About Medium Rare

Medium Rare is an award winning interactive design and development studio founded in 2005, with presences in New York, Vancouver, BC, Austin, TX and Norman, OK. We have a long and solid track record of working with designers, agencies, PR firms, and creative and marketing departments to help win accounts, conceptualize projects, execute ideas, fill in workflow gaps, and just pitch in when there’s too much work to be done.

We can do it all, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Our goal is a relationship, not a job. We want to help you in whatever role makes sense, whether that’s building a site from established branding guidelines, executing your web app to satisfy a designer’s discerning eye, managing a round of usability testing and reporting the findings, or troubleshooting code issues, we’re here to help you solve your problems.

Tom Keenoy, MGDC, Interactive Design Director

Tom Keenoy recently relocated to Vancouver from Brooklyn, New York. In 2005, he cofounded Medium Rare after a successful five year run as principal of Radius Design. He combines a BFA in Communication Design from Pratt Institute with over a decade of experience in website development to produce sophisticated interactive experiences, integrating aesthetics and solid communication techniques with advanced, user-centric functionality. Tom’s background in design, intimate knowledge of technical processes, and keen understanding of business and marketing give him the rare overall perspective needed to develop and implement sound online communications solutions from the strategy and planning level to the finest details of production.

Tom is a member of the GDC and IxDA, and a past member of the AIGA and Graphic Artist’s Guild. He has won two Adobe Site of the Day awards, one for CBSGotJackd.com and another for ArtIdea.org, and his work on photojournalist Ed Kashi’s website has been featured in Photo District News. He has been a professor at Pratt Institute since 2000, and is currently spearheading the development of the Communications Design department’s distance learning initiative.

Tom is also a proficient stage diver (retired). He plans to pass this skill on to his son, Simon, as soon as Simon completes his pre-requisite coursework in Music Appreciation 101.

Ray Archie, Business Development

Ray comes from a background in music and technology, from work as a database administrator, later developing GigCity, a web based CRM for musicians, then spearheading the creation of the online presence for startup cable network IATV, and most recently on the cutting edge of streaming radio for CBS in New York.

Ray first worked with Medium Rare in his role as Director of Streaming Operations at CBS Interactive Music Group, where we collaborated on the development of our award winning CBSgotJack’d promotional website. He’s since come on board to lend his expertise in finding creative ways to leverage our strengths with technology into new products and services. For our clients, he brings extremely deep knowledge of streaming media and monetization of internet related technologies and content.

Ray plays jazz bass, making him by far the coolest member of Medium Rare. He’s also an avid fisherman.

Andrew “Hermes” Costell, Lead Developer

Hermes resides in Red Rock, Texas, where he plumbs the depths of php, explores complex math in highly interactive Flash actionscript, and architects the relational database structures that form the backbone of Medium Rare’s web applications and CMS’s, not to mention high end javascript and cross browser CSS debugging. In addition to freelancing for a wide variety of clients, Hermes worked with Radius Design before the studio evolved into Medium Rare.

Hermes was the leading proponent for our shift from primarily custom CMS applications to becoming a heavily Drupal oriented shop. In addition to his programming work, he is proficient in both Windows and Linux server administration, has installed and configured Flash Media Server and Wowza server, and generally knows his way around a box. He has won two Adobe Site of the Day awards, and his work has been featured in Photo District News.

Hermes also herds goats at his Texas ranch, where he lives with his wife, son, daughter, dogs, and, of course, the goats.

Shannon Key, Core Developer

Shannon teamed up with Medium Rare in 2009, and is currently focused on php and javascript web development. She has an eclectic background in programming, retail management, and research meteorology. She lives in Norman, Oklahoma, weather capital of the USA.

Shannon has been a software developer since 1982, when she wrote a simple Space Invaders clone in BASIC on the Timex Sinclair 1000 her parents gave her for her birthday. She first took up web programming in 1998 when she became the webmaster for the National Severe Storms Lab’s hydrometeorology team while doing radar related research. Prior to joining Medium Rare Shannon was the project manager and developer for the National Weather Service’s training software for operational meteorologists.

When she’s not coding, Shannon enjoys being thrown around at her aikido dojo. Between the Space Invaders thing and her shelf full of first edition AD&D rulebooks, Shannon’s status as alpha-geek is unchallenged at Medium Rare, though the others try hard.