After more than two decades leading creative for top-tier companies like Charlex, Digital Kitchen, and Nike’s Brand Design team, Ryan Dunn is stepping into the spotlight with the launch of Dunnwell, a bold new multidisciplinary studio with headquarters in Chicago and a production hub in New York.
Positioned as a “do-it-all” collective, Dunnwell brings together a globally distributed team of directors and artists whose expertise spans everything from CG and 2D/cel animation to live action, motion graphics, stop-motion, and immersive media. The studio’s focus? Telling great stories—regardless of medium.
Dunn, who cut his teeth at industry mainstays like Blind and Digital Kitchen before landing at Nike, says the decision to go independent was about unlocking creative freedom and meeting the evolving needs of clients.
“It became clear that building my own studio was the best way to take my work, vision, and ambition to the next level,” Dunn explains. “The industry is changing rapidly, and I want to be part of this new frontier and all the potential it holds for new ways of telling brand and character stories.”
Backed by a high-profile roster that includes illustration standout Bruno Mangyoku, VFX artist Danil Krivoruchko (Myshli), character designer Max Kostenko, and stop-motion visionary Taili Wu, Dunnwell aims to deliver platform-agnostic content with artistry, flexibility, and strategy at the core.
“We’re positioned like a team of ninjas,” Dunn adds, “deploying a full CG pipeline for one client and a cel-animated live-action hybrid for the next.”
For Ryan Dunn, Chicago’s creative energy is an ideal launchpad for this next chapter. With roots that stretch from the Midwest to Tokyo, Berlin, and beyond, Dunnwell is ready to blur boundaries and tell stories that stick.
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