Welcome, traveler. It’s me, Tom Rolfe: a Bristol-based Designer, Developer, Dabbler, and Dad. I’m a real 4-D experience! (Not the kind that puffs air on your face and shakes the seat at an aquarium cinema show).

This is where you’ll find some of things I do for work and fun – see if you can tell which is which!

LEMON SQUEEZY

I made this minimal first camera app for kids, designed to encourage calm, focused creativity without gimmicks or gamification.

It gets them moving, exploring, and observing – not just passively consuming like other forms of screen time. It also gives them a dedicated photography space that stops them messing up my photo library!

Everything is fully offline and private, and I think it’s a pretty handy app to have in your pocket. Check it out for yourself!

Lemon Squeezy is currently part of the User Experience pop-up exhibition in San Francisco.

SWIPE

I currently run the tech review website swipemag.app and the accompanying digital magazine Swipe, where I was editor for many years before taking full ownership in 2026. Swipe’s iOS app has been downloaded more than 600k times and has published more than 350 issues.

I wrote about these topics for more than a decade as editor of TapSmart (2015-2026) and now continue that work exclusively at Swipe. I use the platform to spotlight small creators through my Indie Apps Showcase and the Swipe Hot 100. We also publish reviews, guides, and opinionated features about Apple and iPhones.

WAFFLE CLUB

I run and host a comedy powerpoint party called Tommy’s Waffle Club at Bristol’s Wardrobe Theatre. 

It’s like watching a series of unhinged TED Talks, and I started it way before Dropout brought the format to the masses with Smartypants. Currently on hiatus after 9 live shows featuring 32 speakers, 69 presentations, and 714 slides that took silliness seriously. Read my interview with The Wardrobe Theatre here.

GOBLINS AND GOALPOSTS

A simple sports sim with spells, skeletons, and subterfuge, made for a game jam in 2021. It’s quite literally fantasy football! Made in Unity and free to play on itch.io.

Inspired by my childhood love of Championship Manager and my adulthood love of Dungeons & Dragons. When you get down to it, the two games aren’t that different: they’re both about analyzing stats, creating stories, and holding your breath as the whims of fate decide whether or not your head gets kicked off.

GALACTIC STARCADE

Back in 2014 I designed and built my own two-player bartop arcade cabinet. It plays all the classics from retro games consoles, from Arkanoid to Zelda.

I shared the plans for free and 2 million views later, hundreds of people have built their own arcade cabinets from my blueprints. That’s a good feeling! This was a time before you could get DIY arcade-building kits or officially licensed mini-consoles, and I’m bravely taking 100% of the credit for the retro gaming resurgence that’s exploded since then.

POSTER DESIGN

I dabble in freelance design work on the side, specialising in posters and flyers for comedy and theatre shows in the UK.

I’ve collaborated with improv soap opera Closer Each Day and Wardrobe Ensemble Christmas show Moulin Scrooge. I’ve also worked with Murder She Didn’t Write, Notting Hell, The Bristol Cable, and more. I’ve been Photoshopping for 20 years and don’t use generative AI.

That’s me, folks. Feel free to get in touch. Cheers!

Tom x