Ian Lynam speaks internationally on a range of topics from Japanese typography to cultural concepts revolving around design. Presentations tend to wend and weave through aesthetic trends and analysis, graphic design history, design criticism, and political economy.

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2024:

Connotation and Critique
Lecture and workshop for AQ and Temple Market Bathhouse
Tokyo, Japan

Typography and Connotation
Lecture for Tokyo Women’s University of Art
Tokyo, Japan

Collage Club
Lecture and workshop at VCFA MFA in Graphic Design program
Montpelier, Vermont

2023:

Modernology
Lecture/workshop for DePaul University & Temple University Japan
Tokyo, Japan

Design & Consumerism of Modern Japan
Lecture for University of Southern California
Tokyo, Japan

Now What?
Lecture for University of North Carolina Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina

2022:

The Impossibility of Silence:
Writing for Designers, Artists & Photographers
Lecture/Q&A for AIGA National
New York, New York (remote)

世界のグラフィックデザインを知る《アメリカ編》
Lecture for Meme Design School
Tokyo, Japan

2021:

How I Learned to Love the Dead
Lecture for TypeCon 2021
New York, New York

Design & Consumerism of Modern Japan
Lecture for CHAT Mill 6
Hong Kong

Which Mirror Do You Want to Lick?
Panel discussion at Tokyo University of Fine Arts
Tokyo, Japan

How I Learned to Love the Dead
Lecture for VCFA MFA in Graphic Design program
Montpelier, Vermont

Global Studio Sessions Asia
Moderator for trio of presentations by James Chae, Sakura Nomiyama & Kaitlin Chan
Montpelier, Vermont

Doof Doof
Writing workshop for CalArts MFA in Graphic Design program
Valencia, California (remote)

Doof Doof
Writing workshop for Boston University MFA in Graphic Design program
Austin, Texas (remote)

Writing Roundtable with Natalia Ilyin
Panel discussion for VCFA/Printed Matter Art Book Fair
Montpelier, Vermont (remote)

Collage Club
Workshop for VCFA/Printed Matter Art Book Fair
Montpelier, Vermont (remote)

Doof Doof
Writing workshop for Texas State University MFA in Graphic Design program
Austin, Texas (remote)

History Backwards
Lecture for Depaul University
Chicago, Illinois (remote)

Global Ping Pong
Lecture for Depaul University
Chicago, Illinois (remote)

2020:

History Backwards
Lecture for Utah Valley University
Orem, Utah (remote)

Collage Club
Lecture/workshop for VCFA’s public programming initiative
Montpelier, Vermont (remote)

Yes. Or No. (Or Detonate.)
Lecture for VCFA MFA in Graphic Design program
Montpelier, Vermont

Critique
Keynote lecture/presentation for AIGA GROW Conference
Austin, Texas

Globalism and Modernism
Lecture for Applied Typography Workshop Tokyo Edition 1
Tokyo, Japan

Private Methodologies
Workshop for Applied Typography Workshop Tokyo Edition 1
Tokyo, Japan

2019:

Doof Doof
Lecture and workshop at VCFA MFA in Graphic Design program
Montpelier, Vermont

Kimono: From Edo to Shōwa
Lecture for LanTao Design Academy (Beijing)
Tokyo, Japan

Doof Doof / Diet Thesis
Writing workshop at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) MFA Graphic Design program
Valencia, California

From Bijin-ga to Brutus
Lecture at ATypI Tokyo 2019
Tokyo, Japan

Causal Writing
Workshop at Temple University Japan with Underware’s Akiem Helmling
Tokyo, Japan

Fracture
Hochschule Mannheim Study Abroad Program (Germany)
Tokyo, Japan

Authorship
Lecture for ArtistTalks event series
Tokyo, Japan

From Mingei to Muji
Lecture for LanTao Design Academy (Beijing)
Tokyo, Japan

Collage Club
Lecture and workshop at VCFA MFA in Graphic Design program
Montpelier, Vermont

Doof Doof
Writing workshop at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) MFA Graphic Design program
Valencia, California

Fracture
Department of Defense High School Study program
Tokyo, Japan

Fracture
Ravensbourne University London Hochschule Mannheim Study Abroad Program (UK)
Tokyo, Japan

Japanese Graphic Design and the City
Temple University Japan (guest lecture)
Tokyo, Japan

Design and Department Stores
PechaKucha Night
Tokyo, Japan

2018:

Becoming Modern
Lecture for University of Technology Sydney students
Tokyo, Japan

Type Workshop
Temple University Japan Continuing Education Dept.
Tokyo, Japan

Multilingual Typography
Presentation for Arts Flanders at Tokyo Midtown DesignHub
Tokyo, Japan

Fracture
Lecture at University of Houston
Houston, Texas

Dark Future Flyer
Workshop for University of Houston MFA Design program
Houston, Texas

Poetry in Motion
Lecture at VCFA MFA in Graphic Design program
Montpelier, Vermont

Documentation
Lecture and workshop at VCFA MFA in Graphic Design program with Michael Scaringe
Montpelier, Vermont

Potential
Lecture at Supplement: Tokyo Edition 5
Tokyo, Japan

Fracture
Lecture at Schizotopia conference
Bremen, Germany

Fracture
Lecture at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts)
Valencia, California

Dark Future Flyer
Workshop at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts)
Valencia, California

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Graphic Design in Japan in the Age of Globalization
Lecture and panel discussion at IDEA Magazine exhibition “Fragments of Graphism”
Tokyo, Japan

Islands
Lecture at Supplement: Tokyo Edition 4
Tokyo, Japan

The Emergence of Japanese Graphic Design
Lecture for LanTao Design Academy (Beijing)
Tokyo, Japan

Decolonizing Design
Panel at College Art Association National Conference with Pouya Jahanshahi, Dori Tunstall, Kali Nikitas, Steven McCarthy and Elizabeth Chin
Los Angeles, California

Fracture
Lecture for VCFA MFA in Graphic Design program
Montpelier, Vermont

Documentation: The Anti-Thesis
Lecture and workshop for VCFA MFA in Graphic Design program with Dave Peacock
Montpelier, Vermont

Type Workshop
Temple University Japan Continuing Education Dept.
Tokyo, Japan

2017:

History Backwards: Japanese Graphic Design
Lecture for Japan Foundation of Toronto
Toronto, Canada

Ecclesiastes 9:3
Graduation speech for VCFA MFA in Graphic Design program
Montpelier, Vermont

Digital Scholarship
Panel at AIGA Converge conference
Los Angeles, California

Manifest Density
Lecture for Minato Citizens University at Temple University Japan
Tokyo, Japan

Modularly Yours
Lecture and workshop for incoming students at VCFA MFA in Graphic Design program
Montpelier, Vermont

Creative Image of Lithuania
Lecture for Lithuanian Design Creative Conference
Tokyo, Japan

History Backwards
Lecture for Portland State University students
Tokyo, Japan

Type Workshop
Temple University Japan Continuing Education Dept.
Tokyo, Japan

20 Steps to Working in Japan
Lecture for University of Technology Sydney students
Tokyo, Japan

Composition, Labor, Authenticity, Nostalgia, Technology, Art and Design in an Increasingly Indecipherable World
Lecture for Maine College of Art
Portland, Maine

359 Degrees & Cloudy
Lecture for VCFA MFA in Graphic Design program
Montpelier, Vermont

I Blame the Sun
Lecture for University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Study Abroad Program
Tokyo, Japan

The Tokyo Olympics’ Visual Identity & Japanese Graphic Design
Lecture for MassArt/Temple University Japan
Tokyo, Japan

2016:

I Blame the Sun: The Emergence of Modernism in Japanese Graphic Design
Lecture for Type Directors Club
New York, NY

Type Design: Discipline, Medium, Practice, Tool, or Other?
Lecture for VCFA MFA in Graphic Design program
Montpelier, Vermont

The Tokyo Olympics’ Visual Identity & Japanese Graphic Design
Lecture for Temple University Japan
Tokyo, Japan

Tabula Rasa.
Lecture for 27th Brno Biennial of Graphic Design
Brno, Czech Republic

There’s Chocolate in my Peanut Butter.
Lecture for School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

How the Olympics fits into the history of Japanese graphic design
Lecture for Society of Typographic Arts
Chicago, Illinois

Heft, Gravy & Swing
Lecture for Chicago Design Museum / ÄKTA
Chicago, Illinois

There’s Chocolate in my Peanut Butter.
Lecture for VCFA MFA in Graphic Design program
Montpelier, Vermont

The Tokyo Olympics’ Visual Identity & Japanese Graphic Design
Lecture for Institute for Contemporary Asian Studies, Temple University Japan
Tokyo, Japan

There’s Chocolate in my Peanut Butter.
Lecture for VCFA Visual Art program
Montpelier, Vermont

Tokyo, We Have a Problem.
Lecture for Connecticut Art Directors Club & University of Hartford
Hartford, Connecticut

The Winners and Losers of History: The Emergence of Graphic Design in Japan
Lecture at Rutgers University
Rutgers, New Jersey

There’s Chocolate in my Peanut Butter.
Lecture at Tyler School of Art, Temple University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Unprofessional Practice
Lecture at York College of Pennsylvania
York, Pennsylvania

There’s Chocolate in my Peanut Butter.
Lecture at York College of Pennsylvania
York, Pennsylvania

2015:

20 Steps to Working in Japan
Lecture for Made in Japan Conference
Vilnius, Lithuania

Type and You. And Me. And Them. And You.
Lecture for General Assembly
San Francisco, California

Feral Design
Graduation speech at Vermont College of Fine Arts
Montpelier, Vermont

Choose Your Own Adventure
Convocation speech at Vermont College of Fine Arts
Montpelier, Vermont

Documentation: The Anti-Thesis
Lecture and workshop at Vermont College of Fine Arts
Montpelier, Vermont

Things I Don’t Usually Talk About
Lecture for IDEO Japan
Tokyo, Japan

Modernity Inc.
Lecture for visiting students from University of Colorado at Denver
Tokyo, Japan

Road Trip!
Lecture and workshop for Society of Childrens Book Writers and Illustrators Japan
Tokyo, Japan

Dead Man Walking: The Life and Times of Barney Bubbles
Lecture at Vermont College of Fine Arts
Montpelier, Vermont

How Do They Do It?
Panel discussion at Vermont College of Fine Arts
Montpelier, Vermont

An Introduction
Mini-lecture at Temple University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Basics and Not-Basics of Graphic Design?
Lecture at The American School in Japan
Tokyo, Japan

Starting Down
Lecture at Ride the Lightning
Tokyo, Japan

Parting It Out
Presentation at PechaKucha Night
Tokyo, Japan

2014:

Why Graphic Design Criticism Now?
Vermont College of Fine Arts
Montpelier, Vermont

Documentation: The Anti-Thesis
with David Peacock
Lecture and workshop at Vermont College of Fine Arts
Montpelier, Vermont

Surviving and Thriving as an Adjunct 
Panel discussion
Vermont College of Fine Arts
Montpelier, Vermont

Things We Can Learn From Design Criticism
Ride the Lightning
AQ
Tokyo, Japan

Empire of Interns
XD24
Hongik University
Seoul, Korea

The Time for Being Against: A Workshop
XD24
Hongik University
Seoul, Korea

Japanese Graphic Design History: A Timeline
Study Day
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Los Angeles, California

The Graphic Designers/Type Designers/Design Teachers That Graphic Design History Forgot
CalArts X Kookmin Graphic Design Workshop
Kookmin University
Seoul, Korea

The Graphic Designers/Type Designers/Design Teachers That Graphic Design History Forgot
Vermont College of Fine Arts
Montpelier, Vermont

Typography Basics Workshop
Collaboration with Tasheka Arceneaux Sutton and N. Silas Munro
Vermont College of Fine Arts
Montpelier, Vermont

Talking Type
UX Talk
Tokyo, Japan

2013:

The Emergence of the Japanese Graphic Design Press from 1893 to 1965
Choyoung Conference and Exhibition
Kookmin University
Seoul, Korea

Making Time: Timelessness and Timeliness in Graphic Design
Choyoung Conference and Exhibition
Kookmin University
Seoul, Korea

The Winners and Losers of History: The Emergence of Graphic Design in Japan
Vermont College of Fine Arts
Montpelier, Vermont

Imperialism, Inc.: The Development of Commerce and Country in post-Meiji Restoration Japan
Temple University Japan
Tokyo, Japan

Focusing Inward: A Workshop
California Institute of the Arts
Valencia, California

The Legacy of Idea Magazine
California Institute of the Arts
Valencia, California

Heft, Gravy & Swing: The Secret Life of Oz Cooper
Vermont College of Fine Arts
Montpelier, Vermont

Small Books From Small Countries: A Vaguely Impromptu Exhibition
Vermont College of Fine Arts
Montpelier, Vermont

2012:

Editorial Video Now: Huh?
Temple University Japan
Tokyo, Japan

Invisible Squares:
The Form of Language and the Representation
of Graphic Design as a Sector of Cultural Production

Vermont College of Fine Arts
Montpelier, Vermont

Timelessness Versus Timeliness: A Workshop
Vermont College of Fine Arts
Montpelier, Vermont

Post-Kitsch Design
Hongik University
Seoul, Korea

Contemporary Critical Graphic Design
Kookmin University
Seoul, Korea

Heft, Gravy & Swing: The Secret Life of Oz Cooper
TypeCon
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Critical Design
Otis College of Design
Los Angeles, California

A Dozen Publications That Changed My Life
Magazine Library
Tokyo, Japan

Letters On Cuba
PechaKucha Night Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan

2011:

On Japanese Typographic Orthography
California Institute of the Arts
Valencia, California

On Japanese Typographic Orthography
California College of Art
San Francisco, California

On Japanese Typographic Orthography
Otis College of Art
Los Angeles, California

On Japanese Typographic Orthography
Portland State University
Portland, Oregon

On Japanese Typographic Orthography
TypeCon 2011
New Orleans, Louisiana

On Authenticity
PechaKucha Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan

select prior speaking engagements:

In Conversation with Akiyama Shin
Pantaloon
Osaka, Japan

On Type In Motion
UCLA
Los Angeles, California

Parallel Strokes
PechaKucha Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan

Bilingual Typography (lecture & workshop)
Temple University Japan
Tokyo, Japan

Your Modular Life (lecture & workshop)
Pacific Northwest College of Art
Portland, Oregon