as classic book design. My experience here was an exciting first step into the design industry coming out of a BA Hons in Graphic Design at The University of the West of England.

During my time at TM I have been involved in a spectrum of interesting projects across digital, print and spatial design. The most rewarding project has to be my involvement in developing environmental graphics at Sheffield Children’s Hospital.

My studies in Bristol were key to sculpting my evolving understanding and values within design. I seized the opportunity to explore themes as a multi-disciplinary designer and discover my interest in design as a tool for social change.

Outside of the studio I enjoy visiting galleries and exploring new parts of London by bike. In the summer months I like to explore further afield around the UK, to places like Cornwall, in my self-built camper.

My journey with Thomas.Matthews began in the autumn of 2021 after a long, exciting and sometimes challenging year spent focusing my creative efforts towards design and I feel very privileged to have joined such a supportive and lovely team who align with my values of sustainability and good design.

As a proud Jack-of-all-trades with a love of variety and learning new things, my entry into Thomas.Matthews has been incredible; my first month saw me creating everything from infographics to video edits, and even developing an icon suite to aid in the launch of a new brand!

From my background in fine art and printmaking, to freelancing for a video production company and most recently to Shillington College where I graduated in 2020, I feel equipped to take on the challenges that working at TM will give me.

Outside of the studio, I’m a keen singer/songwriter and SCUBA diver hoping to tour the world one day with my guitar and an underwater camera. Recent achievements include a 500+ day Duolingo Spanish streak and making fresh pasta from scratch.

In my role as Business Development Director at the Useful Simple Trust, I am motivated by working with prominent designers to deliver great work and believe quality design touches every aspect of life, making people’s experiences better, richer, and more meaningful.

I am also driven by a desire to apply my knowledge as widely as possible across diverse sectors and markets. Having graduated with Distinction in Architecture from The Bartlett UCL, I have gained significant experience in leadership in the built environment industry.

My career has included working for eminent cultural institutions to running design companies. In 2016, in recognition of this work, I was identified as one of the top 50 creatives in the UK by Creative Review.

Drawing on my unique skillset, as well as experience as a past client, to provide insight, direction, and leadership to ensure all work sits and is delivered within the values of the Trust. Above all, I enjoy shaping brave and agile responses.

I work with the Business Development team in delivering complex bid proposals and supporting the development of new business winning strategies across the Trust.

With an academic and professional background in Architecture and Industrial Design, I have worked in a wide range of projects in the USA, Switzerland, and Brazil. I am currently working on the final stages of his PhD research, investigating public spaces and the transformation of the urban environment, influenced by mega events such as the Olympic Games and large urban redevelopment projects.

With a background in Architecture and Engineering, I have spent over eight years’ working in Marketing and Communications in the Construction industry.

I have developed strategies for all internal and external communications for the Trust and its four sister brands. This includes implementing marketing campaigns from ideation to execution and creating organic content across all our social media platforms and websites.

Outside of the Trust, I’ll usually be found exploring in nature, at the gym, eating my bodyweight in popcorn with a film, or getting stuck into a good book.

I joined Thomas.Matthews in September 2018, after 5 years as an Art Buyer and Production Manager at a top 3 DBA agency, specialising in FMCG branding, and 10 years previously in the print industry, working with some of London’s leading design agencies, cultural institutions and luxury brands. I was drawn to Thomas.Matthews’ ethos and creatively led approach and the clients and sectors we work with.

I’m responsible for the scoping, programming and production outputs of the studio and third-party collaborators, supporting the internal team and our clients – from bid to project delivery stages.

Outside the studio I can be found rummaging for vintage clothes at markets and on ebay.  I’m often found with a chocolate bar or biscuit in hand (both in and out of the studio) and 90’s Hip Hop on my playlists.