Design Partner: Sean Metcalf Creating Change

“Create Change or Nothing” are the words that Sean Metcalf lives by and what drives him each day. A talented designer, artist and director and one of Britelite’s newest design partners, he has had the opportunity to put his inspiration into trying new things.

Sean has integrated his design work into some unique projects including interactive and experiential systems for the likes of Google and Cisco. He has a variety of experience up his sleeve including growing small to large scale businesses, kickstarting an American-Made revolution and bringing awareness to a reviving district in Hong Kong.

When Sean came into the Britelite office we had the opportunity to ask him some questions, and found out what heats up his coffee in the morning...

Britelite Immersive: How did you get into design?

Sean Metcalf: I was always pretty creative as a kid – the usual doodling in class when I should be paying attention. My friends and I used to make notebooks with printouts of our favorite cartoon shows, and then one by one redraw the entire notebook. I would draw logos that surrounded me, and then rename the company for fun. “Pancakes, just do it” with a syrup swoosh. I would always take our homework assignments, and stylize them using different fonts, point sizes, and show off my 3D, word art skills in Microsoft Word. It looked awful, but it was awfully fun. Of course my teachers always marked me down for not using 12pt, double spaced layouts.

It wasn’t until my early 20’s that I realized all this fun I was having could be applied to a career in solving real problems. At the time, I was studying Economics and playing college golf. One of the schools we competed against was SCAD. I got really interested in the school when I found out it was a “creative university.” Long story shot, I eventually dropped my economics major, transferred schools, and took a scholarship to play college golf at SCAD. It was my foot in towards a more creative life. I fell in love with art and design and am extremely grateful for the opportunity to attend SCAD.

Britelite Immersive: What college did you study at?

Sean Metcalf: I received a BFA in Graphic Design studying at SCAD in Savannah and Hong Kong.

Britelite Immersive: Who and what has influenced you throughout your career?

Sean Metcalf: I’ve always really admired the work of Banksy. I love that he puts out bold messages that need to be heard. He is an incredible story teller through his simple, iconic images. I think his stories make people question reality and influence their outlook on society. More on the technology side, Aaron Koblin is doing some really incredible things. I’m inspired by his exploration in merging technology with physical mediums. The Unnumbered Sparks collaboration he worked on was really inspiring.

Britelite Immersive: What drew you towards interactive and experiential design?

Sean Metcalf: Since I was really little, I’ve always been interested in technology. I was creating basic html websites in 4th grade and taking JAVA programming classes in middle school. When I eventually made it to SCAD, I was exposed more to the fine arts side of design. Upon graduation, I wanted to find a way to merge the two passions. Experiential design was a means to expressing that.

Britelite Immersive: What is your most dynamic project to date? What was most challenging / rewarding?

Sean Metcalf: Published work, I would consider the “Touch of Time” project I worked on to be the most challenging and rewarding. Designing for multi-user scenarios in sync with hardware was an entirely new experience. I enjoy being thrown challenges that I have little experience in and figuring it out as I go, which is why I really enjoyed this project. There are a couple other projects that I’m waiting to publish that have really pushed my limits as well. I’m hoping to share these soon.

Britelite Immersive: What do you love about living in San Francisco?

Sean Metcalf: I think the greatest thing I love about living in San Francisco is that life truly feels like an adventure. You’re exposed to and stimulated by so much creativity. San Francisco is a melting pot of culture: arts, food, fashion, architecture, nature, the people, transportation, all of it. Nature and California’s landscape really inspires me too. There is so much to learn and grow from out here and I love that.

Britelite Immersive: Where would you like to focus your direction in the coming future?

Sean Metcalf: I really want to figure out how to make technology more human and use design to bring true value, happiness, and meaning to people’s life. I don’t know what that means just yet but it’s what I’m after.

Sean wants to, “spend my life creating work with purpose and truth” and we can see that he is conscientiously taking those steps! We are looking forward to seeing more of his work soon!