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
    Teaching

    Since joining the faculty in the Department of Graphic Design at Boston University College of Fine Arts, School of Visual Arts in Fall of 2019, I have had the privilege of collaborating with outstanding colleagues in an environment that values scholarship through research, teaching, and practice. These experiences have allowed me to refine my pedagogical approach while strengthening my own creative scholarship. I have developed new syllabi and curricula from core design studio courses, including Sophomore Graphic Design Studio and Senior Thesis Studio, to electives such as Visual Systems, Branding, Typography, and Design Theory.


    Danielle Chang (BU BFA ‘23), Design & Research Assistant
    Radical Return, BU Art Galleries and IS A Gallery
    Grant: Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP), Summer ‘21
    My studio and curatorial practice and research inform my teaching and reflect my belief that design is not only about making, but also about questioning, reflecting, and learning within community. My pedagogy is responsive to contemporary discourse, emerging technologies, and the evolving needs of my students.  
            My approach centers on mentorship, connecting the classroom to the professional world, and continually refining my teaching through reflection and unlearning. Driven by language, identity, and collaboration, my work demonstrates how design can provoke critical reflection, foster dialogue, and make meaningful change. Beyond teaching technical skills, I aim to cultivate critical awareness, empowering students to leverage design as a tool for inclusivity and socially engaged practice.
            Mentorship and connecting students to the professional world are central to my approach as an educator, where I foster interdisciplinary thinking, adaptability, and brave making, helping students contextualize their work.


    Shapes Collection
    Scarlett Cain (BU BFA ‘28)
    Course: Sophomore Graphic Design Studio, Fall ‘25
    Alphabet Forms
    Course: Sophomore Graphic Design Studio, Fall    Polyphonic
    Yunxi (Lucy) Ye (BU MFA ‘26)
    Course: Visual Systems, Spring ‘25
    Making, Moving, Making
    Angela Lian (BU BFA ‘21)
    Course: Senior Thesis Studio, Spring ‘21

    Roots: Ways of Making
    Vincent Liu (BU BFA ‘24)
    Course: Senior Thesis Studio, Spring ‘24


    Go Touch Grass
    Sheryl Peng (BU BFA ‘25)
    Course: Senior Thesis Studio, Spring ‘25


    Musuem of Moving Image Rebrand 
    Lauren Greenblatt (BU MFA ‘25)
    Course: Branding, Fall ‘24
    As, Not For: Dethroning Our Absolutes
    Boston University Art Galleries
    Curated by Jerome Harris
    Exhibition design by Ashlie Dawkins, Geo Ferrari (BU BFA ‘22), Jay Li, and Angela Lian (BU BFA ‘21), Fall ‘20

    BFA Thesis Show: Breaking Out
    Boston University Art Galleries
    Visual identity by Natalie Bolton, Lena Johnson, Morgan Recker, and Mariana Velasquez (BU BFA ‘21), Spring ‘21


    © 2026 Mary Y. Yang