Apex Lin was born in Donggang Town of Pingtung County, Taiwan, in 1957. He received his M.F.A. from the Graduate Institute of Fine Arts, National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU), and is currently Chair Professor of Asia University, President of Taiwan Design Alliance, Founded President of Taiwan Cultural and Creative Industry Association, and Project Director of Taiwan Ministry of Education’s Programs, “Encouraging Students Participating in International Design Competition” and “Taiwan International Student Design Competition”. He served as Professor of Department of Visual Design, Director of Department of Fine Arts, Director of the Cultural & Creative Industries Center, and Vice President of NTNU. Lin has been acclaimed “Mentor of Design in Taiwan.” In avant-garde and contemporary design, his concentrated visual language in poster designs portraying the image of Taiwan, the island, has brought Taiwan’s design field going global.

Lin established the Taiwan Image Poster Design Association in 1990, actively encouraging Taiwanese designers to participate in international competitions, cross-strait exhibitions, and other activities ever since. In 1993, he was on the list of the top 12 CI designers in Asia by New DECOMAS. Then in 2002, he was honored with the ICOGRADA Achievement Award by the International Council of Graphic Design Associations. He was later listed among 100 Graphic Designers in the World by Phaidon in 2003.

In 2004, Lin was presented the First Outstanding Award of Commercial by MOEA. In 2005, Lin was granted the Design for Asia Award by Hong Kong Design Center, as commendation of his great artistic influence in Asia. In 2006, Lin was awarded the Gold Prize in Art & Design Category by The Art Society of China. In 2007, Lin was presented the National Award for Arts by National Culture and Arts Foundation, and was made the Honorary Member of Brno Biennale Association. In 2009, Lin served as the consultant of visual identity and took charge of mascot design in The World Games 2009 Kaohsiung. In 2011, Lin was in the executive committee of the IDA Taipei World Design Expo 2011 and served as the convener of Visual Development Team. In 2011, Lin was honored with the ICOGRADA Education Award by Icograda. In 2014, Lin was granted the G-Mark Good Design Award Fellow by Japan Institute of Design Promotion (JDP). In 2018, Lin was granted the Design for Asia Award by Hong Kong Design Center.