Xiaojun Huang

Assistant Professor, Graphic Design

MFA, Cranbrook Academy of Art, 2D Design

BFA, Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts (China), Book Arts with Honors

Xiaojun Huang's personal website

Courses Taught

GDSN 2015 Principles of Graphic Design

GDSN 2020 Typography

GDSN 3010 Information Design

GDSN 3040 Three-Dimensional Graphic Design

GDSN 3060 Graphic Design Theory & Methods

GDSN 4060 Collaborative and Community Engagement

Area of Focus/Research Interests

Xiaojun Huang is a designer exploring contemporary design through visual research and cultural observation. Growing up in Canton, China, a region shaped by imported culture, pop culture, and rapid urbanization, she explores the intersections of Eastern and Western visual languages, focusing on cultural hybridity as a condition of unity, integration, and coexistence.

Within a design practice shaped by critical thinking and experimental exploration, she consciously sets aside pre-existing cultural assumptions and judgments, engaging in observation of everyday scenes and activating sensory experience to understand how visual symbols are generated and transformed across different contexts. 

Huang’s work uses typography as its primary medium, treating words and images as visual materials that can be deconstructed and reshaped. Through processes of deconstruction and reconstruction, she challenges Western-centered and traditionally dominant aesthetic frameworks by re-examining identity and cultural symbols. Her work creates space for multiple perspectives and encourages viewers to engage through intuition and lived experience, rather than a single fixed mode of reading.

As an educator, she emphasizes a process-driven design approach, encouraging students to engage in bold, curiosity-driven inquiry through multi-sensory exploration, material experimentation, and rigorous technical practice. She positions making as a mode of design thinking, guiding students to transform critical questions into socially impactful visual explorations through iteration, reflection, and dialogue that provoke thought and foster broader discussion.

Huang is actively involved in professional design organizations including AIGA, RGD, SOTA, and UCDA, and her work has been recognized by AIGA, Adobe, AAF, GDUSA, and Indigo. Huang has presented at major conferences including the AIGA Design Conference, TypeCon, the RGD Design Educator Conference, and the UCDA Design Educator Summit.

Recent Accomplishments 

DESIGN AWARDS + HONORS

2026 Indigo Design Awards / GDUSA American Digital Design Award / American Advertising Federation (Toledo) Addy Awards

2025 GDUSA American Digital Design Award

2021 National Finalist 1/7, AIGA Design Conference Command X

2018 Bronze Medalist, Poster Competition of Innovation Center for Design Excellence

2017 Judges Choice Award, Adobe Creative Jam

PRESENTATIONS // LECTURES

2026 "How Song-Dynasty Paper Money and Early Movable Type Shaped Currency Design in Eastern and Western Cultures." Traditions of East Asian Typography Conference, Los Angeles, CA

2025 "What If the News Looked Like This? A Student Experiment in Visual Narrative." RGD Design Educators Conference, Toronto, ON, Canada

2024 “Printed Matter or Digital Wallet Matter? Exploring Typeface Dynamics on Currency Design in Eastern and Western Cultures.” TypeCon, Portland, OR

2024 “Design for Good: Gen Z's Multi-Sensory Workshop Takeover.” RGD Design Educators Conference, Vancouver, BC, Canada

2023 “Beyond Laughter: How Internet Memes are Shaping Our Online Community.” AIGA Design Conference, New York City, NY

PRESENTATIONS // POSTER

2026 "Structuring the Unknown into Playful Process: Importance of Experiential Design Education." AIGA Design Educators Conference, Dayton, OH

2026 "Visual Storytelling as Reflective Practice in the Tenure Journey." AIGA Design Educators Conference, Dayton, OH

2025 "Design Meets Wellness and Movement.” UCDA Design Education Summit, Charlotte, NC