KLABU x On Running
Le Berrad
2025
Commercial work
Le Berrad
2025
Commercial work
A story about the healing power of sport in the Saharan desert told through a nomadic tea ceremony.
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, as well as the location of KLABU’s latest sports clubhouse in partnership with On.
Look closely, and you’ll notice the badge on KLABU’s M’bera shirt features three traditional teapots, representing a traditional welcome gesture in which tea is served in three rounds:
This ancient Tuareg proverb became a perfect metaphor to describe the journey from displacement to reconnection, through the stories of three people: a runner, a footballer, and a volleyball player.
It also gave us an opportunity to collab with a band that’s transfixed me for years: Tinariwen. Read more about the project 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, as well as the location of KLABU’s latest sports clubhouse in partnership with On.
Look closely, and you’ll notice the badge on KLABU’s M’bera shirt features three traditional teapots, representing a traditional welcome gesture in which tea is served in three rounds:
“The first tea is served bitter, like loss.
The second is served strong, like life.
The third is served sweet, like love.”
This ancient Tuareg proverb became a perfect metaphor to describe the journey from displacement to reconnection, through the stories of three people: a runner, a footballer, and a volleyball player.
It also gave us an opportunity to collab with a band that’s transfixed me for years: Tinariwen. Read more about the project 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 x Jungle
Think it. Make it. Move it.
2023
Commercial work
Think it. Make it. Move it.
2023
Commercial work
An album launch that demonstrates how WeTransfer brings momentum to big ideas like Jungle’s critically-acclaimed, 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!
Caiola Records
Artist ︎︎︎ Jungle
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 credits available on YouTube**
WeTransfer
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
Technical Production Partner ︎︎︎ Nexus Studios
Producer ︎︎︎ Ezra Xenos, Sanne van Hattum, Anna Lee
Director / DOP ︎︎︎ Rik Burnell
Editor ︎︎︎ Rigel Kilston
Photographer ︎︎︎ Sophie Green
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!
Caiola Records
Artist ︎︎︎ Jungle
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 credits available on YouTube**
WeTransfer
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
Technical Production Partner ︎︎︎ Nexus Studios
Producer ︎︎︎ Ezra Xenos, Sanne van Hattum, Anna Lee
Director / DOP ︎︎︎ Rik Burnell
Editor ︎︎︎ Rigel Kilston
Photographer ︎︎︎ Sophie Green
KLABU
Butterfly court
2023
Commercial work
Butterfly court
2023
Commercial work
A splash of optimism to launch KLABU’s latest sports project inside the Netherlands’ largest asylum centre.
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!
Samphetamine®
2022
Personal work
2022
Personal work
A groundbreaking new form of medication that provides fast-acting relief from modern day existence.
Though it may appear a legit pharmaceutical drug, Samphetamine® is in fact a collection of writings by a young author called Sam Bird (who also happens to be my younger brother.)
Each of the works – a mix of poetry and performance pieces – is rooted in his experience of chronic depression, diagnosed at age 17.
Being ‘medicated’ – and all the consquences that arise from it – is a constant theme across Sam’s work. It sparked an idea that I couldn’t resist… to present this collection of writing as an antidote: a fully branded medication, containing a 188-page fold-out booklet, complete with industry-standard packaging and a corporate website featuring FAQ’s and the opportunity to order a sample.
** fact fact... Stripe payment systems temporarily blocked access to the site as it flagged up as a ‘violation of their policy regarding the sale of controlled substances’. Access was only re-instated after I appealed the decision, explaining that I am not a black-market narcotics dealer, but a publisher **
Now turn that frown upside down and go fetch yourself a copy here: www.samphetamine.uk
Playwright / Author ︎︎︎ Samuel J Bird
Creative Director ︎︎︎ Tom Bird
Design & Art Direction ︎︎︎ Tom Bird
Illustrations ︎︎︎ Gabriel Carr
Website ︎︎︎ Tom Bird
Printing ︎︎︎ Jubels [NL]
READ MORE
Though it may appear a legit pharmaceutical drug, Samphetamine® is in fact a collection of writings by a young author called Sam Bird (who also happens to be my younger brother.)
Each of the works – a mix of poetry and performance pieces – is rooted in his experience of chronic depression, diagnosed at age 17.
Being ‘medicated’ – and all the consquences that arise from it – is a constant theme across Sam’s work. It sparked an idea that I couldn’t resist… to present this collection of writing as an antidote: a fully branded medication, containing a 188-page fold-out booklet, complete with industry-standard packaging and a corporate website featuring FAQ’s and the opportunity to order a sample.
** fact fact... Stripe payment systems temporarily blocked access to the site as it flagged up as a ‘violation of their policy regarding the sale of controlled substances’. Access was only re-instated after I appealed the decision, explaining that I am not a black-market narcotics dealer, but a publisher **
Now turn that frown upside down and go fetch yourself a copy here: www.samphetamine.uk
Playwright / Author ︎︎︎ Samuel J Bird
Creative Director ︎︎︎ Tom Bird
Design & Art Direction ︎︎︎ Tom Bird
Illustrations ︎︎︎ Gabriel Carr
Website ︎︎︎ Tom Bird
Printing ︎︎︎ Jubels [NL]
KLABU
Amsterdam kit launch
2023
Commercial work
Amsterdam kit launch
2023
Commercial work
A pigeon, a heron, and a rainy day in Amsterdam tell the story behind the badge on KLABU sportswear.
KLABU is a sports foundation with a mission to support refugees through sport. In partnership with UNHCR, they create sports clubhouses around the world and fund the projects through sportswear.
With travel to international projects limited during the Covid-19 pandemic, KLABU began looking at what impact we could make closer to home. And so the weekly workout was born: a fun way to connect new arrivals (refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants) with local Amsterdammers.
Every KLABU kit features a badge co-created with the people it supports, and the Amsterdam badge is no different. Two birds: a heron representing the host community, and a pigeon representing the newcomer, gathered around a classic Amsterdam water fountain, described by a regular member as, “the place where new life begins”.
We brought the film to life with various members of our weekly workout crew, on an authentic rainy day in the city, and the film was screened across all Amsterdam cinemas through the summer.
Show your support and grab the shirt here.
Creative Director ︎︎︎ Emilio de Haan, Tom Bird
Writer ︎︎︎ Tom Bird
Art Director ︎︎︎ Astrid Niari
Producer ︎︎︎ Cherise Basiran
Line Producer ︎︎︎ Jimi Visser
Production Co ︎︎︎ DPPLR
Director ︎︎︎ Mikki Sindhunata
DOP ︎︎︎ Simon Meesters
Editor ︎︎︎ Samantha @ Studio Radijs
Casting ︎︎︎ Mohammed Bah, Lisa Elsenburg
Stylist ︎︎︎ Perrine Philomeen
VFX ︎︎︎ Ton Habraken @ Compound
Motion Graphics ︎︎︎ Nick Fatouris
Grade ︎︎︎ Qianwei Tong
Music ︎︎︎ Nils den Otter @ Audentity
Photography ︎︎︎ Tom Bird, Manouk Quint
READ MORE
KLABU is a sports foundation with a mission to support refugees through sport. In partnership with UNHCR, they create sports clubhouses around the world and fund the projects through sportswear.
With travel to international projects limited during the Covid-19 pandemic, KLABU began looking at what impact we could make closer to home. And so the weekly workout was born: a fun way to connect new arrivals (refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants) with local Amsterdammers.
Every KLABU kit features a badge co-created with the people it supports, and the Amsterdam badge is no different. Two birds: a heron representing the host community, and a pigeon representing the newcomer, gathered around a classic Amsterdam water fountain, described by a regular member as, “the place where new life begins”.
We brought the film to life with various members of our weekly workout crew, on an authentic rainy day in the city, and the film was screened across all Amsterdam cinemas through the summer.
Show your support and grab the shirt here.
Creative Director ︎︎︎ Emilio de Haan, Tom Bird
Writer ︎︎︎ Tom Bird
Art Director ︎︎︎ Astrid Niari
Producer ︎︎︎ Cherise Basiran
Line Producer ︎︎︎ Jimi Visser
Production Co ︎︎︎ DPPLR
Director ︎︎︎ Mikki Sindhunata
DOP ︎︎︎ Simon Meesters
Editor ︎︎︎ Samantha @ Studio Radijs
Casting ︎︎︎ Mohammed Bah, Lisa Elsenburg
Stylist ︎︎︎ Perrine Philomeen
VFX ︎︎︎ Ton Habraken @ Compound
Motion Graphics ︎︎︎ Nick Fatouris
Grade ︎︎︎ Qianwei Tong
Music ︎︎︎ Nils den Otter @ Audentity
Photography ︎︎︎ Tom Bird, Manouk Quint