Ryan received a B.F.A. in Graphic Design from the Savannah College of Art and Design, an M.F.A. in 2D Design(Graphic Design) from Cranbrook Academy of Art and an M.A. in Typography and Type Design from the KABK/Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten.
Since 2001 he has been a partner of Strange Attractors Design (strangeattractors.com), an international studio which creates innovative ideas and solutions to influence culture and commerce. His work has been published in numerous books and periodicals including TDC and ADC annuals, Contemporary Graphic Design (Taschen), Area 2 (Phaidon) and is part of the permanent collection of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam. His work was nominated for the Dutch Design Awards in 2003, the Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2007, and the Rotterdam Design Prize in 2007, received a Red Dot Award for High Quality Communication Design in 2006, Judge's choice in TDC2 & TDC53, and he was included in ADC Young Guns 4 and ID Magazine's ID Forty of 2006.
As an active design researcher and educator, he has given workshops and lectures in cities worldwide including: Moscow, Prague, Katowice, Berlin, Zagreb, Split, Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam, Eindhoven, New York, and Chicago. Ryan teaches at the Design Academy Eindhoven, Parsons/New School University NYC, and is currently a coordinator for VIDE, Visual and Individual Design Experiences, The Hague.
