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Yueshan Jiang Wins 2026 Big Idea Award

May 1, 2026

A student with a belief in the power of design and a mission to document the diversity of Chinese typography is the winner of the 2026 Big Idea Award.

Yueshan Jiang (BFA ​’26) is a Stamps senior specializing in graphic design, publication design, and brand identity, combining traditional and contemporary elements to tell stories through books, posters, infographics, and visual systems. Growing up in China, Jiang’s interest in design was encouraged by her grandfather, who worked on hand-engraving steel stencils (刻钢板字) for printing. This early exposure to ​“industrial vernacular” typography formed the foundation of her visual sensibility.

Her big idea? To challenge stereotypical notions of Hanzi (logographic Chinese characters) through a research-based graphic design system that highlights the typographic diversity of everyday urban streetscapes.Her goal is to replace ideas based on the red-and-gold and faux-calligraphy of the ​“Chinatown Aesthetic” with a deeper, nuanced understanding.

To that end, Jiang plans to systematically photograph signage, wayfinding, and informal typography across major Chinese urban centers and global Chinatowns, identifying exactly where stereotypes diverge from the living reality of Hanzi. She’ll then develop a new design language, categorizing letterform styles and layout conventions into a clear, shared terminology and visual framework. Finally, Jiang will design a bilingual publication and digital toolset, including a guide that helps designers and the public describe what they see with cultural specificity.

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Yueshan Jiang, Three Mountain Rivers 1, Publication Design for Chinese Travelogue/​Prose
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Yueshan Jiang, Three Mountain Rivers 2
Yueshan Jiang, wearing a printed shirt and orange jacket, stands next to a display of her typographic work.
Yueshan Jiang with her senior Integrative Project thesis exhibition.

About The Big Idea Award

The Stamps School of Art & Design, with generous support from the Stamps Family, friends, and other supporters in the community, proudly offers the Big Idea Award in memory of alumna Penny W. Stamps (1944−2018).

    Penny Stamps, a woman wearing pearls and a dark dress, in conversation at an event
    Penny Stamps celebrates the dedication of the Penny W. Stamps School of Art and Design in 2012.

    In her April 2018 commencement speech, Penny asked,​“What’s your big idea? What are you willing to spend your moral capital, your intellectual capital, your sweat equity in pursuing outside the walls of the University of Michigan? You have your artistic skills, now develop your ideas — your big idea,” she said.​“Imagination has no limits.”

    “You have your artistic skills, now develop your ideas — your big idea. Imagination has no limits.”

    The Big Idea Award aims to motivate students to develop ambitious aspirations that reflect the values of a Stamps education; accelerate progress toward achieving those aspirations; and encourage students to rise to the challenge put forth by Penny W. Stamps. The award provides one Stamps senior or eligible team $25,000 to help launch a major, ambitious project after graduation. A committee of external reviewers nominated by Stamps faculty and representing a wide range of expertise determined the winner. 

    Past Big Idea Award recipients include: