DX7 TEAM
Tom Sutherland
CEO / Head of Creative
DX7 DESIGN began in school when Tom Sutherland became switched on to a creative career, thanks to his early inspiration – school shows and major West End productions. He has since developed an expanding international business.
Having visited a leading television lighting designer at the BBC in 2002, Tom gained industry experience in every spare hour, and on his 16th birthday, filled in for a lighting director on a British primetime TV show. Shortly after this Tom applied to The BRIT School. He was accepted on the Lighting Design Course, but turned it down to continue with A Levels. Spending more time out of college than in it led to dropping out… and going over to the dark side.
Tom spent a year working as a moving light technician and designing for various nightclubs and live music venues, then moving on to become a full time lighting programmer.
Tom has been fortunate enough to design iconic shows such as Dancing With The Stars, American Idol, The MTV Video Music Awards, The MTV European Music Awards, The People's Choice Awards, Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor, to name a few. As well as collaborating and creating shows with some of the world’s most famous artists, stars such as Lionel Richie, Miley Cyrus, Keith Urban, Pitbull, Britney Spears, Westlife, Charlie Puth, Adam Lambert and many more.
At 22 he undertook his first major design job – lighting a Red Hot Chilli Peppers concert at London’s Koko (BBC Radio 1), which was nominated for a Knight Of Illumination award. Tom is the youngest lighting designer to have been nominated for this accolade.
He won his first international job too, consulting in China on a TV show called Tonight’s the Night. Since this the company’s Asian client base has grown exponentially with DX7 designing some of Chinas leading television shows.
Tom likes to make his designs feel fresh, young, individual and innovative. He sees each show as an exciting challenge and pre-visualises work before clients make an investment. The best bit is seeing a DX7 DESIGN come to life from a computer screen to a stage or set.
He says: “I always dream respectfully and I always dream big.”
James Coldicott
Partner / Designer
Hunter Selby
Senior Associate Designer
Hunter was drawn into the world of lighting design at a young age, having been fascinated with lighting for theatre and television well before his teenage years.
From childhood “light renderings” made using construction paper and magic markers to watching his collection of televised events he recorded on VHS tapes, Hunter quickly realized this was something he was meant to be a part of.
Further developing his love for lighting, Hunter dove into the world of theatrical lighting design as a teenager, and later went on to graduate Cum Laude with a BFA in Theatre Design & Technology from one of the top theatre conservatory programs in the country. While there, he concentrated in Lighting Design, completed independent studies in Stage Management, and served as the Lighting Design Intern for “The Christmas Spectacular – Starring the Radio City Rockettes” in New York City.
Hunter has worked on projects ranging from Off-Broadway theatrical productions to shows and events in venues such as Radio City Music Hall and Mercedes-Benz Stadium. His experience largely encompasses the realms of musical theatre, plays, dance, television, and large events.
Hunter’s work with DX7 began after connecting with the team in late 2018, and less than 2 weeks later he was on his way to Guangzhou, China to work as the Lighting Director for Hunan TV’s New Year’s Eve Concert. 3 months later, he officially joined the DX7 team as Assistant Designer in April 2019.
Always a big dreamer, music lover, eager helper, and organization enthusiast, Hunter loves the excitement of supporting and executing the team’s designs across a myriad of different genres, and of bringing a project to life before the eyes of an audience or through the lens of a camera.
Jasmine Lesane
Associate Designer
Jasmine has been involved with live entertainment for as long as she can remember. She started with writing and performing for her middle school’s play, and now she’s assisted on some of the biggest live shows in television. After being introduced to a lighting console in high school, Jasmine quickly found lighting to be her calling and has stuck with it ever since.
Her interest in designing for the stage led Jasmine to Carnegie Mellon's School of Drama, where she studied design with an emphasis in Lighting. While attending CMU Jasmine was named a 2019 Andrew Carnegie Scholar, graduating at the top of her class. On top of her school productions and studies, she also helped to start the School of Drama’s Diversity and Inclusion Program, promoting equality in all aspects of production.
After graduating, Jasmine set out to join as many lighting teams as possible, bouncing between being the lighting designer on theatrical productions (School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, and Mlima’s Tale) and assisting on live television specials (America’s Got Talent: The Champions, The 92nd Academy Awards). In 2020 she was awarded the Barbizon Lighting Company Jonathan Resnick Lighting Design Award for her Theatrical Lighting Designs. In search of spectacular scale and a fast-paced lifestyle, Jasmine moved out to Los Angeles at the end of 2020. With the belief that light transcends genre, Jasmine enjoys the challenge presented by the variety of projects in the industry.