John Sunderland

John Sunderland is a Yorkshire-born designer, filmmaker, and writer whose creative journey began when he skipped school maths lessons to hide in museums, cinemas, and art galleries — wishing museums could be as alive as the stories on screen.

He went on to become a freelance designer, filmmaker, and animator, creating the iconic Dusty Bin for Yorkshire Television’s hit game show 3-2-1 and collaborating with comedy legend Kenny Everett.

In 1981, he was appointed Project Designer of the groundbreaking Jorvik Viking Centre in York, fulfilling his childhood dream of bringing history to life through immersive storytelling. Over the next three decades, John designed 24 award-winning museums and cultural heritage centers worldwide and completed more than 150 international consultancy projects.

Alongside his design work, he documented his creative process in detail, producing 160 journals now preserved at the Borthwick Institute for Archives, University of York.

John is also the author of On My Way to Jorvik, a humorous memoir about his unconventional journey from Yorkshire schoolboy to radical museum designer of Jorvik Viking Centre.

Today, John lives in Tàrbena, a mountain village in Spain, with his wife Kathy. When he isn’t writing, illustrating, or painting, he carves walking sticks from local wood—blending craft, storytelling, and a lifelong love of creativity.

👉 His latest memoir, The Last Shepherd’s Dog, captures the humor, warmth, and magical realism of Spanish village life — celebrating hidden traditions, simple living, and the wonder of the everyday. Readers who open The Last Shepherd’s Dog will find themselves transported to a world both magical and real.