Jason McManus is a dedicated storyteller and designer with a proven track record of innovation, creativity, and leadership. He was promoted from the role of Senior Creative/Art Director at the Thinkwell Group to Principal in 2022
McManus has seen more theme park projects through to completion than some industry veterans. He has one legendary Disney Imagineer to thank for giving him the inspiration to get started.
Growing up in the days before social media, McManus would send letters to many veteran attraction designers. Most did not reply, but Disney legend John Hench did and the two struck up a pen-pal relationship. Other industry figures then emerged as mentors and McManus landed an intern job at Imagineering, progressing to Concept Designer.
He has since gone on to work for The Hettema Group, Wyatt Design, Miziker Entertainment and now Thinkwell. In addition to theme parks, he has worked with cruise ships, hotels, experiential retail and immersive dining. For some of his latest work he has been keen to gain an understanding of Saudi Arabian culture as he designs entertainment experiences for some of the giga projects coming to kingdom.
Keen to give something back, he regularly shares his expertise with his alma mater at the California Institute of the Arts, where he serves as an instructor in Themed Entertainment Design.