Spencer Yujia Yan

Graphic Designer, Illustrator


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Spencer Yujia Yan is a multi-disciplinary graphic designer specializing in typography, Illustration, branding, video and print. My design approach is intended to combine craft and technology to produce an organic and interesting visual presentation.



Spencer Yujia Yan is a skilled graphic designer, video editor, and illustrator with a strong foundation in painting and pencil drawing. Her work is inspired by her intuition, and she brings a unique perspective to each project she undertakes. Spencer holds a dual BFA degree in Graphic Design from the Communication University of China and New York Institute of Technology.  And a MFA degree in Graphic Design from Boston University. Spencer enjoys hands-on practice and crafting, and she brings this approach to her design work.





Spencer Yujia Yan is a multi-disciplinary graphic designer specializing in typography, Illustration, branding, video and print. My design approach is intended to combine craft
and technology to produce an organic and interesting
visual presentation.

Radical Return exhibition/ 2021
        
1 This design is inspired by one of my previous projects, a typeface set called CAMBER, inspired by Chinese calligraphy. The sharp point represents some of the brushwork of the calligraphy. I always try to find inspiration from crafts and artworks in Chinese culture like ancient murals, mythology, and of course, calligraphy, so I feel like these crafts and works are the paths that I seek to retrace and incorporate in my design work.


2 "This piece is a redesign of two glyphs that I made before, which is a personal interpretation of the beasts in one of the Chinese mythology called Classic of Mountains and Seas (山海经) in relation to my design interests and methodologies. The original glyphs each represents Shénnóng (神农) and Lílì (狸力). Shénnóng, variously translated as "Divine Farmer," is a famous character in ancient Chinese mythology. Said in Huainanzi(《淮南子》), Shénnóng have tasted hundreds of herbs to test their medical value, and the most well-known work attributed to Shénnóng is The Divine Farmer's Herb-Root Classic. I appreciate his spirit of experimentation, and I personally learned a lot from his devotion to his work. Lílì is guessed to be good at plowing the ground because where it is seen, the ground is much undulating, and for me, it represents my wish to be a ground-breaking thinker and creator.

Here I combined both of them with a meaning of being hands-on, daring to try new things, and being a ground-breaking thinker, which is just what I need to remind myself of during my thesis year.
Mark