More News


Below are more highlights of my awards, press, interviews, writing, and speaking engagements. You’ll also find selected talks and features that reflect my work spanning brand identities, exhibition design, book design, environmental graphics, and editorial projects. My research and practice focus on fostering cultural dialogue, advancing social advocacy, and exploring multilingual and multicultural design. For a full list of accomplishments, please reach out to request my full CV.



Awards & Recognition

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 for Radical Return
2022 

Seattle Design Foundation
Grant Recipient
2017

RISD Grad Selections Show
RISD Grad Show Graphic Identity Posters
2017



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 (Contributor)
Edited by Jen Liese
2016

Notable Press

A Light Touch Goes a Long Way
PRINT, The Daily Heller
Steven Heller
2020

Cate McQuaid, BU Art Galleries’ Radical Return selected as a Boston Globe Critic’s Pick
The Boston Globe
2021

“Perplex, Abstract & Delight: A Few Covers by Audrey Meyer”
The Boston Globe, New England Literary News
Nina MacLaughlin
2020

RISD Graduate Exhibition Graphics Are Hyper-Adaptive
Graphic Design USA
2017



Interviews

Creatives in Practice: Mary Y. Yang

Boston University College of Fine Arts
Interview by Diana Hernandez Johnson
2025

Mary Yang, Lead Designer of Under the Same Moon
Praise Shadows Art Gallery
Interview by Jayna Mikolaitis
2024

On Designing for Culture and Investigating A.I. in the Classroom
AIGA Design Educator Profile
Interview by Jason Alejandro
2024

Now What?! exhibition designers shape an immersive and accessible gallery experience
Boston Society for Architecture
Interview by Maaha Rafique
2022

Faculty Feature: Mary Yang, Graphic Design
Boston University College of Fine Arts
Interview by Alex Ross
2020

Strings Attached Extra: A look behind the look
University of Washington, School of Music
Interview by Joanne De Pue
2019



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
+
Boston Art Book Fair
Boston Center for the Arts
Boston, MA, 2022
+
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 Exhibitions

Tone 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

RISD Graphic Design Triennial
Curated by Goeun Park & Joel Kern
Woods-Gerry Gallery
Providence, RI, 2018

A Few Conversations Between Women
808 Gallery, Boston University
Boston, MA, 2018

It’s in the Bag*, RISD Grad Show
Rhode Island Convention Center
Providence, RI, 2017

SeeHER
American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) Rhode Island
RISD Graphic Design Commons, Design Center
Providence, RI, 2016

Dimensions Variable: RISD Graphic Design Triennial
Curated by Lisa Maione and Gabriel Melcher
Woods-Gerry Gallery
RISD, Providence, RI, 2015

ROI: Return on Investment
Directed by Jiminie Ha
Graphic Design Commons, Design Center
Providence, RI, 2015

CHGO DSGN: Recent Object and Graphic Design (with Studio Blue)
Curated by Rick Valicenti
Chicago Cultural Center
Chicago, IL, 2014



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

“Now What?!—Exhibition Design and Social Practice”
Boston Society for Architecture
Affiliated with Boston Design Week
Boston, MA, 2022




© 2026 Mary Y. Yang