Creatives in Practice: Mary Y. Yang

The Assistant Professor of Art, Graphic Design at BU is the co-founder of Radical Characters, an educational and curatorial platform that explores graphic design, typography, and culture through Chinese characters

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CREATIVES IN PRACTICE: MARY Y. YANG

The Assistant Professor of Art, Graphic Design at BU is the co-founder of Radical Characters, an educational and curatorial platform that explores graphic design, typography, and culture through Chinese characters.

October 17, 2025
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One thing that gravitates the next generation of artists to Boston University College of Fine Arts? Knowing that their professors, advisors, and mentors are also working artists, gaining real-world experience and bringing that back into the classroom through their curriculum, lessons, and talks. In CFA’s Creatives in Practice series, your favorite CFA faculty and staff members share the work they’re doing off campus, locally, nationally, and globally.

As someone who grew up between cultures, Mary Y. Yang, a 1.5-generation Chinese American, has always been interested in how language can serve as a bridge, connecting people across different cultures and geographies. The work of Yang, an Assistant Professor of Art, Graphic Design at Boston University School of Visual Arts, investigates how visual language shapes meaning, culture, and connection, approaching design as both a collaborative process and a tool for cultural and community engagement.

“Rooted in research and community-building, my practice takes a curatorial approach and extends beyond the studio into public-facing initiatives with global reach. A central focus of my work is exploring how design can engage with language, identity, diaspora, and cultural memory.”

In this installment of CFA’s Creatives in Practice, Yang highlights a project she is particularly proud of, one she started during the pandemic as a way to highlight and celebrate the work of Chinese and Chinese American artists and designers. Radical Characters, an educational and curatorial platform, was founded by Yang and her collaborator Zhongkai Li. The platform explores speculative connections between design and culture through graphic design and typography, specifically through the lens of 汉字 Hanzi (Chinese characters). Projects take shape through exhibitions, publications, lectures, and workshops that foster dialogue across disciplines and geographies.

Radical Characters’ current project, Tone in Tongue, is a multi-venue international exhibition running from July 18 to November 14, 2025, hosted across Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles (July 18 – August 13), Maryland Institute College of Art (October 20 – November 14), and the Shanghai Research Institute of Printing Technology (August 10 – October 10). The show features works of BU students and alums, with some also serving as collaborators.

Tone in Tongue exhibition view, Bolsky Gallery, Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, LA, 2025. Photo by Zengyi Zhao, Sight Photography.

Q&A WITH MARY Y. YANG

CFA: Tell us more about Radical Characters’ current project, Tone in Tongue.

Yang: Tone in Tongue features 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).

Through these diverse voices and mediums, artists, designers, and scholars reflect on inherited aesthetics while engaging with contemporary issues of identity, coexistence, resistance, and belonging.

How does your real-world experience connect to your role as a faculty member at CFA?

My real-world experience as a graphic designer and researcher deeply informs my ethos in the classroom. Working actively across cultural and educational contexts allows me to bring current, practice-based insights into both teaching and curriculum development. Whether through exhibitions, collaborative platforms like Radical Characters, or ongoing research, I aim to build a design practice that is critically engaged, culturally resonant, and globally connected.

These experiences allow me to mentor students not only in developing their individual design voice, but also in understanding how their work can exist beyond the academic environment. I encourage students to think expansively about design as a cultural tool, one that can engage with questions of identity, language, and belonging.

Middle photo: Tone in Tongue’s “Tone in Print: Evolving Graphic Design Perspectives in East Asia from 2005 to Present” section. Left and right: Tone in Tongue exhibition title featuring Chinese, Japanese, and Korean translations

What inspires you about this project? How do you think it makes you a better artist and educator?

What inspires me most about this role is the opportunity to be in constant exchange with students, practitioners, scholars, and the wider creative community.

My practice and teaching are in continuous dialogue, each informing and enriching the other. Being part of a learning environment that values experimentation, critical inquiry, and cultural engagement challenges me to remain open, curious, and responsive in my own work.

The work I do off-campus directly shapes how I approach teaching and mentorship at BU. Supporting students and building bridges between education and the professional world are central to my role as an educator. I strive to create opportunities for students to place their work in broader contexts, engage in meaningful dialogue, and connect with professionals and communities beyond the university.

Are there any BU students or alums exhibiting their work or collaborating with Tone in Tongue?

It’s always exciting to collaborate with current students and BU alum in a professional context.

For Tone in Tongue, current graphic design student Jiaxi (Peggy) Pan (CFA’26) and alum Angela Lian (CFA’21) are featured as part of the emerging designers section of the exhibition.

Additional collaborators for the exhibition include Jialun Wang (CFA’23), Assistant Professor of Graphic Design at Otis College of Art and Design, who designed the exhibition at Otis’s Bolsky Gallery, and Weiyun (Winnie) Chen (CFA’20), founder of Midnight Project, who designed the exhibition at the Shanghai Research Institute of Printing Technology.

Tone in Tongue’s “New Tone: Community, Voice, and Identity” section featuring works by emerging artists and designers

Tone in Tongue’s “Common Tone: Risograph as Common Ground” section featuring works by international design studios

What advice would you give your students about building a sustainable career in the arts?

Tools and technologies are constantly evolving, so I encourage students to develop a strong understanding of their unique point of view. Focus on adaptability, experimentation, and innovative thinking. Be curious, stay flexible, and remain open to growth as your practice evolves.

From there, build community. Ask yourself: Who do I want to work with? Who do I want to be in conversation with? Consider what excites you about where and how your work is situated in the world. In my experience, genuine curiosity often becomes a through line in both your work and your practice.

These real-world experiences allow me to mentor students not only in developing their individual design voice, but also in understanding how their work can exist beyond the academic environment. I encourage students to think expansively about design as a cultural tool, one that can engage with questions of identity, language, and belonging.

-Mary Y. Yang, Assistant Professor of Art, Graphic Design

Persistence and openness are key to building a sustainable career. Seek out collaborators who share your interests—those relationships will keep you connected, inspired, and help expand your creative community.

Any fun facts or other information you’d like to share?

Radical Characters emerged from a place of curiosity, exploring how language, culture, and design intersect and inform one another. It’s been incredibly meaningful to see a community form around these ideas and to witness the enthusiasm people bring to learning, sharing, and building knowledge together.




Tone in Tongue’s “Common Tone: Risograph as Common Ground” section featuring works by international design studios

Tone in Tongue’s “New Tone: Community, Voice, and Identity” section featuring works by emerging artists and designers

Connect with Mary!

Mary Y. Yang is an Assistant Professor of Art, Graphic Design at Boston University School of Visual Arts. Yang teaches Senior Graphic Design Thesis Studio, Sophomore Graphic Design Studio, Branding, and Visual Systems. Interested in learning more about BU’s graphic design programs or Yang’s project, Radical Characters? Visit the sites below!

Mary’s Instagram and Portfolio
Radical Characters
Open Rehearsal (design studio founded by Yang)

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CFA faculty, students, and staff, how is your work making an impact in the community? We’d love to know more about your research, your achievements, and your efforts to improve lives and society.

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