Pentagram partner Natasha Jen, whose graphic design work is noted for crossing the boundaries of media, discipline, and culture, will be a featured speaker at the 2013 SEGD Conference, Above the Fog.
Jen defines her work by context, not medium. Whether she is designing pixelated type for an exhibition on augmented reality, animations for a smartphone or a Times Square skyscraper, or illustrative print graphics for a fashion designer, her work draws on references from a diverse range of cultural, historical, aesthetic, and technological sources.
One of Pentagram's newest partners, and the only intern to ever return as a partner, Jen was born in Taipei and studied graphic design at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Before joining Pentagram, she worked as a senior designer at Base Design, focusing on fashion and brand identity work, and at 2x4 she led large-scale branding, exhibition, environmental, and editorial projects. She also was creative director for Stone Yamashita Partners before establishing her own firm, Njenworks, in 2010.
Named one of Dwell magazine's "Women of Influence" and one of Graphic Design USA's "People to Watch" for 2013, Jen has built a body of work that encompasses brand identities, environmental design, multi-scale exhibitions, signage systems, print, motion, and interactive graphics.
"Jen leads a new generation of designers who are comfortable crossing media, discipline, and technology, and her work often bridges the digital and physical worlds," commented Julie Vogel, Principal of Kate Keating Associates and Co-Chair of the 2013 SEGD Conference with Lonny Israel, Associate Director with Skidmore Owings & Merrill. "We look forward to her perspectives on navigating the warp-speed pace of the media landscape today."