Ian Lynam is faculty at Temple University’s NASAD-accredited Japan Campus where he works as an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design in the Tyler School of Art's BA Art program, teaching a wide array of classes spanning Art, Graphic Design, Sociology, Motion Graphics, Typography, Asian Studies, Communications and Graphic Design History.
We have designed a wide range of custom typefaces for assorted companies—from display faces to text families.
We both edited and are featured in Slanted Magazine's latest issue devoted to graphic design in Tokyo.
“The best kept secret in Japan. Encyclopedic in his knowledge of typography and all things beautifully considered. There are few men in Tokyo — nay, the world — that care more about design and the creative process as does Ian Lynam. Oh, and he’s the nicest guy you’ll meet.”
We designed the identity for Canard, Portland's latest culinary phenomenon.
Biwa is a new straight-sided family of formally nuanced grotesk typefaces for text typesetting and display work for both print and screen.
“Ian has the design skills I wish I had. His consistently creative designs come from an informed mind and relentless work ethic. I love working with him.”
A handbook of dubious exercises, tips, and rants about becoming a designer who teaches... (But just as much a handbook for designers who happen to be being taught.)
A new series of installations spanning sound, found objects, narrative, and type design.
99+1 is a new book and responsive website for the Japanese National Tourism Organization.
“Because Ian has the craft of design really down pat, he has moved on to other things like giving the client what they really want even if they don’t know what it is they want. This can not be understated, because as a designer myself I am looking to expand my projects with other peoples great ideas, and that takes having a farsighted partner like Ian. Besides actual graphics, Ian has helped steer Joshu+Vela branding, public image and even the naming of the company – for this I am grateful to have someone looking out for my best interests as well as his. I am continuing to count on Ian to steer my projects in a successful direction with all the twists and turns that come up.”
We worked to define the identity of craft sake brand Kurokura.
Start Somewhere: A Handbook of Dubious Exercises, Tips and Rants About Becoming a Designer Who Writes is a zine to help designers grapple with generating their own content.
We designed the branding, signage and interior design for Temple University Japan's main building Azabu Hall.
“Working with Ian is a dream! He is able to take a few half-formed thoughts from our end and turn them into brilliant design that eloquently communicates the identity we aim to project. He has an amazing ability of knowing exactly what you need with only the slightest amount of information. He treats each project with the utmost attention and care and is always quick to respond to changes with an open and generous mind. We couldn’t imagine working with anyone else!”
Curation, lecture, writing and editing for the legendary Czech series of exhibitions.
Interior graphics for software innovator Pivotal's Tokyo offices.
An exhibition of writing, installation and sound in Tokyo.
“Because Ian has the craft of design really down pat, he has moved on to other things like giving the client what they really want even if they don’t know what it is they want. This can not be understated, because as a designer myself I am looking to expand my projects with other peoples great ideas, and that takes having a farsighted partner like Ian. Besides actual graphics, Ian has helped steer Joshu+Vela branding, public image and even the naming of the company – for this I am grateful to have someone looking out for my best interests as well as his. I am continuing to count on Ian to steer my projects in a successful direction with all the twists and turns that come up.”
Editorial direction and book design for Portland artist Bwana Spoons' first monograph.
A hybrid exhibition and essay-as-website exploring the role of graphic designers and design criticism in the world market economy.
Identity for Space Academy, an event space in Christchurch, New Zealand.
“Ian is the best to work with. He went above and beyond what I needed with my project. Ian Lynam has really good eyes – the kind of eyeballs that can tell you just what you need for the right sparks to fly everywhere, including my and your clients eyeballs.”
Ian Lynam regularly writes, designs, and edits features for IDEA / アイデア, Japan's oldest and most innovative graphic design magazine.
Writing for Slanted, the inimitable German magazine on typography and visual culture.
Type design for the North American supermarket chain.
“Ian Lynam is a visionary and a thought leader in the field of design. It’s an honor to have him lead our graduate graphic design program.”
Holistic identity design for a public arts initiative.
Ian went and wrote a book about graphic design. 78,209 words about it, but who's counting? It has a die-cut paper slipcover, a fabric paper-backed inner slipcover, and split fountain printing.
We designed the interior graphic design scheme for Google's Tokyo offices, as well as all wayfinding and signage.
“When it came time to announce Firefox’s adoption of the @font-face rule, we needed someone to create an integration demo that straddled both innovative code and a nuanced working knowledge of typography. Ian was the obvious choice- his knowledge of typography applied to print and screen helped create a piece of design that functioned as a working how-to demo, a critique of webfont deployment in its nascent stages and a compelling piece of writing.”
A custom bilingual Japanese/English website highlighting Typekit's Asian webfont support.
Identity and environmental design for a Basque restaurant in the Daikanyama district of Tokyo.
“Ian instantly captivated the room when he came to speak with my design students at Portland State University. He was all of the elements that one would want in a presenter: thoughtful, funny, relevant, organized, passionate, articulate and relatable. Most of all, the entire room walked away with new knowledge. Score! PSU loves Ian!”
Ian Lynam is Faculty and former Co-Chair of the MFA in Graphic Design Program at Vermont College of Fine Arts.
Design and typography for Northwest Passage, a book and CD about independent music from Portland, Oregon.
Type Sketcher is a trio of type design sketchbooks with modular grids for designing letterforms.
“I have worked with Ian Lynam on numerous occasions. A clever and competent designer on a number of levels, he is an excellent communicator and writer. I would recommend him whole heartedly for many projects.”
Identity and art direction for San Francisco swimwear company.
Product line book and DVD for Nike’s Asia Pacific region.
“Ian is the best to work with. He went above and beyond what I needed with my project. Ian Lynam has really good eyes – the kind of eyeballs that can tell you just what you need for the right sparks to fly everywhere, including my and your clients eyeballs.”
Modular 3D type design for the board game Konexi.
We created the branding and design consulting for the latest wing of the Nagasaki amusement park.
“As an artist, publisher, writer and designer, Ian seems to have had more than nine lives, and frankly it’s hard to keep up! He doesn’t just bring technical skills, but a depth of cultural understanding from the ground up — low, high, pop, fringe — that is invaluable to his varied clients. While other designers skim the shiny surface of current trends, Ian drills down with a solid understanding of history and meaning of the motifs, letter forms, and images he utilizes.”
We created the interior graphic design scheme for YouTube's Tokyo offices and creative studio.
We created the identity for Topsy, the Apple-acquired search engine for Twitter.
Identity for the Wim Wenders and Kanji Nakajima film.
“I have worked with Ian Lynam on numerous occasions. A clever and competent designer on a number of levels, he is an excellent communicator and writer. I would recommend him whole heartedly for many projects.”
A set of 4 collaborative posters created with fellow designer Ed Fella.
We designed the identity for the iconic global design event series.
We created the identity and advertising campaign for NASA and The Washington County Museum‘s 2012/2013 exhibition Hubble Space Telescope: New Views of the Universe.
“Ian Lynam created a unique consumer intelligence portal that doubles as our company homepage. The website has added value to Five by Fifty by enhancing our corporate identity and marketing strategy. We will continue to work with Ian because he takes time to understand our business, speaks to us about technological issues in language we understand, and adds business acumen on top of creativity to help us achieve our goals.”
Identities for two of Portland, Oregon's iconic restaurants.
An exhibition of international expressive typography curated by Ian Lynam.
Assisting the Los Angeles Country Museum of Art define their vision for curating a collection of Japanese Graphic Design.
“As an artist, publisher, writer and designer, Ian seems to have had more than nine lives, and frankly it’s hard to keep up! He doesn’t just bring technical skills, but a depth of cultural understanding from the ground up — low, high, pop, fringe — that is invaluable to his varied clients. While other designers skim the shiny surface of current trends, Ian drills down with a solid understanding of history and meaning of the motifs, letter forms, and images he utilizes.”
Our plug-in for Adobe Illustrator which adds 13 new tools to Illustrator's tool palette.
A set of ten tour guides of the Kanto region, each by a prominent foreign member of the Tokyo community for Shibaura House.
Identity design for the San Francisco bag and accessory company Joshu + Vela.
“Because Ian has the craft of design really down pat, he has moved on to other things like giving the client what they really want even if they don’t know what it is they want. This can not be understated, because as a designer myself I am looking to expand my projects with other peoples great ideas, and that takes having a farsighted partner like Ian. Besides actual graphics, Ian has helped steer Joshu+Vela branding, public image and even the naming of the company – for this I am grateful to have someone looking out for my best interests as well as his. I am continuing to count on Ian to steer my projects in a successful direction with all the twists and turns that come up.”
A 96-page feature about CalArts' Graphic Design Department for IDEA.
Identity is our ethos―the fundamental character of a culture, individual, business or community.
We created a decorative, highly tactile print identity for the amazing Portland, Oregon photographer Bitna Chung.
“Ian is everything I could ask for: a highly talented video creator, web designer, creative collaborator and consultant, all rolled into one guy with a great attitude! I’ve really enjoyed working together with Ian and applaud his stellar creativity, attention to detail, and flexible accommodation to tight timelines and collaborative revisions — thanks for the amazing work, and here’s to more!”
Identity for the director behind the opening sequence for the TV show True Blood.
“The best kept secret in Japan. Encyclopedic in his knowledge of typography and all things beautifully considered. There are few men in Tokyo — nay, the world — that care more about design and the creative process as does Ian Lynam. Oh, and he’s the nicest guy you’ll meet.”
Design and typography for the Portland Documentary and eXperimental Film Festival (PDX Film Fest). Portland, Oregon.
