Tom Anderson

Tom Anderson

I wouldn't say there was any particular piece of work that stands out as the catalyst for my career. Getting paid for my work was a gradual process for me.

I studied Industrial Design at University, but in earnest, it never really felt like it was right for me. During my placement year at University, my friend's Dad, (Stuart) offered me a job at his design agency. I was keen to experience disciplines outside the realms of industrial design and so I jumped at the opportunity.

I was given an immense amount of freedom and was able to work on wide range of projects. Early on I began to gravitate towards digital design - the idea of creating digital products fascinated me. I found my skills to be very transferable and my understanding of ergonomic design became the foundations for my exploration of User Experience. I often picked Stuart's brain about how and why he started his company. It was these talks that inspired me to start a company of my own.

I'd have to say the best thing that has happened to me is Green Chameleon. It would be very hard for me to pin point our 'best job' as being such a young agency, every project marks a point in GC's development. We are at a stage now where we can afford to be a little more picky about the projects we work on, so there are a lot of very exiting things happening right now... maybe ask me that question again in a years time! A small personal victory for me was the first time I reached the front page of Dribbble!

There is bound to be a few disaster projects in any designer's career and I'm certainly no exception. I try not to dwell on these too much as taking risks and making mistakes is what design is all about. We have a little phrase we live by at GC: "Move fast and break things".

All in all, I haven't really changed that much over the course of my career. I'd say I'm a lot more sure of myself and the decisions I make, but fundamentally I'm the same. I'm still excited and driven by the same things and in many ways I hope that never changes. I'm only 26 so it's still early days, who knows where all this will take me.

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