Mary Y. Yang
Mary Y. Yang is a designer and educator based in Boston, MA. She is the founder of Open Rehearsal, a design studio that collaborates with cultural and educational clients on research and projects spanning brand identities, exhibition graphics, book design, environmental graphics, and editorial design. Her work has been recognized by Communication Arts and featured in AIGA, PRINT Magazine, Society of Typographic Arts, Design360°, and Hyperallergic. She has been named as one of Graphic Design USA’s 2026 People to Watch.
Yang is an Assistant Professor at Boston University, where she teaches in both the undergraduate and graduate Graphic Design programs. Her research and pedagogical approach examine how language can be used as a tool for multilingual exchange, co-building history, embodied learning, and cultivating spaces for collective knowledge. She is currently the 2025–2026 Artist-Writer-in-Residence at Johns Hopkins University’s University Writing Program. In addition to her role as an educator, Yang is the co-founder of Radical Characters, an educational and curatorial platform that researches and explores graphic design, typography, and culture through Hanzi (Chinese characters).
Yang holds an MFA in Graphic Design from the Rhode Island School of Design and a BFA in Communication Design from Washington University in St. Louis, Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. She has taught at the Rhode Island School of Design and lectured at the University of Washington. Previously, she has worked on the graphic and brand design team at Victoria’s Secret PINK (NYC), the University of Washington Press (Seattle, WA) and Studio Blue (Chicago, IL).
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WorkshopEmbodied Writing: Activating Latent Characters through Textual Sites
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD
As part of my Artist-Writer in Residence at Johns Hopkins Univesity’s University Writing Program, I hosted a workshop with students and faculty on embodied writing. The workshop explored the body as a site for generating new textual forms that challenge traditional narrative, linguistic, and typographic conventions.
Through movement, gesture, and somatic awareness, participants created writing that emerges from physical experience rather than purely cognitive processes.
About residency
ExhibitionTone in Tongue
Otis College of Art and Design
Los Angeles, CA
Shanghai Research Institute of Printing Technology
Shanghai, China
Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA)
Baltimore, MD
Curated and organized by Mary Y. Yang and Zhongkai Li
Tone in Tongue concluded its multi-venue international exhibition tour in December 2025. The exhibition explored the interconnection of East Asian visual culture, tracing how shared histories and distinct, aesthetic identities continue to resonate in contemporary design. Featured the work of 50 international designers and 100 publications. The exhibition includes commissioned posters by international studios; contributions from emerging practitioners selected through an open call; a curated collection of independent publications; and a design magazine tour that traces evolving perspectives on East Asian graphic design over the past two decades—with selections from the archives of Design360° (China), GRAPHIC (South Korea), and idea magazine (Japan).
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TalkFrom Letters to Words to Dialogue: Building Collective Language with Radical Characters and Pararailing
Asia Art Archive in America
Brooklyn, NY
In collaboration with Zhongkai Li, we presented on Radical Characters’ exhibition, Tone in Tongue, in dialogue with Pararailing (Jie Shao, Sixing Xu, and Snow Xuecan Ye), who shared about their ongoing project, Railing Codex. Together, we reflected on the origins and ethos of our respective arts collectives and the ways we approach collaboration, language, and cross cultural dialogue. Moderated by Scarlett Meng (RELATED DEPARTMENT/Page Bureau)
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Interview
On Designing for Culture and Investigating A.I. in the Classroom
AIGA Design Educator Profile
Interview by Jason Alejandro
I speak with designer and educator Jason Alejandro about my goals as an educator, my design practice, AI and design pedagogy, and how these roles come together in the way I engage students in the classroom and studio. I also share some updates on my upcoming projects, including Radical Characters’ second institutional exhibition.
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InterviewMary Yang, Lead Designer of Under the Same Moon
Praise Shadows Art Gallery
Interview by Jayna Mikolaitis
I speak with Jayna Mikoaltis, Gallery Manager of Sales and Marketing at Praise Shadows, about the design process behind Yu-Wen Wu's first monograph, Under the Same Moon. We discuss the themes of material and materiality in Yu-Wen’s work and how those ideas translate into the book as an object.
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InterviewCreatives in Practice: Mary Y. Yang
Boston University College of Fine Arts
Interview by Diana Hernandez Johnson
I share how my identity as a 1.5-generation Chinese American informs my belief that language can serve as a bridge—connecting people across cultures and geographies. I also reflect on how my role as an educator shapes the way I connect my practice with teaching, exploring how design can engage with language, identity, diaspora, and cultural memory. I approach design as both a collaborative process and a tool for cultural and community engagement.
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