Jo Zixuan is a Brooklyn-based graphic designer with a background in illustration and teaching
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Jo Zixuan (周子璇) is a Chinese-American graphic designer and illustrator, currently based in New York City. Having graduated from SVA with a BFA in illustration and RISD with an MFA in Graphic Design, Jo specializes in visual storytelling, bi-scriptual typography, and expressive systems. Her concept- and research-driven process takes form in visual identities, books, spaces, and websites. She maintains a teaching practice through mentorship program and Illustration Roundtable, with experience in both K-12 teaching and collegiate teaching.

CLIENTS:
The New Yorker/The New York Times/ The NYTimes Magazine/ The Washington Post/The Wall Street Journal/ Bloomberg Businessweek/ NPR/ Columbia Global Report/ Medium/ NBC/ PLANSPONSOR/ NYT for KIDS China/ The Atlantic/ Narratively/ Toggl/ Intel/FCB Inferno/ Dotdash/ The Balance/ Thought Co./ Lifewire// TripSavvy/ The Spruce/ 三联《少年》 / 新世相

FEATURES:
It's Nice That/ Groundooh Art/ Hiiibrand

AWARDS:
2022 - Society of Illustrators 65 Annual
2021 - Communication Arts 63 Winner
2020 - Hiiibrand Jury Award
2020 - American Illustration 39 Winner
2020 - Society of Illustrators Annual
2019 - Society of Illustrators Student Scholarship Competition Finalist
2019 - 3 x 3 International Illustration Award Merit Winner
2019 - The Batsford Prize International Category Shortlisted
2018 - Speedball New Impressions winner, Intaglio/Etching Second Place

EXHIBITIONS:
2023 - eMotion, Ely Center of Contemporary Art, New Haven
2023 - Sino-German Illustration Exhibition, HISMOON gallery, Suzhou
2021 - NO SAMPLE Risograph Exhibition, Fujian
2021 - NO SAMPLE Risograph Exhibition, Xi'an
2019 - Society of Illustrators Student Scholarship, New York
2019 - Speedball National Printmaking Showcase, Davis Gallery, Sawtooth, NC
2018 - The Haves and Have-Nots, SVA Chelsea Gallery, New York 2018 - Constellations, SVA Chelsea Gallery, New York
2018 - HOPE Competition, SVA Westside Project Space, New York
Night at the Races
Branding for the 2024 British Ball, inspired by jockey silks and racecourse hats
Geometry of Uncertainty
An identity for RISD's design and science symposium on visual mathematics
Situational 情境中
A graphic design MFA thesis exploring design as a tool to analyze and construct situations
Jo's Sign Service
A graphic design MFA thesis exploring design as a tool to analyze and construct situations
Beijing Central Axis
A visual identity for Beijing's UNESCO-listed Central Axis, rooted in traditional urban planning
Juice God Plum Soda
Packaging for a modern plum soda inspired by the Chinese god of luck
The Bible-Leaved Sperm Whale
A design practice rooted in intuition, self-care, and the slow labor of craft
Entangled Life
An experimental book exploring fungal growth as a visual analogy for nested narratives
Seriously, Not So Serious
A design practice rooted in intuition, self-care, and the slow labor of craft
Craigslist UI Refresh
A modern refresh of Craigslist's UI that keeps its programmer-era charm
Two Designer Timeline
A comparative timeline connecting the life and work of two graphic designers
Illegible Pattern
A random pattern generator treating typesetting as pure form
Did Someone Say Originality?
An artist book of essays examining five difinitions of the word originality
Sifone Typeface
A high-contrast bilingual display typeface inspired by a 1994 newspaper clipping
Full Moon is for Reunions
A circular book recreating the moon's cycle through the turn of its pages
Pride & Prejudice Cover
A typographic swist on the beloved classic
Poop Matters: A Toilet Reader
A questionnaire zine encouraging open conversation about poop
Atlas
A collaborative publication mapping migration through the motif of air travel
Illustration Roundtable
Branding for a monthly webinar series featuring Chinese illustrators
Multilingual Letterings
Celebratory lettering exploring coherent style across English, Chinese, and Japanese
What Brought Us to This
A visual log documenting the 2022 Shanghai lockdown