Member Stories
Ian Fooks

Meet Ian Fooks – or simply, Fooks, as he’s known to those close to him. A designer, dad, and the creative mind behind Things by Fooks. A long-time fixture at The Old Church School, Fooks’ journey has taken him from Flash animations and big-brand campaigns to coaching under-11s football and reimagining the British Airways customer experience (he’s got stories). In his trademark mix of wit and wisdom, he talks about designing for people, why sharing a studio keeps things interesting, and how he ended up co-chairing one of Frome’s most-loved arts spaces.

What’s your background and the story behind Things by Fooks. Can you tell us a bit about what you do and the kind of projects you work on?

I always kinda knew what I wanted to do, I used to draw cars that were motored by repelling magnets and guide ropes for tents that used phosphorescents to stop people tripping over them (I still stand by both). After being a design journeyman across London agencies and in-house teams for brands I moved to Frome when my twin boys arrived. After 5 years running an agency I took the step back to be less on the admin and back on the tools I enjoy. I continue to consult for agencies whilst building teams of people for direct clients, so a fortunate mix.

How did you first get into UX and UI design? Was it a straightforward path or more of a happy accident?

I was born of the Flash animation era, but the iPhone killed that off, so I had to diversify my approach to design. I’ve always worked primarily in digital formats and am fascinated by people and behaviours generally, so it was a logical progression to move onto how things work and what they look like.

It’s no good just designing something if you haven’t thought about who is using it, Dieter Rams is always my go to to show this. So backing up my colouring in with some proper research and rationale means you end up designing something much more worthwhile and appealing for people.

What kind of clients or industries do you most enjoy working with?

I think the variety of clients and projects I get to work on is my biggest enjoyment. Back in the day it was the big brand stuff to impress my mates and parents, whereas now, it’s working with clients to make actual tangible benefits to their businesses – be that starting them off, growing them bigger or making a customer’s experience a little bit more enjoyable in their interactions with that brand.

But with anything it’s about the people you work with, and 90% of mine are brilliant.

Are there any projects or career moments you’re particularly proud of?

I’ve been very lucky to work with some great people in some great places, and that’s been the biggest highlight for me. I’m still in touch with a whole lot of them, and work with them, I even married 2 former work colleagues in Tuscany a few years back.

Projects that were revolutionary at a certain point of time get quickly surpassed. Back in the day we invented a ‘find my tent’ application for Sony Ericsson via GPS, we were given lot’s of shiny things for the work but 3 months later Google Maps came out. Kinda won that battle, did Google.

I’ve recently been working with Winmau on a darts app that gives me much pleasure, combining the job with something I enjoy playing with pals, and I’ve also been given the freedom to reinvent what the British Airways customer experience could become. We won’t talk about the Jaguar rebrand though thanks (although if you want to know there was a very good reason for the team’s decisions to do what they did – in the most part).

I think the thing that makes me proudest is that the phone keeps ringing and I get to work with people smarter than me on projects that are exciting and I seem to be able to add benefit too.

You share your studio space with a few others – tell us about that setup. Who do you share with and how does it work day to day?

I’ve been a TOCS for some 8 years now, and it’s been a revolving door of people who have joined the echelons of the famous B.19. I inherited the first sub-letter like a sort of cat who wandered around the place. People have come and gone for different reasons whilst the office gets filled with more and more of the junk I love that doesn’t fit in my house.

Currently we have Merlin Nation who is a wonderful animator at Working Progress Studio, he’s been in the saddle for about 6 months as he was looking for a space to break up home and work life, and his new pootle into the office on his bike has taken years off him.. We’ve got Dom Palmer who recently got started in Photography (and formally of Burrito Boi fame). And bringing up the rear is Doug Gray who is communications manager for World Triathalon. It’s a really nice blend and keeps us all grounded in what we do as well as a good sounding board for feedback and nonsense banter.

People come and go during the week so it’s either headphones on and heads down, or tunes on and disco ball spinning. It’s really nice to have people who are friends-first around the studio, we talk some shop but also the bigger stuff in life. It’s a nice sociable vibe that you don’t always get working for yourself.

You do a lot of work with local schools and arts charities. Can you tell us a bit about that?

I do as much as I can, but I’m certainly not going to be on any honours lists soon. I think I peaked at the front page in the Frome times begging for money whilst looking like a disgruntled man who was in a conifer dispute with his neighbour.

I work a lot with Frome college offering the students work experience opportunities. I was really lucky to get onto a graduate scheme post-university, so this is really about paying back and letting the youths of today know there are opportunities in the creative sectors they may not be aware of, and also that those jobs exist within Frome. I’ve had a few students through who I’ve actually ended up working with years later and I take ALL the praise for those moments and make sure they are forever indebted to me, so I really do it for my ego.

I am also co-chair of the trustees at the Black Swan Arts centre. I got collared in the pub when tipsy about 4 years ago and have been helping there since. But it’s a really important space to a lot of people. It enables fledgling artists to have a space and exposure, it allows top quality art to be curated for the public for free, it gives exhibition space for local arts groups and societies and for many of the volunteers is a safe and inclusive space where they have a sense of community and importance. It’s been a rough time for many arts centres so if you want to donate something you can do so here. It’s our 40th anniversary next year and we want it here for another 40.

I’ll tell anyone that wants to listen that what I love about Frome is the sense of community so it’s really just contributing what I can to that cause.

You’ve been based at The Old Church School for a while now – what is it about the building (or the community) that’s kept you here?

I remember walking my dog Norman 11 years ago and stumbling across the building, I instantly fell in love with the architecture and promised myself that this is where I would end up working. Sure enough, 2 years later, I set-up an agency here so TOCS was definitely manifested.

As I’ve said, working for yourself can be a lonely game at times, so to have a community with events, socials and chats in the lounge is priceless, I’ve made great friends here as well as worked with a whole bunch of other business owners. It’s become a home-from-home and to separate home and work life, and long may it stay that way.

What’s a typical day like for you at the studio?

Every day is different, but it always starts with an Earl Grey (cow’s milk, one sugar if you’re making).

I have a mild OCD about me, so first up is the treasured to-do list, I’ll juggle that around to prioritise what needs doing. Whose work can I get done first before they ask me where it is, and what I can push back. With the variety of projects I work on it’s uber important that I’m organised. Some days it can be a branding project, sometimes it’s UX/UI and other’s it’s managing the small teams I pull together for client work. I love the variety as it keeps me fresh. I get the kids a few days of the week after school so I try to switch off to hang with them, then the laptop comes back out when they are down.For me, this is the biggest benefit of working for oneself. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

When you’re not designing beautiful things, how do you like to spend your time?

I like to keep active in my advancing years, so you’ll often see me having a little jog, whacking some tennis balls or chasing a football down. I also coach the U11s Frome Town United team in a thinly-veiled attempt to make up for the football career that never occurred due to my poor ability.

Otherwise, it’s all about precious time with my fiancé, Bella, who teaches, and hanging out with my best friends – twin 10-year old boys Teddy and Miller who you’ll see around the place blackmailing me into buying chocolate. Other than that I like hanging out  in the pub with a bunch of idiots that happen to be my friends.

Finally – any advice for someone starting out in design today?

Just pursue it. For the yoots of today, an art foundation course is a great place to start, and where I found my tribe, experimenting with all different mediums of creativity before honing your skills. But over Covid we employed a few people who had never worked in this sector and they have gone on to be designers, UXers and project managers all over the country, so sometimes just a foot in the door somewhere creative and listening will get you far.

But as with anything it’s all down to working hard and making your own luck.