John Rooney
Academic Practice + Graphic Design

Education + Research
Senior Lecturer Graphic Design
Manchester School of Art

Before moving into education, I worked on a range of national and international Graphic Design Projects in the creative arts sector. This included a 15 year commission with Tate Gallery, working on Catalogues, Posters and Exhibition publicity for artists including Peter Blake, The Andy Warhol Foundation and Roy Liechtenstein, plus commissioned work for Adidas Europe, The University of Cambridge Steve Bell, Contact Theatre Manchester, The University of Liverpool, Manchester City Art Gallery, People’s History Museum, Play It Again Sam Records, Belgium, Reebok UK, Umbro Europe, USA and Japan

I have a practice led PhD in Graphic Design from The University of Leeds. My PhD project, titled “Journeys on the A664” explores the area of situated autoethnographic creative identity. The practice work for the PhD was informed by the vernacular typographic language of a familiar journey on Manchester public transport. Alongside “Journeys on the A664”, the project developed a new transferable methodology, Situated Creative Identity, devised to inform original and distinctive personal identity for creative practitioners.

Working with Malcolm Garrett, I have curated three projects with Design Manchester;  “I Shout For the Fall”, “New Art School Rules” presented at Bury Art Museum, and Past Present Future, a set of recordings exploring the formative influence of over 80 creative practitioners. In April 2024, I curated a new Exhibition with Garrett on the theme of Authenticity. The exhibition,, which is part of a wider show “David Crow, Designer Educator” celebrates the practice of Professor David Crow and is exhibited at Chelsea College of Arts.

Alongside teaching, I work on design projects for the creative arts sector, exhibition curation and design research. My favourite colour is Orange (Pantone 165), my favourite bus route is the number 17 from north Manchester, and my favourite words are Yes / No.