Colin Williams

Colin Williams – Creative Director, SixteenSouth

Sixteen South was founded in 2007 by Colin Williams, growing from a restless spirit of determination, with the belief that anything is possible and the refusal to ever take ‘no’ for an answer.  Although being repeatedly told not to try to make television for children in Belfast because it’s ‘not what we do here’, 13 years later, Sixteen South is one of the largest, busiest and most successful creators and producers of television for children in the world.

Born and bred in Belfast, Colin graduated from the University of Ulster with a first class honours degree in Design, winning the Institute of Designers overall national award for the best Irish design graduate in all disciplines, which recognises outstanding creativity and imagination.

Colin spent the first seven years of his career working in advertising and interactive media, becoming one of Ireland’s youngest Creative Directors by the age of 27.  In 2002, he formed ‘Inferno’, a commercial production company producing the highest quality animation, film and interactive content for museums, commercials and promos which grew to become the largest commercial producer in Northern Ireland, winning national awards for clients including Coca-Cola, Nokia, British Gas, Aer Lingus, Sugar Puffs, BBC and Disney.

With the recession looming, Colin grew exasperated with producing work that had little positive impact on the world around him and with a young family, wanted to use his talents for good to tell stories of hope and positivity.

Colin is a Visiting Professor at Ulster University, has attended a reception with HM The Queen in Buckingham Palace in recognition of his contribution to Design in Northern Ireland and is a TEDx speaker.