Download PDF
Curriculum Vitae · Athlone, Ireland

Seán Burns

3D & creative technology·Designer, educator & founder of 4E Virtual Design

email  sean@4e.ie tel  083 382 1181 web  4e.ie based  Athlone, Co. Westmeath

I work between the real and the virtual, using 3D and code to connect the two.

For about twenty years I've gone from making things by hand to making them digitally. I trained as a furniture designer and maker, then automated systems for production and communication, and now build virtual reality, augmented reality and 3D tools through my studio, 4E Virtual Design. 3D, computer science and AI are at the core — the same instinct that had me automating production twenty years ago now runs through AI-assisted creative pipelines.

0Years' experience
0Luxury brands worked with
0Fields — art, engineering, science
Awardedfor design innovation
01

The Journey

2004 — Foundations

Furniture design & manufacture

Trained in Design & Manufacture at GMIT Letterfrack, Ireland's national furniture college, working mainly in wood. I used 3D modelling from the start — designing and prototyping on screen, and designing parts for CNC, laser cutting and 3D printing.

Furniture-making, precision engineering — tolerances, grain, joinery, and designs that merged art and function. This attention to detail carried over into everything digital I did later.

New York · Germany — Systems & scale

Managing teams & automating production

Ran large production teams and set up automated manufacturing systems for high-end joinery in Manhattan, New York and in Germany. I automated the design-to-build process using 3D software, Microsoft Excel and web tools to cut out repetitive work, delivering fit-out and furniture for luxury brands.

Ralph LaurenBurberryLouis VuittonLongchampPrada

This is where 3D modelling became more than drawing for me — it drove the machines, generated cut lists, and closed the gap between what's designed and what's actually made.

Teaching

Secondary & adult education

Taught woodwork, technical drawing, design and art at second level, plus adult evening classes. Teaching is where I got used to breaking a complex craft down into clear, repeatable steps.

Present — 4E Virtual Design

VR, AR & 3D at 4E Virtual Design

Founder of 4E Virtual Design. We build virtual and augmented reality, 3D animation, gamification, 3D scanning and virtual production — mostly immersive training, product visualisation and interactive marketing for clients. Blender is the main tool; Unreal Engine 5 handles the final output.

The work has won awards for design innovation, and I take part in national creative-technology research projects.

2024 — 2026 · University of Galway

UrbanLab & Creative Environments

Worked with UrbanLab, University of Galway across 2024–25 on the development and set-up of the UrbanLab App — 3D world building, data visualisation, game development and application development, supporting UrbanLab's aim of making complex urban questions visible, understandable and open to public debate. Now contracted to the University's 2026 Creative Environments module across Geography, Creative Media and English.

I've also run public Science Week workshops every year since 2023, and delivered a doctoral-level module in Immersive Environments at the University — hands-on engagement rather than presentation.

2024 — 2026 · Galway Film Fleadh

Curating the Immersive Strand

Piloted the Immersive Strand at the Galway Film Fleadh & Film Fair in 2024 and have curated it across the three editions since — programmed "in partnership with the Centre for Creative Technologies at the University of Galway and 4E Virtual Design". The strand brings award-winning immersive work to Ireland, including Venice Immersive Grand Prix winner Ito Meikyū.

Built the international partnerships behind it — Institut français, the Embassy of France in Ireland, Eirmersive and ATU — with support from Creative Europe MEDIA, Screen Ireland, Northern Ireland Screen and Ireland 2026. The 2026 edition presented eight VR experiences across three venues in the city, from an adaptation of Beckett's Not I to Venice-selected Bodies of Water.

Now — AI in the pipeline

AI-assisted design & production

Twenty years ago I automated the design-to-build process with 3D software and code. I'm doing the same thing again with AI — generative workflows across image, motion, video and 3D, custom tools and pipelines for creative teams, and AI-assisted prototyping that lets designers build things they couldn't build before.

The value isn't the tools — those change every few months. It's knowing which part of a workflow to automate, which to keep human, and how to fold that into a working studio without adding pressure to it. I help designers, studios and creative businesses adopt AI practically and build real outputs.

Ongoing

Workshops & mentoring

I run workshops and training for Skillnet, Screen Ireland, the Arts Council and universities around the country, for both staff and students, and mentor other artists moving into 3D and emerging tech.

02

Recognition

Awards

Award-winning design

My design work has won awards for innovation.

Trusted by

National bodies

Deliver training for Skillnet, Screen Ireland, the Arts Council and universities.

Craft

Design for manufacture

Years of designing things to be built — furniture first, then digital.

Research

Creative-technology research

National research projects linking universities and industry — including UrbanLab at the University of Galway.

03

Capabilities

Immersive & Real-Time

  • Virtual & augmented reality (VR / AR / XR)
  • Virtual production & gamification
  • Immersive training & 360° virtual tours
  • Interactive & experiential installations
  • Festival curation & immersive programming

3D & Visualisation

  • 3D modelling, rigging & animation
  • Photorealistic rendering
  • Environment & character design
  • Architectural visualisation
  • 3D scanning & photogrammetry

Design for Manufacture

  • CAD / CAM & digital fabrication
  • CNC, laser cutting, 3D printing
  • Process automation & workflow design
  • Fine furniture & bespoke joinery

AI & Generative Workflows

  • Generative AI for image, motion, video & 3D
  • AI-assisted concept, visualisation & prototyping
  • Custom AI tools & pipelines for creative teams
  • Workflow design, quality review & responsible use
  • Practical AI adoption for studios & small teams

Web, Data & Delivery

  • Web & progressive web app development
  • WebXR · Three.js · MindAR — immersive in the browser
  • Data & spatial visualisation
  • Gaussian splatting · photogrammetry
  • Cloudflare Workers · system & workflow automation

Tools & Technical

  • Blender · Unreal Engine 5 · Unity
  • Autodesk Inventor · 3ds Max
  • Web applications & system automation
  • Microsoft Excel automation · FPV drone & 360° capture
04

Teaching & Workshops

Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet

Lead Trainer

Designs and delivers national upskilling programmes including Blender to Unreal Engine and Blender for Digital Artists — the latter a six-week programme supported by the Arts Council's Digital Skills Programme, equipping artists with production-ready VR/AR asset skills.

Screen Ireland

Workshop Facilitator

Hands-on training in real-time 3D, virtual production and immersive content for the screen and animation sector.

University of Galway · CREW Hub / Centre for Creative Technologies

Facilitator

Immersive Futures workshops introducing emerging immersive tools to researchers, students and creative practitioners.

AI for design & creative business

Trainer & Coach

Practical AI training for studios, agencies and small creative teams — readiness and tool selection, prompting for commercial design work, generative image, motion and video workflows, AI-assisted prototyping, and the ethics, IP and client-confidentiality questions that come with them. Output-led: every session produces something usable rather than information alone.

University of Galway

Module Delivery — doctoral level

Delivered a doctoral-level module in Immersive Environments; contracted to the 2026 Creative Environments module across Geography, Creative Media and English.

Universities & educational facilities, nationwide

Trainer & Mentor

Staff and student training across the country — including Ballyfermot College of Further Education (BCFE) — plus mentorship of individual artists transitioning into emerging technology.

Secondary & adult education

Qualified Teacher

Qualified second-level teacher of woodwork and technical drawing, also teaching design and art, with adult evening classes — the grounding for how I structure courses and workshops today.

05

Selected Immersive Productions

Ulysses 2.2 — Promised Land

2022 · GPO, Dublin

VR creation with Viko Nikci and Jonny Garvey — a virtual reality experience viewing Joyce's 1904 Dublin from the vantage of Nelson's Pillar, on themes of memory, commemoration and abandoned promises. Curated by Fintan O'Toole for Ulysses 2.2, the year-long series from ANU, Landmark Productions & MoLI; supported by the Arts Council's Open Call Award.

Lost & Found

2023 · University of Galway

360° VR film co-created with clients of the Galway Simon Community and researchers at the Centre for Creative Technologies, University of Galway, as part of the Immersive Empathy project — conveying the experience of homelessness from the perspective of those who have lived it, developed through oral history interviews and collaborative workshops.

06

Education

BSc (Hons), Design & Manufacture — Furniture Design

GMIT Letterfrack

National Centre for Excellence in Furniture Design & Technology. Foundations across furniture & industrial design, interior architecture, CAD/CAM, digital fabrication and design for manufacture.

Continuing professional development

Ongoing

Self-directed and formal study across real-time engines, computer engineering, project management and lean manufacturing — a practice of constant retooling as the technology moves.

07

Beyond the Studio

Athletics

All-Ireland Cross Country

National medallist — four medals.

Athletics

International — Silver

Medal won representing at international level.

Martial Arts

World Novice Champion

World title at novice level.

Away from the screen: climbing, training, and coaching kids' soccer GAA and hurling.