Draft:Dana Tanamachi

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Dana Tanamachi (born 1985) is an American graphic designer, lettering artist, illustrator, and muralist. She gained national attention in the early 2010s for her large-scale hand-drawn chalk lettering murals, which were the subject of profiles in The Wall Street Journal, TIME, and O, The Oprah Magazine. Her work spans editorial illustration, book design, murals, branding, and packaging, including commissioned projects for major cultural and commercial institutions such as the United States Postal Service and the Library of Congress.

Early life & Education

Tanamachi was born in Thousand Oaks, California, and raised in Kingwood, Texas. She graduated from Kingwood High School in 2003 and later attended the University of North Texas, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communication Design in 2007.

Career

After moving to New York City in 2008, Tanamachi completed an internship at Good Housekeeping magazine and subsequently worked in advertising at the agency SpotCo designing key art for Broadway productions. In 2010, she joined the design studio Louise Fili Ltd., where she worked under designer Louise Fili.

Tanamachi began creating large-scale chalk lettering murals in her spare time, initially producing work for personal gatherings and events before receiving professional commissions. Her murals attracted broader attention through editorial coverage, including a 2012 profile in The Wall Street Journal, which highlighted her approach to hand-drawn lettering and its growing visibility in contemporary design.

In 2012, her lettering appeared on the cover of O, The Oprah Magazine, followed later that year by the cover of TIME magazine. Coverage of her work during this period appeared in publications including Juxtapoz, which noted her transition from chalk lettering to other materials and formats.

From the mid-2010s onward, Tanamachi expanded her practice beyond chalk to include painted murals, illustration, books and packaging design. In 2017, she created the art for the ESV Illuminated Bible: Art Journaling Edition, a contemporary interpretation of illuminated manuscripts featuring over 500 metallic ink illustrations throughout the volume.

In 2020, the United States Postal Service released a “Thank You” Forever postage stamp designed by Tanamachi. The stamp and its development were covered by outlets including Texas Monthly and the Houston Chronicle, which discussed her career trajectory and artistic influences.

That same year, she provided the cover art and interior bookplate-style illustrations for Ex Libris: 100+ Books to Read and Reread by literary critic Michiko Kakutani, former chief book critic of The New York Times.

In 2021, Tanamachi was commissioned to design the official poster for the National Book Festival at the Library of Congress. The following year, she completed a multi-story painted mural installation at the Starbucks Reserve Empire State Building store in New York City, depicting the contributions of women in coffee.

Personal

Tanamachi has discussed her Japanese-American heritage and her family’s incarceration during World War II in published interviews. Her paternal grandparents were incarcerated at the Poston War Relocation Center in Arizona. These experiences have informed themes in her public talks and written reflections on creativity, fortitude, and cultural memory.

Selected Works & Commissions

• O, The Oprah Magazine cover (2012)
• TIME magazine cover (2012)
• ESV Illuminated Bible: Art Journaling Edition (2017)
• “Thank You” Forever postage stamp, United States Postal Service (2020)
• National Book Festival poster, Library of Congress (2021)
• Starbucks Reserve Empire State Building mural (2022)