In the summer of 2025, ITO BINDERY and the New York–based type foundry TrashType collaborated on a special project. The collaboration brought together type designer Mark Johnson and illustrator and creative producer Liz Ryan. This feature explores how the collaboration came about and the story behind the new typeface, GORP.
How did the collaboration with ITO BINDERY come about?
Mark: I’ve been using Ito’s drawing pads in various sizes for years. I also love gifting them to designers as part of their welcome and onboarding kits at Mixpanel, where I work as a principal product designer! During my visit to Japan in 2023, I stopped by the ITO BINDERY shop and was kindly shown around by Masaki, the owner of the brand. The shop and tour were lovely. He mentioned that collaborations were possible and I kept that in mind.
Earlier this year, Liz and I grabbed coffee and brainstormed about ways to introduce GORP to the design world. We were thinking about making some type of desk accessory and Ito came to mind easily. We reached out and we were delighted when Masaki agreed to work with us.
A brief description of the new TrashType typeface “GORP”
Mark: GORP is a textface made for long form reading. I started designing the typeface while attending the Extended Program at Type@Cooper, a typography design program at Cooper Union in New York City.
GORP was partially inspired by OMNI magazine, a publication that ran from 1978–1995 and focused on cutting-edge science, futurism, and imaginative speculation. Initially, I simply wanted to create an editorial typeface for the magazine, but from that jumping off point I realized I could make GORP about anything. That’s when I started building out a fictitious backstory for GORP: Glyphs Optimized for Reading Properly. In this world, GORP is a galaxy-mandated typeface, created by Jark Monsoon, a glyph maker from the Galactic Order’s Republic of Print. In the lore, we [modern day humanity] were supposed to have received GORP during the Apollo 11 mission, but were unable to as we did not yet have the technology to install new fonts at the time. Jark Monsoon got in touch with the foundry TrashType here on Earth who has now made it available for all. You can dive deeper into the lore by playing GORP Adventures at https://gorp.lol.
Thoughts behind the collaboration design
Liz: Mark and I are old friends, and we’re always looking for ways to work together. This year, we both got studios in the same building in Dumbo (Brooklyn) and it’s been really nice working near one another.
With GORP, I was really drawn to the way Mark was using typography as a medium for storytelling. He’s created this insanely intricate backstory – all for a typeface – which is a little bit nuts in the best way.
Mark: I knew Liz was incredibly smart and knows how to make things real. I know how to lose my mind in an idea, and was thankful to have her help bring that idea to life and ground me a bit. We talked through a ton of ideas and the drawing pad was one we were both really excited about.
Liz: PR/branded products are tricky and oftentimes they just get thrown away. We wanted to give designers something beautiful to introduce them to GORP and TrashType, but also make a product that we would personally be excited to receive and use. Mark’s also been obsessed with neon/dayglo colors for a long time.
Mark: I just want things to be fun Liz. So sue me!
Liz: Ito’s products generally stick to a more refined palette. We weren’t sure that Masaki would go for our design, but to our delight, he was more than willing and found fantastic paper options for us. From there, the sampling and production process was pretty seamless.
Mark: The drawing pads came out great – they’re incredibly beautiful and so well crafted, and it doesn’t hurt that they’re so bright it feels like you can see them from space.
Profile
Mark Johnson
Type and Product Designer based in Brooklyn, New York.
Mark specializes in digital product and brand design but has a passion for creating typefaces. He holds a BFA from SCAD and completed Type@Cooper’s Extended Program. He’s worked with companies like Mixpanel, eBay, Twilio, InVision, and Pentagram.
Liz Ryan
Illustrator and Creative Producer based in Brooklyn, New York.
Her practice spans illustration, design, and creative strategy. She spent four years producing projects at MSCHF, both online and around the world. Her recent work includes collaborations with Giorgia Lupi’s team at Pentagram, web-based projects for Neal.fun, and illustration commissions for architecture studios and individuals.
Specification
TrashType GORP × Blackmount Drawing Pad
Size: 210 × 168 mm
Paper: Coral Red – 50 sheets
Backboard: Recycled paper
Binding: Flat binding
Package: Recycled paper