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).
Email, LinkedIn, Instagram
Curriculum Vitae
Education
Rhode Island School of Design
MFA in Graphic Design
Providence, RI
Washington University in St. Louis
BFA in Communication Design
Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts
St. Louis, MO
Experience
Assistant Professor of Art, Graphic Design
Boston University, College of Fine Arts
School of Visual Arts
Boston, MA, Fall 2019 – Present
Founder
Open Rehearsal, LLC
Boston, MA, 2017– Present
Co-founder, Creative Director
Radical Characters
Boston, MA and New York, NY, 2021–Present
Adjunct Professor, Graphic Design
Boston University, College of Fine Arts
School of Visual Arts
Boston, MA, 2018 – 2019
Instructor
Rhode Island School of Design
Providence, RI, 2016
Graduate Teaching Assistant
Rhode Island School of Design
Providence, RI, 2015 – 2017
Graphic Designer
University of Washington Press
Seattle, WA, 2017– 2018
Graphic Designer
Rhode Island School of Design
Providence, RI, 2017
Graphic Designer
Victoria’s Secret PINK
New York, NY, 2013 – 2015
Design Intern
Studio Blue
Chicago, IL, 2013
Design Intern
Victoria’s Secret PINK
New York, NY, 2012
Selected ExhibitionsTone in Tongue (Curated)
Otis College of Art and Design
Los Angeles, CA, 2025
Shanghai Research Institute of Printing Technology
Shanghai, China, 2025
Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA)
Baltimore, MD, 2025
PLATES: The Politics of Layout
Curated by Scarlett Meng
Ulises Project Space
Philadelphia, PA, 2025
Embodied Making as Collective Publishing: The Body and Hanzi
Curated by Moon Jang
C-U-B-E Gallery
University of Georgia
Lamar Dodd School of Art
Athens, GA, 2024
Ulises: Assembly
Tufts University Art Galleries
Boston, MA, 2024
Figure, Character, Sign (Curated)
A Plus A Gallery
Venice, Italy, 2022
Radical Return (Curated)
IS A Gallery
Shanghai, China, 2021
Boston University Art Galleries
Boston, MA, 2021
Pudding 002: Composition
Curated by James Chae
whatreallymatters
Seoul, South Korea, 2021
All Together Now: Sound x Design
Design Museum of Chicago
Chicago, IL, 2021
Word Art
Curated by Space Us
Downtown Crossing
Boston, MA, 2019
Lines/Divide
Curated by Joshua Duttweiler
Boston East Gallery
Boston, MA, 2019
CHGO DSGN: Recent Object and Graphic Design (with Studio Blue)
Curated by Rick Valicenti
Chicago Cultural Center
Chicago, IL, 2014
Selected Publications
PLATES #2: Body Issue (Contributor)
Published by
Related Department / Page Bureau
2025
Slanted Magazine #44 — Type Fashion (Contributor)
Published by
Slanted Publishers
2024
imperfect index (Contributor)
Edited by Laura Parke and Abbie Vickress
2024
Radical Return catalog (Editor)
Published by Radical Characters, IS A Gallery, and BU Art Galleries
2022
“Embodying the Residue,” I Got Something to Say—Poster Inventory,
2013–2021 (Contributor)
Edited by Christopher Sleboda and Kathleen Sleboda
Published by
Draw Down Book
2022
Perplex, Abstract & Delight: A Few Covers by Audrey Meyer (Authored)
Published by Katherine Small Gallery
2020
Is the Internet Down? (Contributor)
Published by Draw Down Books
2019
Where the Wind Blows (Authored)
Published by Open Rehearsal
2018
“ROI: Return on Investment,” v.1: A RISD Grad Journal
Edited by Jen Liese
2016
Selected Lectures & Speaking
Washington University in St. Louis (Upcoming)
Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts
St. Louis, MO, 2026
Johns Hopkins University (Upcoming)
University Writing Program
Baltimore, MD, 2026
“Designing Collective Spaces for Cross-Cultural Dialogue”
Illinois State University
CrossPlatform Graphic Design Lecture Series
Normal, IL, 2026
“From Letters to Words to Dialogue: Building Collective Language with Radical Characters and Pararailing”
Asia Art Archive in America
Brooklyn, NY, 2025
“Forming Connections: Multilingual Writing as a Bridge for Cross-Cultural Dialogue”
Johns Hopkins University
University Writing Program
Baltimore, MD, 2025
“Design as Rehearsal Space: From Practicing to Practice”
Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Communication Design & Dynamic Media Institute Lecture Series
Boston, MA, 2025
“Approaches to Bilingual Typography in Design Practice and Pedagogy” (Session chair)
College Art Association Annual Conference
New York, NY, 2025
“Building Collection Sites: Language, Culture, and Publishing through Graphic Design”
University of Georgia
Lamar Dodd School of Art
Athens, GA, 2024
“Collecting Graphic Design: The State of Affairs”
University & College Designers Association (UCDA)
Design Education Summit: Immerse
Moderated by Brockett Horne (The People’s Graphic Design Archive)
Mesa, AZ, 2024
“Creative Intelligence: The Future of AI in Design Education”
Moderated by Christopher Moore
College Art Association Annual Conference
Chicago, IL, 2024
“A Pedagogical Approach for Introducing and Challenging AI in the Classroom”
AIGA National Conference
Design Educators Community Symposium
New York, NY, 2023
“Radical Characters: Studying Graphic Design and Typography through Chinese Characters (Hanzi)”
College Art Association Annual Conference
Design Incubation Colloquium 9.2
New York, NY, 2022
Workshops Led
Embodied Writing: Activating Latent Characters through Textual Sites
Johns Hopkins University
University Writing Program
Baltimore, MD, 2025
Embodied Making As Collective Publishing: The Body and Hanzi
School of Musuem of Fine Arts
Tufts University
Boston, MA, 2024
Embodied Making As Collective Publishing: The Body and Hanzi
Boston Art Book Fair
Boston Center for the Arts
Boston, MA, 2022
Embodied Making As Collective Publishing: The Body and Hanzi
Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Studio for Interrelated Media (SIM)
Boston, MA, 2022
Risograph Workshop
Loyal Studio
Boston, MA, 2019
Entr’acte
(Workshop and performance)
RISD Museum
Providence, RI, 2017
Selected Press & FeaturesA Light Touch Goes a Long Way
PRINT, The Daily Heller
Steven Heller
Mary Yang, Lead Designer of Under the Same Moon
Praise Shadows Art Gallery
Interview by Jayna Mikolaitis
On Designing for Culture and Investigating A.I. in the Classroom
AIGA Design Educator Profile
Interview by Jason Alejandro
Creatives in Practice: Mary Y. Yang
Boston University College of Fine Arts
Interview by Diana Hernandez Johnson
“Perplex, Abstract & Delight: A Few Covers by Audrey Meyer”
The Boston Globe, New England Literary News
Nina MacLaughlin
Faculty Feature: Mary Yang, Graphic Design
Boston University College of Fine Arts
Strings Attached Extra: A look behind the look
University of Washington, School of Music
RISD Graduate Exhibition Graphics Are Hyper-Adaptive
Graphic Design USA
Selected Awards
Graphic Design USA
Person to Watch
2026
Graphic Design USA
RISD Commencement Identity Design
2023
Boston University
Supervisor of the Year Award, Runner Up
2022
Communication Arts
Design Award, Radical Return Exhibition Design
2022
Massachusetts Cultural Council: Cultural Investment Portfolio
Grant Recipient
2022
Seattle Design Foundation
Grant Recipient
2017
RISD Grad Selections Show
RISD Grad Show Graphic Identity Posters
2017
Updated 2.18.2026
Available for projects and collaborations.
Full CV and work samples available upon request.