
Cooper Chrome Italic Pro
A new retro typeface set that combines the BMX-inspired aesthetics of the 1980s!
A new retro typeface set that combines the BMX-inspired aesthetics of the 1980s!
Elpy is a friendly rounded sans serif 22-member workhorse family inspired by all things music!
Corporate identity for collaborative software corporation
“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!”
Naming, Positioning, Corporate Identity, Copywriting, Website UI/UX/Dev/Build, Packaging & POP for CBD gelato brand
“Ian’s a sharpshooter. We had some identity issues that needed a pro and he took to heart our long-winded descriptions of all things we were trying to evoke. He returned with a thorough identity presentation that struck an exquisite balance of all that things that swirled around in our heads. It made us look in the mirror and think, “Yeah, thats who we are!”
An online library of English translations of key selected writings on contemporary art in Japan
The second installment of publications from Corinthians Press!
“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.”
A new Ghost.io website for W. David Marx's upcoming book.
A new international e-commerce website for the Japanese tenugui maker.
“Lynam is a bitingly humorous writer – gifted with the intuition to give stories depth. This is no accident as he writes from experience – a reading pleasure!”
Our new Japanese/English dictionary for designers and artists!
Naming, branding, identity, and e-commerce for Portland's wine phenom!
Brand positioning, identity, messaging, website, and interior graphic design.
“Working with Ian Lynam offers unparalleled creativity and client focus. Whether designing for a global search company or a university garden institution, Ian knows how to uncover clients’ often unstated needs, and then design something unique and compelling. Ian is a maker, an educator, and an inspiring person to work with.”
A new 130-page bilingual English/Japanese book on pre-WW2 design history.
“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.”
An exhibition of graphic designers who write, research, teach, and practice criticism.
A new website design for an exterior design firm and product manufacturer.
“Ian is pragmatic and effective in creating beautiful cultural products, and a pleasure to work with. He found amazing nuggets of graphic design and typography in our corporate archives, and turned them into amazing contemporary assets. He’s comfortable doing things himself, as well as at finding relevant partners, and has consistently shown a great level of initiative.”
A website for one of Japan's top craftspeople.
Custom type design for Valve's massively popular multiplayer game DOTA2.
We created a custom version of our popular typeface families Cern and Cern Display for financial technology company Plaid.
“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!”
The Impossibility of Silence is a 200+ page paperback for creative folks interested in approaching writing about their vocation and culture.
Identity for Asano Dental Clinic in Kaminoge, Setagaya in Tokyo.
Branding and identity for AXES Partners, a multidisciplinary firm specializing in project management services throughout all of Japan.
“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!”
The Future of Tradition: brand-building for a Japanese footwear startup
Wordshape is our hybrid type foundry, publishing entity, distributor of the Japanese graphic design magazine IDEA /アイデア and related Japanese graphic design books, and software company.
“Ian Lynam’s fine simplicity and appreciation for white space draws the eye and the heart where it needs to go. His design work is striking because it avoids the most common trap of being gaudy or needing attention. It simply does what it sets out to do.”
A brand new 52-page booklet by Ian Lynam that examines notions of authenticity via design, consumption, and history.
We co-edited and co-curated Slanted #35, an issue wholly devoted to LA.
“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!”
The debut print journal from Néojaponisme — 128 pages of new content about retro Tokyo past and present.
Corporate identity, signage, and interior design for TUJ in Sangenjaya.
A new zine about how to approach design critique from cultural and critical perspectives.
“Working with Ian Lynam offers unparalleled creativity and client focus. Whether designing for a global search company or a university garden institution, Ian knows how to uncover clients’ often unstated needs, and then design something unique and compelling. Ian is a maker, an educator, and an inspiring person to work with.”
Collateral design for VCFA's MFA in Graphic Design Program
Branding, positioning, marketing & identity initiatives for Vermont College of Fine Arts
“Ian is an empire, a fanfare, a circus.
While most designers are accomplished at walking and chewing gum—the equivalent in graphic design terms of InDesign mastery while thinking conceptually—Ian does backflips of writing and publishing, walks the tightrope of research, and performs the acrobatics of teaching, all while stilt-walking an expansive terrain of graphic design practice… and all this while adeptly juggling platters of diverse knowledge that include history, theory, philosophy, humanities, and the gamut of pop culture.
But most of all Ian is accomplished at generously sharing himself and his many gifts with his whole heart. And this is why, simply, we love him.”
A new 400-page book of design theory edited by Ian Lynam.
An 88-page booklet that examines thorny aspects of design, designers, and design history.
“Ian is pragmatic and effective in creating beautiful cultural products, and a pleasure to work with. He found amazing nuggets of graphic design and typography in our corporate archives, and turned them into amazing contemporary assets. He’s comfortable doing things himself, as well as at finding relevant partners, and has consistently shown a great level of initiative.”
A qualitative design research project commissioned by Adobe.
A new 112-page booklet about overcoming “Creative Constipation™.”
Ian Lynam is faculty at Temple University’s NASAD-accredited Japan Campus.
“Eschewing the shortsighted practical nature of much graphic design-oriented writing, Lynam focuses on demythologizing contemporary graphic design – opening up a new horizon of discourse both East and West.”
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.
“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!”
We designed the identity for Canard, Portland's latest culinary phenomenon.
A book about the design of Japanese character culture.
Biwa is a new straight-sided family of formally nuanced grotesk typefaces for text typesetting and display work for both print and screen.
“Ian’s a sharpshooter. We had some identity issues that needed a pro and he took to heart our long-winded descriptions of all things we were trying to evoke. He returned with a thorough identity presentation that struck an exquisite balance of all that things that swirled around in our heads. It made us look in the mirror and think, “Yeah, thats who we are!”
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.
“Ian is an honest, simply-brilliant, graphic designer with skills and talent in abundance with the flexibility to adapt to meet and exceed a client’s need and did so each time we worked with him. He is a pleasure to collaborate with I would recommend him to anyone with confidence.”
99+1 is a new book and responsive website for the Japanese National Tourism Organization.
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.
“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 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.
“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.”
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.
“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!”
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 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!”
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.
“Ian Lynam is a pleasure to work with. Always understanding of what you are trying to achieve and able to offer the sage advice of a creative designer. Reliable, timely, and effective in what he does. I would definitely recommend his services.”
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 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.”
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.
“Joyfully and skillfully straddling the line between creator and critic, theorist and practitioner, formalist and rebel, American and expatriate, serious analyst and humorous deconstructor, Ian Lynam always brings a wholly original perspective to his writing on design. The insights are always fresh, and the stakes are always extremely high.”
Identity and art direction for San Francisco swimwear company.
Product line book and DVD for Nike’s Asia Pacific region.
“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!”
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.
“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!”
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.
“Ian Lynam is a pleasure to work with. Always understanding of what you are trying to achieve and able to offer the sage advice of a creative designer. Reliable, timely, and effective in what he does. I would definitely recommend his services.”
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 is pragmatic and effective in creating beautiful cultural products, and a pleasure to work with. He found amazing nuggets of graphic design and typography in our corporate archives, and turned them into amazing contemporary assets. He’s comfortable doing things himself, as well as at finding relevant partners, and has consistently shown a great level of initiative.”
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.
“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.”
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.
“Ian is pragmatic and effective in creating beautiful cultural products, and a pleasure to work with. He found amazing nuggets of graphic design and typography in our corporate archives, and turned them into amazing contemporary assets. He’s comfortable doing things himself, as well as at finding relevant partners, and has consistently shown a great level of initiative.”
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.
“In all our collaborations, Ian has always brought a fresh perspective and boundless energy to the project. His encyclopedic knowledge of visual culture, ability to quickly work through multiple concepts, and deep Rolodex of talented friends, also give us the confidence to move beyond our first idea, towards a final product that will surprise and delight our clients.”
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.
LP, CD and promotional materials for Barsuk Records.
“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.”
The very first specimen of fonts for the web!
Music packaging design for Tokyo's Marxy
“Ever find yourself drawn to an image or sucked into an design article based purely on the form or content, then finding out later- after you go back to read the credit line- that a friend actually busted it out? That’s Ian.”
2008 book on the cross-section of type design, graffiti, lettering, and sign painting.