Ryan Smith was born in Vancouver, Canada. He studied at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, where he occasionally teaches in the Faculty of Design and Dynamic Media and the Faculty of Fine Art while working as the in-house designer at The Polygon Gallery. His work focuses on visual design in the cultural sector and publishing.

Smiths’ style is inspired by nature, art, design, technology, architecture, fashion and craft from around the world. Outside of design, Smith is an avid cyclist and loves to go fishing, loves his adopted dog(s), and in his spare time, runs an art book publishing initiative called Brick Press.