Danyang Ma

Growing up I've always been a girl who preferred drawing about herself rather than talking about. Wondering what it was like to be fully committed to the creative world, I attended both undergrad and grad school majoring in design. Never had a second doubt and never will be.

I'm currently working at &Walsh, an amazing design studio in New York. Their works are always stunning and it's great working experience. Although, the projects that I release are only my personal projects. The studio projects should be credited to the whole team of course.

Helping to build a brand from 0 to 100, or renovating the design for some brands which already have a longer history.

The logo for Public Theater, and the whole series of posters made with the same visual language, designed by Paula Scher.

When I talk to inspiring people, or work with them, or sometimes, just walk on the street.

Visual always comes first to my design, I would also make sure the concept behind a project is inspiring and worth working on.

Any design that can affect a certain group of people (sometimes even negatively) is a successful design.

I'm a visual person so the look and feeling are the first two things to strike me.

Changing its users' behavior from daily essential to a larger, longer-term basis, which can make a huge difference in society and environment.

I personally believe that self-authorship is the future of design, or even every creative industry. We are living under the age when everyone has such easy access to generate small pieces of media with the advantage of technology.

I initially adopted some design idea from Swiss graphic style, and then developed it into my own mixed media over the years of practicing.

It's usually our professional team members to keep our clients in touch. Designers present their design progress to companies 1-2 times a week.

Don't be afraid to talk to people, introduce yourself and your work to the ones that you aspire to work with/for. Also, as a young designer myself, it's always more important for me to learn and absorb at the beginning than to get a big check.

My first job after grad school working at Gretel. People working at are not only talented professionals but also kind friends. The experience there has taught me so much more in three months than all of my schools did in the past few years. I've always felt grateful for having the chance to work there.

Mostly the studio's clients, ranging from well-known worldwide cooperatives, start-ups, and emerging art/design organizations in New York.

Branding and ideation. The thought of making some mind-blowing ideas come true really excites me.

I was interested in user experience design and would love to explore more, as well as AR/VR oriented visual design.

Both. I do commercial works with the team, in support of my personal projects going.

Feel free to reach out to me via my email or social media. I'm happy to share my work with you!

I’m a graphic designer from Beijing and based in New York. My work mainly includes branding, typography, packaging, and social design. I'm currently working as a freelance Designer. My clients range from in-house teams like Pinterest Academy and Adobe Express to design agencies like &Walsh and Gretel. I have attended Pratt Institute and Tongji University for Communications Design.

Painting has been my passion since childhood. In middle school, I started using Photoshop to create art collages and design pieces. This experience helped me gradually develop a personal art style and realize I wanted to become a creative professional.

Most of my designs are branding projects, as well as typography and posters. I am a visual/strategy person in general so branding is a combination of both of my interests. If there is a type of design I wish to explore more, it would be designing for an exhibition. It's exciting to gather around brilliant artist and designers from multi-discipline, demonstrating the same topic through different medium.

It's really helpful to talk to people, especially peer designers, also to learn new design technologies, and observe innovative forms of art.

In my opinion, "good designer" serves people on their touch-points, and makes users enjoy it without even noticing its existence. On top of that, "really good designers" are the ones that make impacts on human behavior in a subtle and versatile way. Any designer that can positively affect a certain group of people is a great designer.

A "good design" always follows the pattern of nature, making the form pure and easy, and the product itself shall be reasonable and intuitive, dedicated to details, aesthetic, and precise. Furthermore, there is a purpose behind all "really good design", with an innovative approach embedded in long-term visions.

I am a thinking-and-feeling combined designer who believes every piece of good design is there for not only aesthetic needs but also for a greater purpose. Design is to help both clients and users find solutions and communicate their messages.

I have carried a bold, playful style throughout school and professional design works. It speaks simplicity and strong emotions at the same time. This visual language helps enrich dialogical communication among designers, clients, and audiences, provoking a double-way conversation. The implicit, flexible, and delightful touch in traditional Chinese ink painting has also influenced my preference in design, along with the philosophy of elevating the art through blankness, the balance of emptiness and completeness, and the sense of breath. I try to carry that idea into my design pieces.

A packaging design project for a coffee pod brand called VOODOO HOUSE. The design is based on the concept of voodoo spells - one of the most mysterious and fascinating African cultural heritage. I tried to adapt different spells to represent coffee blends, from dark to light roast. Packaging illustrations are inspired by African tribal totem art, expressing handcrafts. I especially enjoyed working on illustrations that imply the concept of tribes, symbolic characters, and rituals. I especially enjoyed working on illustrations that imply the concept of tribes, symbolic characters, and rituals. I have conducted plenty of research at museums and voodoo stores, taking photos and studying materials and ingredients used for the voodoo practice.It was my first time utilizing handcrafting and printing techniques in a design. It encourages me to keep practicing and exploring different mediums and design methods.

Design for me is a functioning tool, to advocate undergoing dramatic changes in culture, collective identity, leadership, cooperation, and new business model.

I get most of my motivation by simply talking to people. And once you're surrounded by encouraging and inspirational talents, the situation will push you to pursue a better self.