Nigel Gordijk
Designer: Creative Latitude web site

Nigel is a creative director and graphic designer based in Brighton, East Sussex in England. He's also a one-man cross section of the world with a heritage that contains Chinese, Black, South American Amerindian, Dutch, Portuguese, White and, according to his father, one sixteenth Jewish. So, I guess he only orders one sixteenth of a reuben sandwich.

We Creative Latitudians owe him our namesake. The legend says the name fell out of his brain one day and now it's all this. He's also the guy who slaved over the design and production of this site day and night without eating or drinking. That's dedication! Well, maybe he did drink just a wee bit and then there's that one sixteenth of a reuben sandwich. Thanks be to Nigel! [Aw, shucks - NG]

He's acted as lead designer on many high profile Web projects including Thomson Holidays' Portland Direct site, Honda's All Terrain Vehicles site, LearndirectScotland.com and RSC Online for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

After graduating in 1988 with a B.A. (Hons) in Graphic Design from the London College of Printing, Nigel's early career saw him developing his skills and experience at print design consultancies before venturing onto the Web. He doesn't get technicolor hands from markers and ink anymore.

In 1994, Nigel temporarily lost his mind and decided to leave a permanent position (read, 'steady income') at a design consultancy to start work as an independent designer. As fate would have it, he lucked out and immediately began contributing to teams working on big name client projects such as the British Airways corporate identity by Interbrand Newell & Sorrell. Well, okay - maybe it wasn't all luck. He is rather talented.

Nigel's work on the London & Quadrant's flagship magazine 'Homelife' won him the national award for 'Best Communication with Tenants' at the National Communications in Housing Awards in 1998. Rumor has it that he sleeps with the award. Designers are like that.

Following a stint in the London office of Interactive Bureau as senior Web designer - where he designed the Web site for the government's Office of the e-Envoy - Nigel returned to freelancing in 2001. He now works either directly for business clients in his own office, or onsite with design consultancies.

Check out Nigel's site at www.nigelgordijk.co.uk.