Meet Junyi Zhu | Graphic designer & Type designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Junyi Zhu and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Junyi, why did you pursue a creative career?
During my growth process, I consistently engaged in courses related to fine art, such as printmaking and sketching. I have always been interested in computer software like Photoshop. However, before entering university, I considered visual arts a hobby and never considered it a career path. My parents believed I should pursue a career in STEM fields, given my academic performance in those areas. Yet, considering my personality, I enjoy presenting new ideas and solving problems. I don’t desire a stagnant life; my ideal job involves facing new daily challenges. Hence, when choosing a college major, I believed that design was a more suitable industry for me.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My current favorite identity is that of a bilingual font designer, which is also my most passionately pursued occupation at the moment. Most of my education has revolved around graphic design, but during the self-exploration process of my thesis, I discovered a deep interest in language. As a non-native speaker who has lived in the United States for many years, language initially posed challenges for me, but later it transformed my personality and thought patterns. Bridging languages is also a cross-cultural endeavor. To incorporate these experiences into my creative work, I started learning font design. Transforming personal experiences or interests into visual expressions and conveying them is indeed a challenging task, and we are all just on our exploratory journeys. Nevertheless, I am delighted to be on the path I am on now and happy with the bilingual lettering creations I am currently producing.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I currently reside in Baltimore, Maryland. I find the Inner Harbor area to be incredibly serene, with a rich historical ambiance. Walking along the streets, there are many intriguing signs and lettering, adding character to the surroundings. The city of Baltimore also boasts numerous street graffiti, many of which prominently feature text. These graffiti are particularly inspiring for individuals involved in creating lettering, providing a wealth of creative stimulation. Baltimore Museum of Art has a great collection of modern art. The curator team worked on showing more underrepresented artists in the past couple of years. It is a good place that is worth visiting.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Throughout my journey in studying graphic design, I am deeply grateful to my teachers. In the initial one or two years of learning, I felt lost, blindly following advice from various sources. It wasn’t until I began to realize that graphic design is about creating a consistent visual system and fundamentally revolves around conveying information. Several projects at school played a pivotal role in shaping this design philosophy for me. For instance, Ellen Lupton’s Type Spa project, where we were tasked with designing a fixed typography layout for a series of five posters, was instrumental. Additionally, examples of branding presented by Minsun Eo helped me understand that branding involves more than just placing logos on different applications; it’s about establishing a set of visual rules and consistently applying them. I am also grateful for the assistance provided by the font designers I encountered. Their selfless sharing of their experiences and knowledge has been invaluable.

Website: https://junyizhudesign.cargo.site/

Instagram: junyi_z