SkatePal
Merch development
2024/25
Commercial work
Merch development
2024/25
Commercial work
Turning a non-profit skateboard organisation into a globally respected skateboarding brand.
SkatePal is an organisation that uses skateboarding as a recreational outlet for young people living under military occupation.
After several trips out to Palestine – transporting equipment, running skate classes and helping with skatepark constructions – I joined the team (split between the UK & Palestine) to help grow SkatePal beyond an organisation into a self-sustaining skate brand that can continue to support the scene in Palestine for years to come.
Here’s some of the product I’ve developed so far, working in collaboration with some very talented individuals…
Haraka Baraka (1–6)
A phrasebook developed by SkatePal and designed by Samar Maakaroun, offering a fun introduction to the Arabic language through the words and phrases of Palestine’s skateboarding community. Available here.
Licence Plate (7–10)
A graphic raising awareness of the apartheid road system enforced by the occupation forces in Palestine, in which Israeli cars (yellow reg plates) drive freely while Palestinian vehicles (green reg plates) endure severe restrictions. Available here.
Gaza Skate Team (11-12)
A tshirt raising money for Rajab Al-Reefi, founder of Gaza Skate Team, released during the height of Israel’s two-year assault on Gaza. The graphic features a clip Rajab posted to instagram showing him doing a kickflip on a piece of rubble in the aftermath of Israeli air strikes. By end 2025, this tee alone had raised over £25,000. Available here.
SkatePal x Fichier Caché (14–17)
A collaborative capsule with Tunisian lifestyle brand Fichier Caché. Inspired by fruit stickers across the SWANA region we developed a suite of sticker-like graphics, underpinned by the ethos: ‘Born in struggle, thriving in chaos’ applied across the clothing. The deck took the shape of a fruit synonymous with Palestinian resistance (yes, a cucumber) for the fruit stickers to be slapped on.
SkatePal x Sabri Sundos (18–22)
A collaborative capsule with Palestinian-American artist Sabri Sundos. The collection featured a special set of hand-embroidered tees, a skateboard that looks as if it’s made from fabric rather than wood, and a series of workshops in NYC teaching the history of tatreez (a traditional form of Palestinian embroidery) and allowing participants to embroider directly onto a limited edition bag.
SkatePal x Habibis (23–24)
The Lion of Babylon and the mountain gazelle (Palestine’s national animal) are brought together in collaboration with a Scottish skate brand with Iraqi roots.
READ MORE
SkatePal is an organisation that uses skateboarding as a recreational outlet for young people living under military occupation.
After several trips out to Palestine – transporting equipment, running skate classes and helping with skatepark constructions – I joined the team (split between the UK & Palestine) to help grow SkatePal beyond an organisation into a self-sustaining skate brand that can continue to support the scene in Palestine for years to come.
Here’s some of the product I’ve developed so far, working in collaboration with some very talented individuals…
Haraka Baraka (1–6)
A phrasebook developed by SkatePal and designed by Samar Maakaroun, offering a fun introduction to the Arabic language through the words and phrases of Palestine’s skateboarding community. Available here.
Licence Plate (7–10)
A graphic raising awareness of the apartheid road system enforced by the occupation forces in Palestine, in which Israeli cars (yellow reg plates) drive freely while Palestinian vehicles (green reg plates) endure severe restrictions. Available here.
Gaza Skate Team (11-12)
A tshirt raising money for Rajab Al-Reefi, founder of Gaza Skate Team, released during the height of Israel’s two-year assault on Gaza. The graphic features a clip Rajab posted to instagram showing him doing a kickflip on a piece of rubble in the aftermath of Israeli air strikes. By end 2025, this tee alone had raised over £25,000. Available here.
SkatePal x Fichier Caché (14–17)
A collaborative capsule with Tunisian lifestyle brand Fichier Caché. Inspired by fruit stickers across the SWANA region we developed a suite of sticker-like graphics, underpinned by the ethos: ‘Born in struggle, thriving in chaos’ applied across the clothing. The deck took the shape of a fruit synonymous with Palestinian resistance (yes, a cucumber) for the fruit stickers to be slapped on.
SkatePal x Sabri Sundos (18–22)
A collaborative capsule with Palestinian-American artist Sabri Sundos. The collection featured a special set of hand-embroidered tees, a skateboard that looks as if it’s made from fabric rather than wood, and a series of workshops in NYC teaching the history of tatreez (a traditional form of Palestinian embroidery) and allowing participants to embroider directly onto a limited edition bag.
SkatePal x Habibis (23–24)
The Lion of Babylon and the mountain gazelle (Palestine’s national animal) are brought together in collaboration with a Scottish skate brand with Iraqi roots.
All products available for purchase via skatepal.co.uk/shop
On x KLABU
Le Berrad
2024
Commercial work
Le Berrad
2024
Commercial work
A story from the heart of the Saharan desert bringing together two of my favourite things: sport and tea.
On the eastern border of Mauritania is a settlement called M’bera. Home to over 100,000 refugees displaced by the civil war in Mali, and the location of KLABU’s latest sports clubhouse.
The badge on the KLABU M’bera shirt (5) features three traditional teapots, representing a welcome gesture in the Sahel where tea is poured in three servings:
This phrase – a Tuareg proverb – served as a perfect metaphor describing the personal journey from displacement to reconnection, told here through the story of three characters living in M’bera: a runner, a footballer, and a volleyball player.
The film is scored by Tinariwen, an incredible band from the region, and this project marks the first of a 3-year partnership with On. Read more about it here.
Client ︎︎︎ KLABU & On Running
Creative Director ︎︎︎ Tom Bird
Director / DOP ︎︎︎ Richard Hu
Writer ︎︎︎ Tom Bird
Producer ︎︎︎ Julia Piatkowska, Fleur Harmsen, Ibrahim Ag Abdorahmane
Editor ︎︎︎ Richard Hu, Tom Bird
Photography ︎︎︎ Coco Olakunle
Music ︎︎︎ Tinariwen
Music Licensing ︎︎︎ Lucy @ Warp, Patrick @ Wedge
Sound ︎︎︎ Wave Studios
Colour Grade ︎︎︎ Joppo de Grot
Cast ︎︎︎ Mohamed Ag Mohamed Aly
Mariama Wlt Med Ali
Aly Tahirou Macalou
Project partners ︎︎︎ On
UNHCR
Special thanks to Joumana Baalbaki, Jordan Farwell & Gessica Giulini @ On and to UNHCR Mauritania
READ MORE
On the eastern border of Mauritania is a settlement called M’bera. Home to over 100,000 refugees displaced by the civil war in Mali, and the location of KLABU’s latest sports clubhouse.
The badge on the KLABU M’bera shirt (5) features three traditional teapots, representing a welcome gesture in the Sahel where tea is poured in three servings:
“The first tea is served bitter, like loss.
The second is served strong, like life.
The third is served sweet, like love.”
This phrase – a Tuareg proverb – served as a perfect metaphor describing the personal journey from displacement to reconnection, told here through the story of three characters living in M’bera: a runner, a footballer, and a volleyball player.
The film is scored by Tinariwen, an incredible band from the region, and this project marks the first of a 3-year partnership with On. Read more about it here.
Client ︎︎︎ KLABU & On Running
Creative Director ︎︎︎ Tom Bird
Director / DOP ︎︎︎ Richard Hu
Writer ︎︎︎ Tom Bird
Producer ︎︎︎ Julia Piatkowska, Fleur Harmsen, Ibrahim Ag Abdorahmane
Editor ︎︎︎ Richard Hu, Tom Bird
Photography ︎︎︎ Coco Olakunle
Music ︎︎︎ Tinariwen
Music Licensing ︎︎︎ Lucy @ Warp, Patrick @ Wedge
Sound ︎︎︎ Wave Studios
Colour Grade ︎︎︎ Joppo de Grot
Cast ︎︎︎ Mohamed Ag Mohamed Aly
Mariama Wlt Med Ali
Aly Tahirou Macalou
Project partners ︎︎︎ On
UNHCR
Special thanks to Joumana Baalbaki, Jordan Farwell & Gessica Giulini @ On and to UNHCR Mauritania
WeTransfer
Move it like a Pro
2024
Commercial work
Move it like a Pro
2024
Commercial work
A campaign that makes upgrading to WeTransfer Pro make sense to even the least professional of professionals.
WeTransfer, the file-sharing giant, had a problem: they had 80-million users, yet less than 1% paid for a WeTransfer Pro account.
But how do you talk to designers and photographers and filmmakers and editors and retouchers and sound engineers and location scouts and casting reps and production managers and all the other fish swimming in this soup we call ‘the creative industry’?
Well, everyone is a professional of some sort, so we locked onto that word – pro – designed a bazillion iterations (1), each representing a different type of creative profession (not quite 80-million, but a lot), then bounced it around the English language like a beach ball (7). A playful way to talk to all kinds of people about all manner of things.
We then asked some proper pros... the likes of Gabriel Moses, Joshua Kissi, Jessica Walsh and Quinn Wilson ...to show us what being a professional looks like by sharing glimpses of their creative process lurking in their camera-roll, which we then turned into a series of films (2).
The campaign played out across WeTransfer, WePresent and Instagram.
Head of Studio ︎︎︎ Marc Vermeeren, Keith Butters
Design Director ︎︎︎ Pia Vivo
Creative Directors ︎︎︎ Tom Bird & Tom Biddulph
Art Direction ︎︎︎ Pia Vivo, Fin O’Neill, Tom Bird
Copywriter ︎︎︎ Tom Biddulph, Tom Bird, Abbie Robinson
Motion Design ︎︎︎ Everton Guilherme, Nacho Darras
Graphic Design ︎︎︎ Nathan Hoang, Terezie Štindlová
Project Manager ︎︎︎ Hannah Mullen
Producer ︎︎︎ Vera le Blanc, Linsey Ruijter
Animation Partner ︎︎︎ BUCK
WePresent Director ︎︎︎ Holly Fraser
Music ︎︎︎ Suzi Analog (licenced via WARP)
READ MORE
WeTransfer, the file-sharing giant, had a problem: they had 80-million users, yet less than 1% paid for a WeTransfer Pro account.
But how do you talk to designers and photographers and filmmakers and editors and retouchers and sound engineers and location scouts and casting reps and production managers and all the other fish swimming in this soup we call ‘the creative industry’?
Well, everyone is a professional of some sort, so we locked onto that word – pro – designed a bazillion iterations (1), each representing a different type of creative profession (not quite 80-million, but a lot), then bounced it around the English language like a beach ball (7). A playful way to talk to all kinds of people about all manner of things.
We then asked some proper pros... the likes of Gabriel Moses, Joshua Kissi, Jessica Walsh and Quinn Wilson ...to show us what being a professional looks like by sharing glimpses of their creative process lurking in their camera-roll, which we then turned into a series of films (2).
The campaign played out across WeTransfer, WePresent and Instagram.
Head of Studio ︎︎︎ Marc Vermeeren, Keith Butters
Design Director ︎︎︎ Pia Vivo
Creative Directors ︎︎︎ Tom Bird & Tom Biddulph
Art Direction ︎︎︎ Pia Vivo, Fin O’Neill, Tom Bird
Copywriter ︎︎︎ Tom Biddulph, Tom Bird, Abbie Robinson
Motion Design ︎︎︎ Everton Guilherme, Nacho Darras
Graphic Design ︎︎︎ Nathan Hoang, Terezie Štindlová
Project Manager ︎︎︎ Hannah Mullen
Producer ︎︎︎ Vera le Blanc, Linsey Ruijter
Animation Partner ︎︎︎ BUCK
WePresent Director ︎︎︎ Holly Fraser
Music ︎︎︎ Suzi Analog (licenced via WARP)
WeTransfer x Jungle
Think it. Make it. Move it.
2023
Commercial work
Think it. Make it. Move it.
2023
Commercial work
A music video showing how WeTransfer brings momentum to big ideas... such as Jungle’s critically-acclaimed album, Volcano.
WeTransfer doesn’t just share files. It moves ideas. Big ideas. Bombastic ideas. Game-changing ideas. It lights the fuse and blasts your brain into the stratosphere.
For a digital tool used by millions, we needed a campaign platform that can speak to everyone, from creatives to teachers to dentists, and inspire them to get their files moving. We wrote the line Think it. Make it. Move it. A simple, modular, statement that can be playfully re-phrased to suit all manner of professions. (13)
Next, we asked creatives “What big idea are you trying to bring to life?”
It turned out that Jungle had an ambitious idea for their new studio album... to release it as a feature film comprised of 14 music videos. We partnered with them on this mission, co-funding the project, documenting their creative process and turning the journey into posters, films, and various pieces of album-teaser content, all dropped via jungle.wetransfer.com. (9) Drops featured things like 3D-printable merch, a behind-the-scenes zine, and .wav stems for a remix competition.
The centre-piece of our campaign was an interactive music video for the album’s lead release Back on 74, in which a selection of unique album art could be dragged and downloaded directly from the video – with some artworks containing free tickets to Jungle’s 2023 World Tour. (2–7) In essence... a product demo of epic proportions.
Hands down, the coolest project I’ve ever had the good fortune to be part of!
WeTransfer credits
Head of Studio ︎︎︎ Lily Darby, Nessim Higson
Brand Director ︎︎︎ Tara Goutermout
Creative Director ︎︎︎ Matt Skibiak
Creative ︎︎︎ Tom Bird, Ian Fairbrother
Project Manager ︎︎︎ Hunnah Mullen, Aya Hayashida
Design Director ︎︎︎ Hugo Timm, D. Alcausin
Designers ︎︎︎ Fin O’Neill, Josh Caley-Brown
Motion Design ︎︎︎ Everton Guilherme, Flávio Lourenço
Software Engineer ︎︎︎ Bram Kekels
Production Co ︎︎︎ WHALE Amsterdam
Technical Partner ︎︎︎ Nexus Studios
Producer ︎︎︎ Ezra Xenos, Sanne van Hattum, Anna Lee
Director / DOP ︎︎︎ Rik Burnell
Editor ︎︎︎ Rigel Kilston
Photographer ︎︎︎ Sophie Green
Jungle credits
Artist ︎︎︎ JUNGLE
Label ︎︎︎ Caiola Records
Production Co ︎︎︎ Contentus Maximus
Writer / Director ︎︎︎ Charlie Di Placido, J. Lloyd
Executive Producer ︎︎︎ Matt Craig, Tom McFarland
Choreography ︎︎︎ Shay Latukolan, Oriane Serveille
DOP ︎︎︎ Natasha Duursma
Steadycam Op ︎︎︎ Gary Kent
Set Design ︎︎︎ Sam Storey
**full cast + crew available on YouTube**
READ MORE
WeTransfer doesn’t just share files. It moves ideas. Big ideas. Bombastic ideas. Game-changing ideas. It lights the fuse and blasts your brain into the stratosphere.
For a digital tool used by millions, we needed a campaign platform that can speak to everyone, from creatives to teachers to dentists, and inspire them to get their files moving. We wrote the line Think it. Make it. Move it. A simple, modular, statement that can be playfully re-phrased to suit all manner of professions. (13)
Next, we asked creatives “What big idea are you trying to bring to life?”
It turned out that Jungle had an ambitious idea for their new studio album... to release it as a feature film comprised of 14 music videos. We partnered with them on this mission, co-funding the project, documenting their creative process and turning the journey into posters, films, and various pieces of album-teaser content, all dropped via jungle.wetransfer.com. (9) Drops featured things like 3D-printable merch, a behind-the-scenes zine, and .wav stems for a remix competition.
The centre-piece of our campaign was an interactive music video for the album’s lead release Back on 74, in which a selection of unique album art could be dragged and downloaded directly from the video – with some artworks containing free tickets to Jungle’s 2023 World Tour. (2–7) In essence... a product demo of epic proportions.
Hands down, the coolest project I’ve ever had the good fortune to be part of!
WeTransfer credits
Head of Studio ︎︎︎ Lily Darby, Nessim Higson
Brand Director ︎︎︎ Tara Goutermout
Creative Director ︎︎︎ Matt Skibiak
Creative ︎︎︎ Tom Bird, Ian Fairbrother
Project Manager ︎︎︎ Hunnah Mullen, Aya Hayashida
Design Director ︎︎︎ Hugo Timm, D. Alcausin
Designers ︎︎︎ Fin O’Neill, Josh Caley-Brown
Motion Design ︎︎︎ Everton Guilherme, Flávio Lourenço
Software Engineer ︎︎︎ Bram Kekels
Production Co ︎︎︎ WHALE Amsterdam
Technical Partner ︎︎︎ Nexus Studios
Producer ︎︎︎ Ezra Xenos, Sanne van Hattum, Anna Lee
Director / DOP ︎︎︎ Rik Burnell
Editor ︎︎︎ Rigel Kilston
Photographer ︎︎︎ Sophie Green
Jungle credits
Artist ︎︎︎ JUNGLE
Label ︎︎︎ Caiola Records
Production Co ︎︎︎ Contentus Maximus
Writer / Director ︎︎︎ Charlie Di Placido, J. Lloyd
Executive Producer ︎︎︎ Matt Craig, Tom McFarland
Choreography ︎︎︎ Shay Latukolan, Oriane Serveille
DOP ︎︎︎ Natasha Duursma
Steadycam Op ︎︎︎ Gary Kent
Set Design ︎︎︎ Sam Storey
**full cast + crew available on YouTube**
KLABU
Ter Apel clubhouse launch
2023
Commercial work
Ter Apel clubhouse launch
2023
Commercial work
A splash of optimism to launch KLABU inside the Netherlands’ largest centre for asylum-seekers.
A fresh wave of immigration into the EU during 2022 created a backlog of asylum claims across the continent. In Ter Apel, the largest refugee reception centre in NL, new arrivals were spending months inside a facility intended only for a couple of weeks.
KLABU responded to the situation by initiating a weekly sports programme for the most at-risk youth, and its early success led to the launch of an official sports clubhouse inside the centre. (10)
But for an organisation that seeks to add colour back to peoples lives, the sports infrastructure in Ter Apel – grey slabs inside a big cage – felt a bit... bleak. I proposed that together with the young residents, we give the court a lick of paint, recreating KLABU’s iconic butterfly pattern (which features across all their sportswear).
We hooked up a speaker, donned some overalls, strapped Go-Pro’s to the paint rollers and got to work. More info on the project here, and some behind-the-scenes here.
KLABU ︎︎︎ Jan Van Hövell, Kelvin Govey
Creative Director ︎︎︎ Tom Bird
Producer ︎︎︎ Tom Bird
Director ︎︎︎ Richard Hu, Tom Bird
DOP ︎︎︎ Richard Hu
Editor ︎︎︎ Richard Hu, Tom Bird
Production Assistents ︎︎︎ Fleur Harmsen, Tjark Klimant
Photography ︎︎︎ Rie Yamauchi
Music Licensing ︎︎︎ Out / Standard
Cast ︎︎︎ KLABU team & Ter Apel residents (May 2023)
Project partners ︎︎︎ COA Nederland
UEFA Foundation
ESPN (NL)
Nederlandse Loterij
BasicFit (NL)
Loods
3x3 Unites
ApenkooienGym
VAAF
Big shout out also to Nike Football for the cash-monies!
READ MORE
A fresh wave of immigration into the EU during 2022 created a backlog of asylum claims across the continent. In Ter Apel, the largest refugee reception centre in NL, new arrivals were spending months inside a facility intended only for a couple of weeks.
KLABU responded to the situation by initiating a weekly sports programme for the most at-risk youth, and its early success led to the launch of an official sports clubhouse inside the centre. (10)
But for an organisation that seeks to add colour back to peoples lives, the sports infrastructure in Ter Apel – grey slabs inside a big cage – felt a bit... bleak. I proposed that together with the young residents, we give the court a lick of paint, recreating KLABU’s iconic butterfly pattern (which features across all their sportswear).
We hooked up a speaker, donned some overalls, strapped Go-Pro’s to the paint rollers and got to work. More info on the project here, and some behind-the-scenes here.
KLABU ︎︎︎ Jan Van Hövell, Kelvin Govey
Creative Director ︎︎︎ Tom Bird
Producer ︎︎︎ Tom Bird
Director ︎︎︎ Richard Hu, Tom Bird
DOP ︎︎︎ Richard Hu
Editor ︎︎︎ Richard Hu, Tom Bird
Production Assistents ︎︎︎ Fleur Harmsen, Tjark Klimant
Photography ︎︎︎ Rie Yamauchi
Music Licensing ︎︎︎ Out / Standard
Cast ︎︎︎ KLABU team & Ter Apel residents (May 2023)
Project partners ︎︎︎ COA Nederland
UEFA Foundation
ESPN (NL)
Nederlandse Loterij
BasicFit (NL)
Loods
3x3 Unites
ApenkooienGym
VAAF
Big shout out also to Nike Football for the cash-monies!