A designer who sees the language beyond words
Jie Jian is a distinguished graphic designer and type designer whose work studies the relationship between language, visual narration and materiality. His fascination for the physicality of the text – how the forms of letters transmit meaning beyond their literal definitions – has shaped his innovative approach to typography. Rather than treating the type as a simple container for communication, it explores its potential as a structural and expressive environment, blurring the limits between design and fine arts.
His academic journey played a crucial role in the refinement of this perspective. At the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), she studied graphic design while being briefly in glass in glass and subsequent miles in calculation. These interdisciplinary influences have deepened its understanding of the form, structure and digital interactivity, which has been an integral part of its work. Habriting her expertise more, she continued advanced studies in typography via the type @ Cooper program of Cooper Union, where she explored the subtleties of forms of letters and their power of communication.
Jian's professional experience extends over prestigious institutions such as the Walker Art Center and Urban Art Projects (UAP), where she got involved with the design of exhibition, the design of publication and the typography focused on research. His explorations in bookmaking and fiber arts also enriched his practice, allowing him to experiment with the text as a tangible multidimensional entity. Thanks to these various experiences, she continues to push the limits of typographic narration, the development of works which questions the conventional perceptions of language and design.
Jie Jian: The evolution of a typographic visionary
Jian's creative journey began with an intrinsic curiosity on the silent visual power of the text. Long before official training, it was captivated by the way in which the shape of a word could influence its emotional resonance and how its arrangement could change the interpretation. This fascination ultimately became the foundation of her artistic identity, leading her to approach typography as more than a tool – it has become her medium.
While studying in Risd, she explored the tension between readability and abstraction, deconstructing letters to create unexpected visual forms. This investigation has reached a pivotal moment in his senior thesis, magic girls sinks, an experimental project that intertwined typography, library and interactive conception to examine the themes of identity and femininity. The innovative approach to the project has obtained recognition of indigo design actions and the Tokyo type Directors Club, joining its conviction that typography could transcend traditional formats to become a full -fledged narration apparatus.
After graduating, Jian looked for opportunities to further develop these ideas. At the Walker Art Center, she worked on the graphics of the exhibition for friends, a project that forced her to design a typographic system reflecting personal ties between artists and collectors. This experience has deepened its interest in the functioning of typography in physical spaces, inspiring it to consider its potential to promote intimacy and dialogue. Thanks to this work, she continued to refine her ability to merge conceptal narration with a space design, ensuring that typography was not only seen but also felt.
Materiality, memory and transformation of the text
Jian's artistic practice is deeply rooted in language physics, exploring how the text can extend beyond the surfaces printed in material and sculptural forms. His work frequently integrates fiber arts, weaving and superposition techniques to study how words can be sculpted, sewn or deconstructed. This tactile approach allows it to reinvent typography not as static symbols on a page but as evolution structures shaped by their environment.
The themes of linguistic memory, absence and transformation take place throughout his work. It is particularly attracted by the way in which language changes over time – how much the words disappear, resurface or move in the direction. This interest has led him to experiment with generative text systems, using algorithms to fragment and enjoy words in new poetic forms. By juxtaposing traditional crafts with digital innovation, it explores how technology can reinterpret and recontextualize historical and cultural stories.
The approach of Jian's conception extends in her workspace, where she maintains a balance between precision and experimentation. It often rocks between digital tools and practical materials, based on historical type specimens, artists' books and poetry collections for inspiration. To maintain attention, it engages in what it describes as a “textual meditation”, a practice which consists in analyzing the forms of letters, reading aloud or physically manipulating the text. When distractions occur, she turns to alternative creative outlets – be it weaving, coding or cooking – to reset her point of view before returning to work with renewed clarity.
Jie Jian: the power of absence in typography
Jian's artistic influences cover several disciplines, from conceptual art to concrete poetry. Among them, she finds inspiration in the work of Seiichi Niikuni, a Japanese poet who explored the spatial and rhythmic potential of typography. Its ability to distill language in its purest visual essence has considerably shaped its approach, strengthening its belief that the text can communicate the meaning even when it is stripped of conventional syntax.
A piece that has deeply affected its point of view is the arc of the total eclipse of Sarah Charlesworth, a work which presents 29 first pages of newspapers documenting the solar eclipse of February 26, 1979. In this series, Charlesworth deletes all the text with the exception of Masthes and Eclipse photographs, transforming the cover of news into a purely visual story. The result is a meditation on the construction of the media, emphasizing how the information is shaped by the editorial choices and what is included or omitted.
Jian considers this work as a crucial commentary on the transparency of the media and the influence of visual culture. He underlines how absence can be as powerful as presence – how erasure can cause a more in -depth commitment with what remains. This idea continues to resonate in today's digital landscape, where information is organized and manipulated to supervise specific stories. Charlesworth's approach aligns with Jian's own explorations in typography, strengthening his conviction that language does not only concern what is written, but also on what remains.
