For the past 35 years, Sean has led creative strategy and design for over 400 brands across hospitality, travel, luxury goods, and some of British Columbia’s most recognized organizations.
portrait photography by Lori Miles
After graduation, Sean launched his career by founding his first agency, Design Wise Graphic Communications, working with Mandarin Hotels, Delta Hotels, the Wickaninnish Inn, and Blue Mountain Vineyards.
In 1996, Sean co-founded Hangar 18 Creative Group, which became BC’s largest independent design agency and was named to Business in Vancouver’s list of the province’s 100 fastest-growing companies.
He later founded Pink Door Paper Company, a stationery line sold globally through gift and book retailers, before founding CHDL in 2011 to build a boutique practice where he remains closely engaged in both design and strategic direction.
Sean’s impact on the design industry has generated extensive media coverage, and he has judged on dozens of award panels, including Graphis, Applied Arts, and HOW International. He also spent over ten years as a faculty member within Capilano University’s IDEA program, teaching packaging design and typography.
His storm-watching brand for Tofino’s Wickaninnish Inn — emblematic of BC’s west coast — is enduring, ditto his design partnership with Vancouver International Airport (YVR).
Highlights
—Sean has founded three globally recognized creative and design firms. He has garnered more than 300 industry awards, including the Pentawards honour for best global luxury liquor packaging and recognition from The One Show.
Sean represented Canada in the World Duathlon Championships in Pontevedra, Spain. As a youth, he competed against a well-known cyclist who went on to accomplish big things under, let’s call them, suspicious circumstances.
