Jo Iijima's graphic design works are cosmic swirls of moving image and blended brand identities

""Ever since I landed on Earth, I've known words to be limiting," says Jo Iijima, a graphic designer and creative based in New York City. "Visuals, however, speak to me in infinite ways." Through design, Jo layers cultures, colours and typography that go beyond mere language and dimension - and it shows. His brand identity, campaign, art direction, Risograph printing and custom typography work embraces a chaotic blend of Japanese and English, putting diverse letterforms and graphic textures into a blender."

"The rhythms of Jo's moving images are a blistering swirl of technicolour and personality borrowed from the "playful eccentricity" of Japanese culture. Jo cites J-pop as an inspiration in pushing everything to the 200% (just listen to the ear-popping walls of volume of Ging Nang Boyz). As well as that, vocaloid artist Hatsune Miku influences Jo's impossibly high tempos - he exaggerates visuals with "joy and purpose". Jo's work wants to stay in people's, something he ensures with sparks and whiplashing movement."

Jo Iijima creates visual work that layers Japanese and English letterforms, bold colours, custom typography and Risograph textures to form chaotic, energetic compositions. His moving images compress technicolour rhythms and rapid tempos, borrowing a playful eccentricity from Japanese pop culture and vocaloid aesthetics to exaggerate visuals with joy and purpose. Urban memories—from neon arcades in Tokyo and vibrant Chinese character signs in Hong Kong to New York's dynamic street rhythms—blend into a cosmic collage that informs scale, motion and texture. The work prioritizes visual immediacy over language and aims to linger in viewers' minds through sparks, whiplash movement and emotional intensity.

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