Welcome to my portfolio. I am a designer who works across graphic design, motion, and UI, with a particular focus on color and emotional storytelling. My work explores how visual elements can shape atmosphere and guide the viewer’s experience through feeling rather than form. Here, you will find projects that reflect my interest in expressive color palettes, clean composition, and rhythm in both static and motion-based design. I hope these pieces offer a clear sense of how I approach design as a way to communicate emotion and create meaningful visual experiences.
Table of Content
- Posters
- Magazines
- UX Designs
- Brand Designs
- Website Design
- 2D Animations
- 3D Animations
- Editing
- 3D Designs
Posters
At first, poster design was not my strongest area, but through continuous learning and practice, I gradually developed a better understanding of composition, typography, and color usage. Over time, I started to experiment with different styles and techniques, allowing me to create more engaging and visually impactful designs. This collection showcases my progress and exploration in poster design.
- Inner Peace
First Design (Lotus and Hands):
Target audience: College-aged young adults interested in yoga and meditation, spiritual practitioners, ages 18–24.
Second Design (Lantern and Bamboo):
Target audience: Individuals who appreciate Asian aesthetics and seek decor that promotes serenity—likely older students and young professionals, ages 22–35.
Third Design (Sun and Lotus):
Target audience: Young individuals seeking positivity, involved in personal development and self-improvement, ages 18–30.
Presentation Video:
- Social Awareness
My goal is to increase public awareness regarding issues of digital privacy and data security. In today’s digital era, our personal information is increasingly vulnerable, yet there’s a noticeable lack of awareness about this among the general public. I intend to employ visual strategies like satire, rhetorical imagery, and parody in the creation of these three posters. The aim of this poster series is to spark thoughtful consideration among viewers about the potential misuse and monitoring of personal data, and to motivate them to take steps to safeguard their privacy.
Presentation Video:
- Mystery of Circle
Cross-Cultural Understanding:
The circle is often symbolic of completeness, harmony, infinity, and unity across various cultures. Explore the common ground in how the circle is perceived across cultures, such as its symbolism of heaven and perfection in Eastern philosophies and its association with unity and protection in the West.
Contemporary Conceptions:
In modern design and art, the circle is often used to convey simplicity, fluidity, and modernity. Investigate the status of the circle in current trends and design languages and the messages it conveys.
- Resist the Flow
This poster visually represents Roger Babson’s quote: “If things go wrong, don’t go with them.” The design features a monochrome gradient with a futuristic, pixel-style font, reinforcing a digital and abstract aesthetic. The bold, oversized “DON’T” stands out against a complex network of interconnected lines and fragmented data, symbolizing chaos and instability. The structured typography contrasts with the dynamic background, emphasizing the core message of resilience and independent thinking. This composition encourages viewers to stand firm in difficult situations, resist being swept away by adversity, and maintain their own direction.
- Devil Man
The poster I want to make is a dark retro style (mainly black, red, blue, and gray as the background color), but I do not want it to be a very traditional movie poster but a more impact-color picture to convey the theme of the movie poster. From this, I want to design a poster for my favorite animation, “Devilman Crybaby. My target audience would be those interested in Japanese culture or the retro aesthetic. Since I plan to work on an anime-related poster, it should also appeal to enthusiasts of Japanese animation.
Magazines
Typography and layout design have been one of the most challenging aspects for me. Unlike freeform creativity, layout requires a deep understanding of structure, visual hierarchy, and mathematical precision. It’s not just about arranging elements based on intuition; it involves grids, spacing, and balance to create a visually appealing and functional composition. Through continuous learning and repeated practice, I have gradually improved my skills, gaining a stronger grasp of how to effectively combine text and visuals to enhance readability and aesthetic appeal.
- Future for Type
This was my first time designing a magazine, created as a practice project to explore layout design and familiarize myself with the basics of InDesign. Through this project, I experimented with typography, composition, and visual hierarchy to improve my understanding of structured layouts. It was a valuable exercise that helped me develop a better sense of balance between text and visuals while refining my design workflow.
- VISCOSE
Viscose is a fashion magazine, and for this project, I focused on exploring the elegance and significance of the Chinese qipao. My design highlights its cultural heritage, intricate craftsmanship, and the reasons behind its lasting influence in international fashion. Through careful layout and typography choices, I aimed to capture both the traditional beauty and modern relevance of the qipao, emphasizing its role as a bridge between history and contemporary style.
UX Designs
UX design is a field that I am deeply passionate about. The process of refining each page to perfection gives me a strong sense of accomplishment. Unlike other design areas, UX follows strict guidelines to ensure usability and functionality, which makes it even more challenging. The real challenge lies in balancing user needs with creativity—crafting innovative interfaces while maintaining clarity and efficiency. Every project pushes me to think critically and improve my problem-solving skills, making UX design an exciting and rewarding journey.
- ST.A.R
The St.A.R App utilizes GIS navigation for animal rescuers and lovers to detect and manage stray pets, trap-and-release animals, and other stray wildlife. St.A.R App will streamline the process of locating lost pets, facilitating their return to owners, managing community-based trap-and-release programs for feral animals, and assisting in caring for strays/ stray pets. The goal is to relief pet owners of the chaos that ensues with stray pets and increase safety for stray pets/wildlife.
Presentation Video:
Please visit the dedicated ST.A.R page on this website for more information!
- Pixel Heaven
As a comprehensive gaming news app, PixelHaven not only includes these features but also keeps users up to date on special discounts, limited-time events, and major industry announcements. Because PixelHaven is a responsive application, its main functions differ across platforms. For example, on PCs, it focuses more on displaying data, such as the special offers mentioned above, along with overviews of different games and release dates. On mobile devices, PixelHaven emphasizes more visual recommendations, such as extra game trailers and streams by popular gamers.
Brand Design
- Anime Expo
Anime Expo 2024 is gearing up to welcome fans and enthusiasts of Japanese pop culture and animation from around the globe. The much anticipated event is scheduled to take place from July 4th to July 7th at the Los Angeles Convention Center, which serves as a vibrant hub for this grand celebration of anime and the various aspects of this unique culture. At Anime Expo, attendees can expect to immerse themselves in a wide array of activities including, but not limited to, exclusive anime screenings, engaging panel discussions with industry insiders, artist meet-and-greets, and an extensive exhibit hall filled with merchandise and art. Cosplay events and contests also highlight the expo, showcasing the creativity and passion of the fans.
Presentation Video:
- UN Women
UN Women is a global organization dedicated to advancing gender equality and empowering women and girls worldwide. Through advocacy, education, and policy initiatives, it works to dismantle systemic barriers and promote social, economic, and political inclusion. With impactful campaigns like HeForShe and the Spotlight Initiative, UN Women drives awareness and fosters collaboration across sectors. By leveraging digital engagement and strategic partnerships, the organization continues to create a more inclusive and equitable world, ensuring that every woman and girl can reach her full potential.
Presentation Video:
Website Design
- Infinity
This was my first attempt at website design, based on the theme Infinite Landscapes, which showcases the works of Caspar David Friedrich. I coded the website template and replaced all elements except for the framework, including visuals, typography, and content. Through this project, I gained a deeper understanding of web design, exploring layout, hierarchy, and user experience while balancing both technical and aesthetic aspects.
Presentation Video:
2D Animations
- Goldfish
This is the first 2D animation I created using After Effects, focusing on a Japanese retro aesthetic. While I didn’t incorporate advanced techniques in this project, I still aimed to capture the essence of traditional Japanese art and vintage aesthetics. Through careful composition and motion design, I was able to create a visually cohesive piece that reflects the beauty of Japanese-style retro animation.
Link to the Video:
- Human vs AI
The core idea of my project is to create a purely digital collage that pays tribute to the iconic ‘calling card’ concept from the video game and multimedia franchise Persona 5. This collage will draw inspiration directly from the game’s unique user interface and the theme of the Phantom Thieves’ calling cards, interpreting these elements through a more vibrant and lively lens. The transformation of this concept into a digital art piece represents an innovative shift from physical to digital media.
Presentation Video:
- M WORLD
This is a ten-second After Effects animation showcasing my personal design brand “M – WORLD,” demonstrating my mastery of AE’s features and my ability to express my own brand.
Memory enriches our life, when we are born, we are just like a blank sheet of paper, as we grow up, we will meet different people and things and leave different memories. These memories may be happy or angry or sad, they are like different colored brushes leaving colorful marks on our white paper, we need a place to save and share these different colors — this is what M – WORLD represents
Link to the Video:
- M WORLD Plus
A ten-second After Effects animation showcasing my personal design brand “M – WORLD,” demonstrating my mastery of AE’s features and my ability to express my own brand.
Since using colors to represent different memories is my theme, the animation will start with everything in white. Then, emotions represented by colors, such as red for anger and blue for sadness, will gradually pour onto the canvas like paint. Finally, when all the colors merge into one, the image will shrink into a black ball, which will then explode onto the canvas, turning it into a rainbow board. My logo will appear at the end.
Link to the Video:
- Game Company Ads
A set of three looping 5-10 second animations created in After Effects for Ubisoft, Nintendo, and Square Enix. Each animation will promote a new or trending product, adhering to the brand’s visual identity through techniques like masking, Z space, and background design. The project will blend brand guidelines with creative storytelling, producing content that fits seamlessly with each brand’s social media presence.
Link to the Video:
https://vimeo.com/1025141053?share=copy
- GameAnime Expo IntroCompany Ads
For this project, I’m creating a 30-second video to promote Anime Expo. My goal is to capture the energy and excitement of the event while showing viewers what makes it so special. I’ll be mixing animation with images from past expos to give a quick, engaging look at what people can expect. This video is all about building hype, sharing some highlights, and encouraging fans to come experience Anime Expo for themselves.
Link to the Video:
https://vimeo.com/1036278217?share=copy
- It’s called “Motion”
A looping 10-12 second After Effects animation showcasing my identity through the use of geometric shapes and motion language. This project will experiment with masks, mattes, and colors, demonstrating mastery in motion design techniques. The final deliverable will be a grid of 9 individual looping 2-5 second animations, each reflecting a unique aspect of my design style.
Link to the Video:
https://youtube.com/shorts/iXMrCCMSr7A
- Motion Reel
This Motion Reel showcases all the After Effects techniques I have learned and how I applied them to create more complete and refined animations. It serves as a compilation of my progress, blending various motion design elements into a cohesive visual experience. Each segment demonstrates different skills, from basic animations to more complex compositions, reflecting my growth and understanding of AE’s capabilities.
Link to the Video:
https://vimeo.com/1037690684?share=copy
3D Animations
- 3D BoxeeStory
3D BoxeeStory is an adventure story about a box on a journey, created using Maya. This project allowed me to explore 3D animation, focusing on movement, environment interaction, and storytelling through simple geometric forms. By utilizing camera angles and dynamic motion, I aimed to bring life and personality to the box while crafting an engaging visual experience.
Link to the Video:
- FingerPuppet
FingerPuppet is a 3D animation created using Maya, featuring a finger puppet climbing stairs. This project incorporates more advanced techniques, dynamic movements, and a wider exploration of environments compared to my previous works. By experimenting with camera angles, lighting, and scene composition, I aimed to enhance storytelling and create a more immersive animation experience.
Link to the Video:
- WalkCycle
WalkCycle tells the story of a protagonist escaping from a locked room. This animation features more refined character movements and expressions, incorporating realistic muscle dynamics to enhance believability. Compared to previous works, it has a clearer storyline, improved rendering, and more fluid animation, making the character’s actions feel natural and emotionally engaging.
Link to the Video:
Editing
This collection is not part of an official project but rather a personal exploration of editing, driven by my creativity and passion for storytelling. It includes my most imaginative ideas, inspirations, and bold experiments, featuring edits of TV shows and films as well as microfilms shot in real life. Through these edits, I explore different narrative techniques, pacing, and visual styles, pushing the boundaries of my editing skills.
Link to the Videos:
- 【【玉梦｜是但求其爱】爱的伤痕 极度陪衬】 https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1fv4y1o7Uh/?share_source=copy_web
- Everything Everywhere All at Once
- Noting’s New
3D Designs
This collection consists mostly of handcrafted works, and they are some of the projects I’m most proud of. I dedicated a significant amount of time to each piece, gaining a deeper appreciation for physical design. While I specialize in digital design, working without software assistance has shown me how challenging seemingly simple designs can be to execute in reality. This hands-on experience has given me a better understanding of form, structure, and material limitations, ultimately enhancing my approach to digital design.
Thank you for reviewing my portfolio. I’m always open to discussing new projects, creative ideas, or opportunities to be part of your vision. Feel free to reach out to me through the information in the CONTACT page, and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
Michelle Wu /Digital Designer 