Based in Denver, Colorado, Concourse is a one‑man, two‑dog, studio run by Zach Thomas.

Why Concourse?

Because, frankly, my name is relatively common and I really just got tired of Zach Thomas Design. Also, I’m a bit of an #AvGeek (aviation) and thought it was a unique way to tie-in one of my other interests into my design practice.

Tell me more about yourself (and your dogs).

I grew up in Chicago, like to think of Pittsburgh as my adopted home city, went to school in St Louis, and have been living and working in Denver for the past eight and a half years — all of those with the lovely people over at AOR, where I am currently a Senior Designer with additional responsibilities as the Design Operations Manager.

For some reason, I decided to go to an academic research university (WashU in St Louis) as an art kid, where I received my BFA in Communication Design. As weird as that sounds, I really feel that the diversity of the student body and the program’s focus on fundamentals (versus teaching programs) are responsible for challenging my opinions on design and the power it has.

Outside of design, I think I’m a fairly good balance between “home-body gamer dog dad” and stereotypical outdoorsy Coloradan. I do try to stay fairly active — I love to play volleyball and try to be at the gym five to six days a week. I’ve also come to terms with the fact that I am just an incredibly average skier and that groomed blues and bloody marys are just more my jam. I occasionally post some things on Twitter, but let’s be real, they’re mostly just re-tweets.

My dogs are the best. They are both totally not spoiled, super happy cattle dog rescues. Charlie is the goodest boy and legit actual model, and Gunner is the rough exterior little sweetheart with side-eye for days. My partner Logan and I adopted them at three and four months respectively, and can’t imagine life without them. Pics of them are below.

If you're interested in working together, or just want even more photos of my dogs, feel free to drop me a note and I’ll get back to you as soon as they will allow.

Why should I invest in good design?

Design is worth getting passionate about because it’s the vehicle through which others see us and what we have to offer. Everything is designed in one way or another, and I strongly believe that care and attention to detail pays dividends — which makes good design worth the investment. This is why I value the time it takes to develop ideas. That doesn’t mean good design takes forever — my hope is to make good design accessible; by understanding needs and asking questions up front, always working smarter — and sometimes harder, too — if that’s what it takes to do things the right way. At the end of the day, the way something is designed — intentionally, or not — can speak volumes, and I always want to make sure that the work that I do is saying the right thing.

Can I have your dogs’ Instagram?

I don’t blame you for being way more interested in them. You can go follow them @charlieandgunner.