Language Dept. creates visual languages — across platforms — from the real world to the digital. You see that when you walk into the office. Copper and paper and wood live on oversized desks next to monitors and digital devices. A 20 foot pinup wall shifts daily with ideas in the making. Language Dept. is a place of discussion & dialogue, in pursuit of discovery. Where designers of different backgrounds collaborate with brands to craft tangible stories.
Founding Principal Tanya was drawn to the open-minded spirit of NYC from her youth in North Carolina. A stop over in Chicago jumpstarted her path to become a business owner as a young designer, working with leaders of consumer brands and cultural institutions at critical stages of growth. 20 years and two companies later, this perspective of designer + business owner has made thinking macro and micro a habit. She values sustainability of resources and ideas, nimbleness, and immersion into her client's worlds to make something real. CONTACT
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Creative Principal For Jenn, design is rooted in education. Once a literacy specialist and high school English teacher in Boston public schools, she learned early on that compelling narrative and scaffolding information lead to a receptive audience. As a designer and educator, she has an ability to distill the heart of the conversation and lead both the client and the audience into the story. From a rural town in NJ, Jenn worked her way up the urban ladder from Providence, to Boston, to New York and there’s no going back. She earned an MFA in Graphic Design from RISD and a BA in Comparative Literature and English Education from Brown University. Currently Jenn is also an adjunct professor at Fordam University teaching packaging and information design. CONTACT
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Director of Operations Urcella's mission is to keep the office running smoothly, while doing any number of odd jobs for Language Dept., such as making cocktails, sourcing out-of-season flowers or other elusive props, and hand modeling. When necessary, she operates power tools & negotiates leases, though not simultaneously. She has 11 years experience in creative administrative jobs in New York and Los Angeles, and a BA in Art History from NYU. Recently, Urcella completed course work in improvisational comedy at UCB Theater, which means she can keep good humor while making sure bills are being paid. She considers her Language Dept. gig to be a one woman tour-de-force show she performs 5 days a week. CONTACT
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Designer Lizania grew up along the southeast coast of the Dominican Republic. There she ate the fresh coconut fish that her grandma made every Sunday and discovered design at Altos de Chavón Design School. On her way to NYC, she worked in-house at Anthropologie, where her packaging designs were recognized by the AIGA, Print and Communication Arts, and she helped launch the designer brand Leifsdottir. At Language Dept, she is involved in all design projects. A love for the process of shaping ideas and the surprises sparked along the way keeps her immersed in art, design and all things experiential, including last summer's ISIA Urbino / Werkplaats Typografie. Lizania is not only fluent in Spanish and English, but also in the languages of style and the handmade. CONTACT
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