Wota Flea

Thy Shoeworld Business Card

2009-07-07T20:57:00.000-07:00

Experimen

2009-01-06T12:53:00.001-08:00

Chinese Xmas Gift Wrap

2008-08-31T15:58:00.000-07:00

This is the gift wrap design for Global Gift Wrap company on the theme of Chinese Xmas. The challenge is to use traditional Chinese elements to express Xmas, but Chinese people hardly celebrate Xmas. I come up with the idea using deer. In western culture, a deer is a symbol for Xmas. In Chinese culture, a deer is an animal blessing success and wealth.

SFU Alumni Business Card

2008-08-03T12:48:00.000-07:00

Although the SFU Alumni business card design is not directly appointed by SFU, the design is strictly according to the SFU Graphic Standard. The sky image represents "fly high and wide" and "all over the world".

Strada Trading

2008-05-23T23:12:00.000-07:00

Oops Chocolate

2008-05-21T22:31:00.000-07:00

Oops! It is "charcoal-late". Nowadays the chocolate packages share similar characteristics: they are smooth, curvy, and swirly. Oops Chocolate wants to have a unique personality. Here is the solution: bold, simple, and funny. Customers can easily recognize its package among the sea of look-the-same chocolate brands.

Aura - The Spirit of Tea

2008-05-21T15:19:00.001-07:00

Qi Spirits is dedicated to making the finest tea spirits in the world. However, with the previous branding solution which targets at older population, Qi Spirits has some difficulty to approach younger customers. Thus, a sub-brand Aura is created. The name is the direct English translation of "Qi". Clean, sharp, and fresh is the visual theme of Aura. The purpose is to blend into the alcohol market that appeals to younger people, while stand out with its special tea flavour. Soon after the brand is launched, a small research indicates that the flavour of Aura does surprise some customers! They remember the name.

Highway Zero Vineyards

2008-05-20T15:42:00.000-07:00

After Steve A. Malcolm, BC vineyard owner, witnessed his nephew being killed by a drunk driver, he desided to produce non-alcoholic wine which still maintains exactly the same flavour as regular wine and makes people high without losing any consciousness.
Thus, the brand name Highway Zero can best desribe Steve's wine: a way to get high, containing zero alcohol, and people can drive safely after drinking.
The logo is an appropriation of the Trans Canada Highway sign. A grape leaf replaces the maple leaf. This will become the symbol of safe driving after drinking. With the branding, Steve enjoys a fast growing business and success. Most importantly, he contricutes to reduce the accidents due to alcohol.

Gred Stock Photo CD Package

2008-05-11T23:37:00.000-07:00

Vanlife

2008-05-08T13:21:00.000-07:00

Sus Sports

2008-05-08T01:57:00.000-07:00

Chart Design

2008-05-07T11:06:00.000-07:00

Click image to see the details. Chart design is one of the most effective practice that can demonstrate a typesetter's skill. It might look simple, but it requires a pair of careful eyes and understanding of legibility and clarity. Aesthestics is one important concern too.

Never Give Up

2008-05-07T03:53:00.000-07:00

Never give up. There are a lot of hardship in life. Just believe, everything will become good as long as you never give up your hope. In my situation, I will never give up finding a job. I can, I do, I am the best.

Logo Design for ACE of SFU

2008-05-07T02:54:00.001-07:00

Founded in 1987, Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship (ACE) is a national, not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to teaching and igniting young Canadians to create brighter futures for themselves and their communities. Working in partnership with business and higher education ACE delivers two programs on 49 university and college campuses across Canada; a team based program and an individual based program - Students In Free Enterprise and Student Entrepreneur. ACE teams advance Canadian entrepreneurship by making an impact through the educational outreach projects and entrepreneurial initiatives that they develop and execute throughout the year.

The Great Crash Cover Remake

2008-05-06T12:52:00.000-07:00

This redesign is almost identical with the original book cover. However, I change and background image and the typeface (now it is Helvetica). Overall it feels a little more serious than the original one.

Eminu Casual

2008-05-04T13:51:00.001-07:00

Romon Suits

2008-05-04T08:25:00.000-07:00

Founded in 1984, Romon Group Co., Ltd. is a modern large-scaled apparel enterprise in Ningbo, China. It mainly design, manufacture and sell medium and top grade business suits. It needs a stronger identity.

Principles

2008-05-04T04:59:00.001-07:00

Yishion Casual

2008-05-02T18:45:00.000-07:00

I did have a look at Yishion's clothes and some of them were really nice. Unfortunately, it has a horrible identity system which, I think, stops the brand going further. Here is my design for Yishion's identity and tags.

Lining Sport

2008-05-02T03:02:00.000-07:00

Li Ning Company Limited is one of the leading sports brand enterprises in the PRC. It has its own branding, research and development, design, manufacturing, distribution and retail capabilities. The Group's products include sports footwear, apparel and accessories for sport and leisure use which are primarily sold under its own LI-NING brand. The Group has established an extensive distribution and retail network in the PRC, under which distributors manage the franchised LI-NING retail outlets in congruence with the Group's marketing direction. The Group also directly manages its own LI-NING retail outlets and concessions. In addition, the Group has established a joint venture with AIGLE under which the joint venture has been given the exclusive right by AIGLE to manufacture, market, distribute and sell for 50 years in the PRC, outdoor sports products which bear the AIGLE trademarks registered and owned by AIGLE. In April 2007, the Group officially launched a new brand called Z-DO. Z-DO's products include sports footwear, apparel and accessories, and primarily targets the hypermarkets as its sales channel.

However, its logo is too "Chinese" and too similar with Nike. I give it a new look which stands out as itself.

Elroy Apparel

2008-05-01T22:20:00.001-07:00

Elroy Apparel is much more than just another clothing line. The company was developed as a stand against impending environmental destruction. By providing socially responsible, health conscious women with fashion forward, eco-friendly clothing we have created an alternative. A beautiful garment with an even more beautiful story behind it.

Everyone should feel good about the clothes on their back. By wearing Elroy Apparel, you will feel good knowing that you are taking steps towards a healthier, more sustainable life. Save the air. Save the drinking water. Save your health. Save the planet.

Clothes Label - Hinite Whitein Exitfree

2008-05-01T17:56:00.001-07:00

Hinite is a modified word from "highlight". It means strong contrast and super saturate colours, which is one of the most common style of this spring (observed from the mall). The bright logo and the fairly dark purple background create a strong contrast. The "nite" and the exclamation mark part is die-cut, forming a see-through to another piece of colourful label. This design emphasizes in liveliness and playfulness with a lot of potential energy.

Whitein is a word modified from "whiteout". Of course, a new design does not want to be "out", so I change it to "in". Hopefully you get what I mean. Whitein denotes pure and soft, as I obverse another common style which is clean and simple. It is white and plain, but it is not old, conservative, or boring. It is white and plain, but it targets at young people with an active state of mind.

Exitfree is a word inspired by "acid free". As you notice, all three words from the labels are related to stationery because I want the names to be more friendly and familiar to young people. Exitfree means to exit the limited life circle and open oneself's mind. I am surprised to see that a lot of clothes now have many attachments. The shape of the label is inspired by the exit sign arrow. The arrows inside the label are die-cut, seeing through to a blue gel and another label of an image. This design emphasizes in exaggeration and carefree.

CHQ

2008-05-01T11:48:00.000-07:00

The graphic of arcade games is different from 10-15 years ago which we recall that as the "90's Future Style". Nowadays, all arcade graphic tend to look cleaner and sharper with fairly a lot of white space. If CHQ would like to have a new identity, I would come up with this. The clean and simple look which matches with the mainstream arcade graphic style (like Namco and Capcom) will please more people.

Tiny Tots

2008-04-29T23:36:00.001-07:00

Tiny Tots is a coupon book which features in children-related discount products such as toys, games, and clothes. The original logo is fine, but just nothing special, and kind of ugly with the typesetting with a baby face inside the "o". The typeface seems to be Century Gothic which is elegant but also too geometric, lacking of friendliness. In addition, the logo does not have any cohesion as if falling apart on its own. The worst is that it does not impress me (maybe does impress others). I decide that its identity should be redesigned.

First of all, I consider about its target market. Yes, the products are about children, but the buyers are their parents. A good balance between childish fun and mature professional styles. I do not worry about the childish fun part because it has to be done to match the theme of the coupon book. What I concern is, how much amount of mature professional style I can add to the logo. What I know is grown-ups tend to more trust corporate style for mass production products. It is simply and clean, so-called minimalism.

As for typeface, I choose a soft smooth friendly "creamy" one just like milk, the lowercase italic Cronos Pro, but which also has an incredible feel of corporate style. I tighten the type so that it has strong cohesion, in contrast with the original logo.

I make the logo look like a stamp, just like a stamp saying "discount" loudly. To me, stamp and coupon match very well. The oval is corresponding to the roundness of the type. I let "coupon book" sit on the outside of the oval because I do not want it to interfere the main name "Tiny Tots".

The new logo impresses people by its shape instead of colours. As I know the coupon book issues and expires on different dates of the year. Using different colours for different seasons, monthes, or themes has more fun, more impressing people.

Wow, I keep talking about impressing people for this indentity design. Branding is like giving a personality, exactly like a real person: happy, sad, honest, evil, fake, cocky, ignorant, high-hearted. People do not see the process behind an identity; they judge by impression and feeling which is intuitive. I think a good designer should try his best to make an identity give the best impression instead of doing too much rational consideration.

This is my make-up identity design for Tiny Tots.

Bubble World

2008-04-29T20:01:00.000-07:00

Bubble World Tea House which is also known as "Big Head Kid" to Chinese people is one of the most popular bubble tea shops in Vancouver. For the past few years, it has been rapidly expanding to different main areas such as Metrotown, Joyce Station, Robson Street, and Kerrisdale. Unfortunately, in my own opinion, it has an super outdated logo which reminds me of the stiff graphic in old textbook for children. I do think it needs a new identity, despite it already has too many fans and customers, for its own aesthetic sake.

The new logo remains the "Big Head Kid" idea (the original logo is a boy with a huge head drinking bubble tea). However, the boy transforms into a black pearl which is the most popular ingredient in bubble tea. It is now a "big head", but it is also a pearl, neatly combining the two concepts together. I make a little shadow for the pearl as if it is bouncing up, which is more lively. Even though not mentioning "tea house", people will know Bubble World is about bubble tea since bubble tea is strongly product-dependant and Bubble World has been well known. I only remain "Bubble World" as the type. I do not thinking keeping the Chinese type is a good idea since Bubble World should expand its potential to English customers who likely feel more confident with a full English logo type. The casual hand drawn type matches with the lively pearl pretty well. Since the target audience is the younger generation, I add two bright and vivid colours, magenta and yellow. In addition, it is a cute logo which especially draws attention from young people.

This is my make-up logo design for Bubble World.

Emily Carr University Identity (Image)

2008-04-29T17:06:00.000-07:00

Emily Carr University Identity (Idea)

2008-04-29T02:07:00.001-07:00

What a great news! Emily Carr Institute has been upgraded to a full university, named Emily Carr University. For this change, a new identity is needed. As a student in ECU, I have the advantage of knowing well about different aspects of the school. Here I try to make-up a new identity for ECU.

To stand out from other universities like UBC and SFU, the ECU logo should feel and look very distinct. What I notice is university logos tend to use acronym, so, easily, ECU just should not have its acronym "ECU" in the logo. In addition, the current logo shows the full name "Emily Carr Institute" and it is a quite successful identity; I would like to keep it the same way.

ECU is internationally well-known. Its logo should look "international". As for typeface choice, I choose the most timeless and international font, which ECU design students including me are fond of using in many places, and which has a movie, guess which one? Helvetica! Although it does not look outstandingly fashionable currently, it will likely never be outdated. I try to put the letters as close as possible to create a sense of solidity, for ECU is a close community of art and design where people share ideas.

Now the logo looks professional and corporate enough. Nevertheless, ECU is a creative school and its logo should be creative even if not necessarily in a visual way. Thus, I come up with the idea of "i". I modify the "i" into colour stick. "I" represents an individual and his or her mind. "I" is a point of view. "I" is a spirit and principle of the school anf students. "I" can be understood in many ways. It is not a defined concept, but it allows you to think.

I gave the three "i" three different colours which represent the three most important spirits of the school and students. Green is environmental. Purple is creative. Yellow is unique. I also create three taglines for better branding effect: "I am Environmental." "I am Creative." "I am Unique." Notice, together the initials of the three adjectives form "ECU" which is the same acronym for Emily Carr University, and this is intended. Thus, "III are ECU." Make sense now!

For better visual and memorizing effect, I add some graphics. The shape of the graphics reminds me of the school buildings which are angular and rigid. Maybe adding some round corners will make it more friendly.

This is my creation of the new ECU identity.

Emily Carr University

2008-04-28T21:40:00.001-07:00

Rainy Day Fragrance

2008-04-28T20:21:00.001-07:00

A friend gave a topic to me, "A perfume that can make one feel happy even in rainy or cloudy days." I found the painting Paris Street Rainy Day by Gustave Caillebotte. The original colour mood of the painting is quite down. I modified it with a cast of different vivid "happy" colours. The couple are looking at perfume bottle, creating a tension between the painting and the graphics. The format of the ad is perfectly good for magazine as the light pole marks the middle line.

Skylark High Living

2008-04-28T01:38:00.000-07:00

Does it look scary to you? The girl is supposed to look up like "Wow! So high!" However, it ended up like she is kind of dead, which is totally unexpected. Oh well, that is the only photo I have. This is a make-up ad for real estate which features this Skylark condo. It looks like a movie poster. Real estate advertisement should stand out more.

Drive Less

2008-04-27T23:10:00.001-07:00

I am so "green" recently, perhaps because of the "green" information around me and being taught by a "green" instructor for a whole semester. "Drive Less" was actually a topic assigned in a course, Art Direction. Students had to do it with photography which is another field of study and which most of us were not so familiar with. If I do not have to use photography, I will design a poster like this. Does it make sense to you?

Global Warming Cafe

2008-04-27T22:22:00.001-07:00

Your talk can save the earth. Yesterday during the green exhibition in Jericho Beach, I met a few people who were spreading the news about Global Warming Cafe (you can look it up online). I remember seeing a World War II poster saying, "Your talk may kill your comrades." Global Warming Cafe is exactly about talking, so I modified the sentence and visualize it into a design.

High-speed Your Wage

2008-04-27T17:14:00.000-07:00

High-speed you wage to 90 dollars per hour. It is a make-up advertisement for Harrison Career Training. Wow! 90 dollars per hour! What a dream wage! Of course, there are many people who make even much more than that. There are still many people out there who do not know to respect graphic design. They are more willing to pay, for example, 50 dollars per hour for an interior designer than a graphic designer. Wrong! Good graphic design can absolutely make a business more successful.

Sharp and Clean - Surgeon Green

2008-04-25T13:00:00.001-07:00

Sharp and clean! Carlos K. Green, professional surgeon for 20 years. Will there be a surgeon who would actually want his advertisement like this? Nothing offensive. Just for fun.

Film Advertisement

2008-04-25T09:34:00.001-07:00

Does it look like a film roll or a battery? Film photos are troublesome most of time, for me; however, they are much clearer if shooting, developing, and printing properly. There is one roll of finished film that I have not developed it, and it is more than one-year-old. Will it be expired?

Worksafe

2008-04-25T01:46:00.000-07:00

I do have seen people playing with something dangerous that they describe as "being cool". It sounds stupid to me, not even naive. Especially at work, one should never take a risk with dangerous objects. By the way, the statistics is made up, as well as that Worksafe organization.

Never Underestimate

2008-04-25T00:24:00.000-07:00

Yes! Never underestimate something might look like garbage but having potential value, just like, never underestimate a designer and his wage. My dear designers! Are you agree? Sometimes you are just willing to work for someone because he or she is a nice person instead, ignoring the "modest" pay. I sometimes dream of digging out a strange piece from the closet which is actually worth a lot in auction, similar to finding a weird job which leads me to a great and "prosperous" designer.

Office Cruise

2008-04-24T17:49:00.000-07:00

It is just a random idea suddenly poping out in my mind after the interview. The cursor represents the boat which is potentially going toward the "Dream Island" icon. Not only this one, but for every design, the more I look at it and consider, the worse the design becomes in my eyes. I would call it a "stuck". That is when a pair of eyes from another person is needed; even my mother sometimes can give great suggestion.

BusinessS+

2008-04-23T23:53:00.000-07:00

Business is all about coffee. Business people all have coffee. The coffee black matches with their briefcases and suits. One of my instructors always says, "Oh, let us take a coffee break." What a business-designer! Can it be a "tea break" instead? I accept coffee, but I avoid drinking it because I am slightly allergic to it.

Brasília Spread

2008-04-23T04:24:00.000-07:00

A spread introducing Brasília. I would say I am fond of using fairly traditional typesetting style which applies spaced small cap and text numerals. Traditional style does not mean it looks old, but it emphasizes detail, hierarchy, and relationship. Some people do not see the beauty of typesetting. I think a typesetting with delicate details is the elite of graphic design which I enjoy doing very much.

Mouthwash Ad

2008-04-23T01:21:00.001-07:00

Mouthwash for dry, sticky, and stinky mouth. The idea is not so innovative, but "weird" enough to grab attention and clear enough to show the product.

Polaroid Memories

2008-04-22T17:50:00.000-07:00

When I was young, I want a Polaroid Camera so badly, but that never happened. Unfortunately, "Due to marketplace conditions, Polaroid has discontinued almost all of its instant analog hardware products" and "Polaroid has also made the difficult decision to cease manufacturing of instant film products in 2008" as what they say in the website.

Our Lovely Neighbourhood

2008-04-19T14:10:00.000-07:00

Our Lovely Neighbourhood is a community program that encourages residents to plant the same flowers as an identity of the neighbourhood. Seed packages will be given away for free, targeting children, and then let children motivate their parents.

MacDonald Realty Business Card

2008-04-19T12:46:00.001-07:00

The look and feel of all the clients from MacDonald Realty are similar. Eric David is my favorite MacDonald Realty client because he always provided clear images.

Forte Fitness and Nutrition Business Card

2008-04-19T12:19:00.000-07:00

One of the identities that I design for real clients. The company is about healthy eating, so I chose yellow and orange, the pumpkin and carrot colours, healthy colours. The logo is a swashy "stick man"; although kind of cliche, the client likes it. In all the logos of different ideas, she picked this one, the one I liked the least. My favorite one was a man reaching an apple in a tree.

Fraser27 Label

2008-04-19T02:08:00.000-07:00

This is a mockup label design only. Fraser27 is not a real brand.

Mother's Day Card for My Mother

2008-04-18T22:22:00.000-07:00

On the 2006 Mother's Day, I made a card for my mother. That is actually my first time to design a tangible card in computer. I just simply express the idea of mother and son by a big pink ball embracing a smaller blue ball. In a Chinese poetic way, it says (translates), "Thousands of words can not summarize mother's love. One card can represent son's heartfelt wish."

Big Bang Theory Booklet Spreads

2008-04-18T22:06:00.001-07:00

Big Bang Theory Booklet Cover

2008-04-18T21:59:00.001-07:00

The concept of this booklet is doodling on a formal textbook expressing an understanding of the Big Bang Theory in a young student's viewpoint. Even the Wikipedia version of Big Bang Theory is too hard for me to understand. "The real Big Bang happens in my head." That is what I summarize of the content. I would say this is the most creative design. When I see my classmates are all working on boxy layouts, I want to make something different.

Flowers of Vancouver Website Interface

2008-04-18T21:48:00.001-07:00

Unfortunately the actually website is much simplified. I designed the interface and the client liked it; then the web department worked on the actually website, but it ended up unlike my interface. Strangely the client still accepted it.

Morning Typeface Specimen Website

2008-04-18T21:43:00.001-07:00

I designed a bitmap typeface named Morning. It includes serif, sans serif, bold, text numeral, and even small cap. This is a specimen website for that typeface. Try it. http://www.eciad.ca/~yufeng/morning.html

Flowers by Kelly Invoice

2008-04-18T21:36:00.001-07:00

Invoice is a kind of graphic design too. It does not require much creativity, but it depends on clearity. How to make an invoice that the users can quickly fill in informal and also quickly find it? That is the first goal.

Toyota Year of the Boar Celebration at International Village

2008-04-18T21:31:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite designs. You might have seen the actual banners and posters at International Village during Chinese New Year in 2007.

Marijiuana Poster

2008-04-18T21:28:00.001-07:00

Marijiuana poster designed for a high school friend. This is originally a research project. My friend found all the text-heavy information, and I transformed it to a typographic piece. It ends up looking too serious for high school students. Since the size of the poster can not be changed, I do not have much space for images.

Vancouver Aquarium Brochure Spread

2008-04-18T21:22:00.001-07:00

Vancouver Aquarium Brochure Cover

2008-04-18T21:20:00.000-07:00

This is a mockup brochure for Vancouver Aquarium. I use the rough cut-out style to give a little childishness. It took me so much time to make those cut-out images, even in computer. The logo is redesigned as well. It is an abstract form of "Vanaqua", which intends for a future style. Intentionally, I added some "awkwardness" to the design. Now it seems awkward, but in the future will it become commonly acceptable?

Plastic Bag Addiction Bus Ad

2008-04-18T21:06:00.000-07:00

PSA against plastic bags. The concept is to make fun of people who are still using plastic bags as if they are addicted to them. The expected reaction of the audience is, "What the hell? Plastic bag addiction? Is there really an organization helping those people?" Bewildering people makes them more curious; thus, they look up the website which gives more information about environmental issues.

A Random Magazine Spread

2008-04-18T20:51:00.000-07:00

This magazine spread is so random, and too "creative".

Jenga The Great Crash Package

2008-04-18T20:33:00.000-07:00

Jenga in the theme of The Great Crash. The Great Crash 1929 is one of John K. Galbraith's books. The players indirectly absorb knowledge or sense of economy by playing this game.

John K. Galbraith Book Catalogue Colour Wheel

2008-04-18T20:12:00.000-07:00

Combining the idea of book catalogue and colour wheel to create an interesting catalogue interface.

Economics Learning Card for Children

2008-04-18T20:06:00.001-07:00

This series of economics learning card is based on a famous economist, John K. Galbraith. The target audience are elementary students. The fun cartoon style encourages them to have an early access to economy knowledge.

Fuel Cell Poster

2008-04-18T19:58:00.000-07:00

This is a poster introducing fuel cell, an alternative energy. The whole poster is based on a grid system. That is why it has a mechanical and scientific feel. It is hanging in my living room. I spent 30 dollars to print it in Kinko's.

An Opening Spread of Weirdoll

2008-04-18T19:54:00.000-07:00

Interview with Gary Baseman. It is not a real interview anyway. I use some graphics on the right page to complete the photo on the left page. This is one of my styles. This spread, and also the whole magazine intend to be playful and dynamic.

Weirdoll Table of Contents

2008-04-18T19:40:00.000-07:00

It is a weird style table of contents. The yellow circle tells the readers that there has been contents on the cover. The silhouette figures give a little visual hint of the subjects.

Weirdoll Magazine Cover

2008-04-14T20:15:00.000-07:00

It is the cover of a mockup magazine called Weirdoll. Weirdoll is a monthly magazine that collects the most updated information about novelty dolls all over the world. I wish this is a real magazine that I work for.

Traffic Night

2008-04-13T21:44:00.001-07:00

This is an experimental type piece. The arrows are actually types.