Hi there.
My name’s Tom. I’m a freelance digital developer with nearly twenty years’ experience in coding, UX, and creative thinking, currently specialising in data visualisation and web app development.
In recent years I’ve been working with Information is Beautiful to develop VizSweet, an awesome data-viz-creation platform.
I’ve also created visualisations for public bodies and big banks, wireframed for Channel 4, written personas for the NHS and crafted information architecture for the BBC, made games, and all kinds of other fun stuff. I made an awesome visualisation about swear words. And I also write fiction, very slowly.
If you have a project you’d like to discuss, drop me an email at tom@acatcalledfrank.com and let’s chat!
Recent Posts
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Dev Blog — Sweating the Small Stuff
In modern web development, it’s often the little things that catch you out. Multi-user data visualisation that updates dynamically? Sure, no problem. Responsive, accessible SVG layout? Fine. Put the labels in boxes? Yeah, no worri… ah, crap. The labels in question need boxes behind them, but the text can change, and is on an arc,…
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&$!#% — A Celebration of Swearing
Brief disclaimer: this post contains a swearing, vulgarities and general rudeness 🤬 My daughter asks the best questions. She’s only nine, but we often get hit with questions like, “Why is money valuable?” or “What’s the point of being alive, when all your feelings die when you do?” What I love about these questions is…
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Blog — Effortless Doesn’t Mean Easy
It’s always nice to see your work out in the wild. The Rise and Rise of AI visualisation from IIB, made with VizSweet — the project I was working on as Tech Director until my recent return to freelancing — appeared in my LinkedIn feed a few days ago and I thought I should do…
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Fiction — Dog Person
A story about toxic masculinity and misplaced anger, body modification gone wrong and redemption, of a kind.
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Fiction — Creative Differences
A story about artists and AI, and the dark side of creativity.
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Portfolio — VizSweet
In 2015 I started working with Information is Beautiful as Technical Director to develop VizSweet, a high-end data visualisation tool — and for the last eight years, we’ve been making something amazing. IIB founder David McCandless is an influential figure in the data-viz scene, marrying a love of data and design with a journalistic approach…
