Communications Tool & Die was formed in June of 2008 by Michael Ridley, Nicole Rennolds, and Heather Hansen. Based out of Northern Virginia and employing experienced designers, developers, graphic artists, and communications professionals from across the globe, we provide professional and customized digital communications services to clients around the world.
Businesses and individuals looking for web design services have a virtually unlimited number of choices in the marketplace. Thousands of companies, large and small, are available to provide web design services. Communications Tool & Die is different. We are not a traditional web design firm.
We do not to simply design your web site. Our goal is to tailor a custom virtual space that enhances your brand, serves your customers, and communicates your message. Web site design is only a small part of what we offer. The name "Tool & Die" comes from the manufacturing industry, where tool and die makers are highly skilled workers who produce the tools necessary for complex manufacturing processes. Similarly, we create custom digital tools to power your online presence to take advantage of the latest in web technologies, social experiences, digital media, and "Web 2.0" interfaces.
We do not look at a web site in isolation. Communications Tool & Die will help you to ensure that your web site enhances your real world branding and marketing efforts and drives customers to your business.
The online experience today is far broader than static pages on the World Wide Web. Your customers are spending time in online virtual worlds, such as Second Life. They are creating and uploading digital media content to sites such as YouTube. They are participating in online discourse in the blogosphere. Do your current online marketing efforts address these emerging virtual communities? If not, drop us a line. We can help.
Our Founders
Michael Ridley - Founder
Michael Ridley has over 10 years experience in information systems consulting, systems engineering, and production software development, deployment, and support. Mr. Ridley set up the first listener driven public wiki for podcast show notes in the fall of 2005 which was used by Adam Curry's Daily Source Code and other popular podcasts. He was responsible for the design, deployment, and support of the infrastructure running the original Napster service in 1999. He has worked as a systems engineer for Amazon.com developing applications to support large scale data collection and analysis projects. He has worked to implement knowledge management, systems automation tools, and reporting and analysis applications at a range of clients in a range of industries including financial services, higher education, and e-commerce.
Nicole Rennolds - Web Designer
Nicole has been a freelance web designer for five years. She has professional experience in a variety of technologies from HTML and CSS to Flash and JavaScript. She specializes in the integration of design and technology to produce truly unique websites.
Heather Hansen - Graphic Artist
Heather Hansen has over six years of graphic design experience. She has done in-house design work for a regional telecommunications company designing ads, retail signage, collateral, and other marketing material. She has done extensive freelance work specializing in corporate identities. Heather is the Senior Designer of the Second Life fashion magazine Second Style, responsible for the layout and production of the magazine. She also does volunteer work for her local community designing t-shirts for youth sports programs.
Copyright 2008 Communications Tool & Die