Sean Adams is a respected figure in both the literary and design worlds. He is a published author of both nonfiction and fiction books. His writing has been featured in various publications, including Electric Literature's Recommended Reading, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, The Normal School, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, and The Arkansas International. He is a graduate of Bennington College and the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and currently resides in Des Moines, Iowa with his wife, Emma, and their assorted pets. The Heap is his first novel.
In addition to his work as an author, Sean Adams is also a prominent designer and design educator. He is the Chair of Undergraduate and Graduate Graphic Design at ArtCenter, and the founder of Burning Settlers Cabin studio. He has also served as an on-screen author for lynda.com/Linked In. Adams has had a distinguished career in design, including being the only two-term AIGA national president in the organization's 100-year history. He was awarded the AIGA Medal, the highest honor in the profession, in 2014. Adams is also an AIGA Fellow and Aspen Design Fellow. He has been recognized by numerous design competitions and publications, and has been exhibited at The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Adams is also an author of multiple magazine columns and several best-selling books. He has been cited as one of the forty most important people shaping design internationally, and one of the top ten influential designers in the United States. Previously, he was a founding partner at AdamsMorioka, where his clients included The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Disney, Mohawk Fine Papers, The Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, Richard Meier & Partners, Sundance, and the University of Southern California.