Our Team

Brian Tol

About Brian

What are your roles at Five Q?

I have three main responsibilities at Five Q. First, I manage the programming team. The programmers at Five Q are incredibly talented, so “manage” in this case is mostly just removing roadblocks and keeping the buses running on time. Secondly, I coordinate all our “systems” work, which is a fancy way of saying I’m in charge of making sure websites and the computers that run them, stay healthy. Third, I do a lot of information architecture work. It’s a bit odd for a programmer to to do that, but it’s really one of my favorite parts of working at Five Q.

Where do you live?

Holland, MI

What did you do before coming to Five Q?

Before coming to Five Q, I was the “manager of property development” at Gospel Communications International, a great ministry that unfortunately was forced to disband due to the recent financial crisis. While there, I produced or co-produced 20 websites including BibleGateway.com and ThinkChristian.net. Before Gospel Communications, I worked for an advertising agency. That might seem like an odd industry for a computer scientist, but working there was one of the best decisions of my life: I learned a ton about design, strategy, branding and much more.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I love to read, and I’m usually reading 3 or 4 books at any given time. It sounds funny, but I also really love programming after work hours. I’m always picking up a new language or hacking on a side project. Call me crazy, but I find it relaxing. I love cooking too, and my wife says I’m getting better. Speaking of my wife: a great advantage of working from home is I get to have lunch daily with my wonderful wife Amy and our two young children: Noah, 5 and Annie, 2.

Advice From Brian

Chip's advice about information architecture:

Information architecture is a great way to save costs on a project. It’s much easier...and cheaper...to change a ‘wireframe’ or a ‘site map’ than a design or a live website. Wireframes help the whole team stay focused on details like labeling and navigation, which are keys to making a website successful.

Chip's advice about website development:

When I was learning to drive, my mom once told me to "start stopping sooner". As a new driver, it was important for me to learn how to control the momentum of the car. Website production is similar: people want to slam into the launch phase at full speed. In reality, it is better to slow down before launch, and give yourself plenty of time for the little things. It’s amazing how much time you need for proofreading and testing a website. So plan ahead, and plan on stopping sooner.