Welcome. I'm Tom Suiter. I help create brands for companies - both established and start ups - and I'm also a painter (of canvases, not houses).
Over the years, l've had the privilege to work with some great companies, including Apple, Pixar, United Airlines, Nike, Pebble Beach, Caterpillar, Stanford Medicine, and many others.
Below is a sample of my work.
STANFORD HOSPITAL
CORPORATE PARTNERS
A little over fifty years ago, Stanford University needed to raise money to fuel its post-war expansion needs, but was unable to sell any of their vast land holdings because of trust restrictions.
Some smart Stanford professors proposed that Stanford provide long term leases to local start-up and established businesses - where lush apricot orchards fluorished - raising the required capital, and creating the first corporate business park in Silicon Valley.
Fifty years later, Stanford Hospital faced a similar challenge, and formed the Corporate Partners Program. This unique partnership brought together the resources of Stanford Hospital, Apple, eBay, Intel, Intuit, HP, and Oracle, helping raise funds to build the new hospital, completed in 2019.
Working with BrandAdvisors and Jill Savini, we created a brand launch based around the apricot tree, which served as a symbol for the Program.
The launch included a limited edition, letterpressed book inviting Silicon Valley chief executives to participate in the partnership and declaring "It's time to plant a new orchard."
Apricot tree illustration by
Elizabeth Traynor.
Landor Associates
A BRIEF HISTORY
Over the years, I've worked for Landor Associates (two tours of duty), was Director of Creative Services for Apple, had my own company - CKS Partners - and now consult with friends for companies we admire.
Shown here is a brief sampling of things I've designed and directed over the years, done in collabora-tion with incredibly talented people I've gotten to know and enjoy.
I wish I could give credit to all of those I've been fortunate to work with, but this website isn't deep enough. But thanks to you all.
CKS Partners
Apple 1982 to 1985
Apple 1997 to 2000
Located in Atherton, CA, Menlo School was founded on 1915, and has long been considered to be one of the best college preparatory schools in the nation.
MENLO SCHOOL
When Menlo approached me, they knew they had a great product, but their brand look and messaging materials weren't depicting an accurate story.
Like other typical middle and upper schools, the issue was compounded by the fact that the school had a continual need to create different logos for the multitude of programs they offered.
My solution was to craft a simple story, and design a flexible identity system that allowed for a variety of logos, all tied together by the "Gold Ring". I found the "ring" was used by Menlo back in the 1930s, and could offer a fresh look for the 2000s
and beyond
It was fun to help them realize that sometimes it's good to look to the past in order to see the future.
I worked with Ellen Leanse, a great copywriter, and drew upon many the talents of Menlo's student photographers, designers, writers, and teachers.
I had a wonderful time going back to high school.
