Born in Hamilton, Ontario in 1953, Paul has been a prominent member of the graphic design community in Toronto for over 40 years. He received his Fine Arts degree (BFA) from York University in 1976 and subsequently studied at St. Martin’s College of Art in London, England on a Design Canada Scholarship. While studying at York he apprenticed at Coach House Press in Toronto.
Before founding HM&E Design in 1991 with his partner Karen Eensild, he was Senior Designer at Elias Marketing & Communications; Design Director at The Saturday Night Group; and Associate Partner of Hynes, Haslip & Partners.
Paul is a Registered Graphic Designer (RGD) and in 1986 was awarded a Fellowship Honour (FGDC) by the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada (now DesCan) for his contribution to graphic design in Canada.
Paul has been actively involved in the design community through his work with the both the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada and RGD. He is past president of the Ontario chapter and was instrumental in organizing the 25th Anniversary Show for the GDC in 1982.
In 1985 he chaired The Best of the 80’s, a national retrospective of design in Canada.
In 1996 in coordination with Mary Ann Maruska (FGDC), and Tiit Telmet (FGDC) he co-designed and produced the GDC 40th anniversary book gdc@forty.
As an educator, Paul has served on the Faculty of Fine Arts at York University and has lectured at the Ontario College of Art and Sheridan College. He is currently Professor of Typography, Experimental Typography and Design Thesis at George Brown College, School of Design a position he has held since 2018. He also served as a Design Thesis mentor for the College from 2010 to 2014.
His work has won him international recognition, including awards from The Advertising and Design Club of Canada, the Art Directors Clubs of New York and Los Angeles, RGD, and the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada. His work has appeared in many publications including Applied Arts, Communication Arts and Graphis. The work of HM&E Design was profiled in Applied Arts Magazine (May/June 2000).