“Tippi is one of the MOST brilliant designers and artists I have ever worked with at any newspaper or magazine. If one of my stories was to be designed by Tippi, it was like winning the jackpot. She is tremendously creative — an out-of-the box thinker — with so much energy and talent. I miss her, and her magic touch, greatly here at the Star Tribune.”
Gail Rosenblum, columnist at the Star Tribune
“Tippi is extremely smart, level-headed, practical and pays nearly-neurotic attention to details (in a really good way). She LOVES to solve problems, which makes her an awesome collaborator on any project — well, that and the fact that she’s talented on so many levels. She’s an award-winning photojournalist (on a global level), an experienced and highly respected designer, bilingual (trilingual?) and a strong writer. What she doesn’t know, she just figures out, leaving the rest of us in her wake. Good thing she’s fun and likeable, otherwise her colleagues would just be jealous.”
Claudia Strong, adjunct professor at Syracuse University, freelance designer/editor
“Tippi is one of the most talented designers I’ve ever worked with. She has an amazing eye and a real talent for unusual and creative ideas. Plus, she’s easy to work with, always listening to other opinions and synthesizing everyone’s ideas.”
Amy Bertrand, editor of Home & Away and Let’s Eat sections at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“I worked with Tippi on a three-piece illustration project for The Washington Post in the summer of 2012. Working with Tippi was fantastic because it was very much a creative collaboration rather than simply working for an art director. She was so enthusiastic to bounce around ideas with me and push concepts further. She went above and beyond to make sure the illustrations were just right, but she achieved that through consulting me for brainstorming sessions rather than just making her own decisions. This collaborative atmosphere was comforting and it helped me focus all my energy on improving my imagery. Tippi’s efficiency and professionalism was wonderful but her enthusiastic “let’s make this more awesome” attitude was the guiding force in our collaboration. And I have three great illustrations to show for it.”
Chris Danger, freelance illustrator
“Tippi has an amazing ability to use her creativity to both solve problems and tell stories. She not only comes up with viable solutions in designing her pages, but her fantastic design eye keeps her work impeccably clean. She is detail oriented and an absolute pleasure to work with.”
Leslie Plesser, art director and photographer of vita.mn
“Tippi has a great mind for conceptual design — and top-notch execution skills. Whether it’s through the use of typography, documentary photography or illustration, her approaches are always creative and inviting. In my estimation, she’s one of the top people working in features/editorial design these days.”
Colleen Kelly, mobile and social media editor at the Star Tribune
“For over two years Tippi and I have worked on a weekly column together for The Washington Post. Through over a hundred assignments, she has been an absolute pleasure to work with. She always pushed me as an illustrator to go for the smart and conceptual over the easy answer. An artist can learn a lot working with a good art director, and I feel lucky to have had this experience with her.”
Hadley Hooper, freelance illustrator
“Tippi used color, words, pictures and an understated sense of style to transform the pages of the Star Tribune. Her pages were playful, artistic and fresh, delivering a high sense of presentation to a publication that, in its rush to get out the news each day, didn’t always put proper emphasis on any of these things. Readers were the beneficiaries of all of this, but it was fun as a reporter, too, to see a story of mine land in a Tippi Thole design. It was a treat to work with her.”
Matt McKinney, reporter at the Star Tribune
“Tippi goes way beyond mere talent. You knew at once, just reading the paper as an average consumer, that someone with a special gift had arrived — and each time a page with some extra magic touch appeared, you had a feeling it was hers. When she left, the features pages subsided, visibly. Tippi! Come back!”
David Peterson, reporter at the Star Tribune
“TiPPi THOLE is a great creative thinker with a range of skills that include photography, print design, web design and art direction. TiPPi has produced some of the most sophisticated, charming design work I’ve seen (and I’ve seen a lot).”
Monica Moses, editor in chief of American Craft magazine
“I wouldn’t hire Tippi, unless I were looking for an inventive, hard-working designer/photographer/art director/idea machine who is unfailingly pleasant to work with and is meticulous in execution. And a quick study in new technology. But I would hire her for her stylish hats.”
Bill Higgins, systems editor at the Tampa Bay Times