Coleman Design is the one-man studio of Sean Coleman. Born in the same week Hey Jude hit the number one spot, Sean grew up in Scunthorpe where he became a below-average batsman for his above-average school cricket team. After leaving school he moved on to Grimsby School of Art, North Lindsey College and finally studied film and TV production at Northbrook Metropolitan College in Sussex where his final dissertation was on the films of Laurel and Hardy – a subject (along with The Smiths) he could pick as his specialised subject on Mastermind without having to revise that much.
After graduating he played guitar in a string of bands, one of which released a 7” single that was mentioned, but not played, on John Peel’s Radio 1 show. During this time he learned how to use an Apple Mac, taught himself Photoshop and, after searching for months, landed his first creative role designing album covers for Chandos Records in Essex where he stayed for six years.
Sean eventually settled in Sheffield, via a short stint at an agency in Lincoln, setting up his own studio in 2007. He has since illustrated for Doctor Who Magazine, rebranded a medley of businesses, created DVD covers for EuroArts and the BBC, produced merch and vinyl packaging for The Pipettes, and has designed every prospectus for Bishop Grossteste University since 2008. For the last 13 years he has also been Creative Director of North Creative Studio, most recently overseeing the branding and implementation of the Bears of Sheffield.
He has also kept all of his rejection letters from when he was first looking for design work. There are a lot.