Portfolio | Wenxuan Soon

Welcome to my
portfolio!
My name is Wenxuan. I really want to become a
graphic designer.

My favourite part about designing stuff is

the problem solving stage. Being presented
with a problem and needing to come up with a
solution with limited time and resources.

The adreneline.

The roller coaster of emotions from

frustration to relief.

Sure, it probably takes a few years off my

life. But, the feeling of looking back and
thinking: “Whoa! I did that!”.

There really isn’t anything like it.

Email: wenxuansoon@gmail.com
4 | Cold Spot of Tea! Cold Spot of Tea! | 5

Project 1
Cold Spot of
Tea! Brief

Start a new brand of ice cream

that can be sold in retail
Deliverables

environments. This brand would - brand name and product

be competing with other modern - logo mark
premium category ice cream brands - mockup of product
on the market. The ice cream
should be in-line with current
healthier living trends.

The target audience

- 30+ age group
- health-conscious
- middle to higher wage bracket
- foodies
- environmentally-conscious
(interested in NZ made products)
< Shop sign
6 | Cold Spot of Tea! Cold Spot of Tea! | 7

Design response

I decided to create a brand

that sells milk tea ice cream
since I couldn’t find many
brands that did that, creating
a gap in the market.

The business will mainly

operate in a brick and mortar
store. The milk tea ice cream
will be served in edible waffle
cups with waffle spoons. This
minimises any packaging waste.

The ingredients include tea

leaves, oat milk, egg yolk,
manuka honey and water, which
can all be locally sourced.

^ Decorated shop wall that explains the brand concept.

The three panels in the middle are the concept of each ice cream flavour.
Employee apron > These panels can be changed out when new flavours are introduced.
8 | Cold Spot of Tea! Cold Spot of Tea! | 9

Style Brand Concept

A group of ghost hunters

I immediately
explore a haunted mansion.
associated ‘milk tea’
with ‘aristocracy’, After hours of nothing,
particularly ‘English they took a tea break.
aristocracy’. I wanted
As they were about to drink
the brand to feel
their tea, suddenly the
elaborate and mature. temperature drops. Then,
That’s why I took alot of they noticed that their tea
Main colours
inspiration from Rococo froze into ice cream!
architecture and art.
The ghost hunters were Brown (Tea)
ecstatic. They found a cold White (Milk)
‘Aristocracy’ then made spot (an area with a sudden
me think of ‘haunted drop in temperature due to
mansions’, which prompted ghosts)! Turns out this was Secondary colours
me to introduce a ghost a mansion filled with tea-
loving ghosts.
hunting element. This Pale Blue (ghosts)
brought a modern element Each ice cream flavour is
Black
to the otherwise old a tea flavour that appeals
fashioned style. to a different ghost in the
mansion.
10 | Cold Spot of Tea! Cold Spot of Tea! | 11

Logo and name

The name “Cold Spot of

Tea!” is a combination of
‘cold spot’ and the phrase
‘spot of tea’.

For the logo, I knew I

wanted the elements ‘tea’
and ‘ghost’ to be evident.

The ghost drawings I

did looked too cute and ^ final logo
childish, so I opted for
the poltergeist route.
After critiques, I decided
An upside down tea cup to tilt the cup and saucer
with the saucer hovering in opposite directions so
in mid air. I kept the they look more like they’re
spoon in the cup to levitating.
indicate frozen tea.
12 | Cold Spot of Tea!

Early sketches

These are sketches I did to

figure out elements that will
go into the border
illustrations. I also used this
as an opportunity to aquaint
myself with the serpentine lines
of the Rococo style.
I planned to include the ice
cream ingredients in the design
of the border.

^ Finished border for decorated wall.

14 | Cold Spot of Tea!
Thumbnails for ghosts
Sketches for the resident ghosts.
Each ghost would act as a mascot for
each flavour.
I wanted each ghost to have a dis-
tinct silhouette. Their design would
have references to how they died.
Cold Spot of Tea! | 15
Breakfast Tea | The Young
Master
Young master of the mansion
that died in thier sleep. A
candelabra was knocked over
and the bedroom caught on
fire. The young master never
woke up for some reason.
I deliberately kept the
illustrations as sketches
to give them a wispy,
intangible feeling.
16 | Cold Spot of Tea!
Green Heart Blend |
The Gardener
The gardener barricaded
themself and their plants
inside the greenhouse during
the fire. Even when the fire
subsided, they refused to
leave. Died of malnutrition.
Cold Spot of Tea! | 17
Fire and Ice Blend |
The Maid
The maid was tailing a
mysterious figure who was
heading for the young master’s
room, hoping to witness some
secret rendezvous.
However, stealth wasn’t exactly
the nosy maid’s forte, and they
were met with an axe to the
head. Their body was stuffed
into a closet.
18 | Cold Spot of Tea!

Front (left) and back < A poster explaining

(right) of info cards the health benefits of an
containing the story and ingredient in the ice
ingredients of each ice cream. It will be posted
cream. on the wall of the shop.

These cards will be This one is for oat milk.

placed near the ice There will be one for each
cream display, customers of the main ingredients.
are free to take one if
interested. I wanted the ‘health’
aspect of the brand to be
Seperate cards for each more understated in the
ice cream flavour. > marketing.

The healthiness of the

product should be a given
rather than the main
marketing feature.
20 | Lantern Festival Poster Lantern Festival Poster | 21

Project 2
Lantern Festival
Poster
Brief

Remake a poster from a Deliverables

previous project. Any existing
restrictions still apply. - remade poster

Previous Brief

Design an event poster

using the design principle
‘proximity’. An analogue
element must be incorporated
into the digital poster.
22 | Lantern Festival Poster Lantern Festival Poster | 23

Design response

I decided to make a poster for

the Auckland Lantern Festival.

2023 is going to be the year

of the rabbit. I was pretty
dead set on featuring a bunny
lantern as the main graphic
element.

For the analogue element, I

used a photograph of a piece of
calligraphy paper backlit by a
desk lamp. I liked the paper
texture and it is reminiscent
of paper lanterns.
For the remake, I made it a
point to minimise repeated
information. I also made sure
there was a comfortable margin.

Long story short, the poster
was a complete flop. Amongst
the mountain of critiques I
received, the only acceptable
part of the poster was the
backlit paper.
Rather than draw the main
graphic element directly on
the backlit paper, I did the
illustration digitally and
used the analogue element more
subtly - as an overlay layer.

My original attempt > < My redemption piece

24 | Lantern Festival Poster Lantern Festival Poster | 25

The original poster

was quite shallow in
terms of representing
the lantern festival. I
literally just drew a
bunny lantern and called I kept the colours
it a day. warm and analogous
For me the main to give that Lunar
attraction of the New Year feeling.
lantern festival has
always been the food Red and yellow were
stalls and the festive a must for anything
atmosphere. The lanterns Chinese New Year
were just a nice bonus. related.
So, for the new
illustration, I focused
on showcasing those
aspects of the festival.
26 | Lantern Festival Poster Lantern Festival Poster | 27

I started the process by deciding

on the main graphic element - a
festival-goer with a bunny lantern
head.

Then, I made up the grid and used

placeholder images.
28 | Lantern Festival Poster Lantern Festival Poster | 29

A huge part of why I chose

this event is because I
celebrate it with my family
every year. The Lantern
Festival is the final day of
Chinese New Year, my favourite
cultural celebration.

I felt pretty embarrassed by

that original poster. I’m glad
I got the opportunity to show
my passion for the festival
through the redesign.
30 | Biovape Project Biovape Project | 31

Project 3
BIOVAPE Project
Brief Deliverables

In a group, produce a - Presentation of design

collaborative art/design solution in class
work in response to Climate
Change. This can be in any
format. The final work should
aim to educate us about your
chosen topic related to
Climate Change.

You should be able to

demonstrate the ability to
collaborate effectively and
successfully pitch your idea.
32 | Biovape Project Biovape Project | 33

Design Solution

This was group work.

We decided to focus on the

plastic waste generated by
disposable vape pens. In our
research, we found out that 60
million people in the world
owned e-cigarettes, which is
alot of plastic.

There was no point in trying to

stop vaping, as people are going
to do it anyway. So the best
way would be to create a better
alternative.

Our solution was to create a

biodegradable and recyclable
vape pen. Our target audience
would be young people and
committed smokers.
One of the key materials used in
our product is bamboo cotton.
So we designed the vape pen and
packaging to look like a bamboo
trunk.
My role
I was in charge of product
and packaging design
(excluding the logo).
I was partially in charge
of the advertisement.
34 | Biovape Project Biovape Project | 35

At the end of the

day, vaping is still
addictive.

There is no point in
trying to solve one
problem while adding
to another.

Our brand will have a

“Curb Your Addiction”
program partnering
with QuitStrong (a
local organisation
that helps smokers
quit through vaping).
The inner anatomy of our vape pen.
Bringing in the used up vape pen to the store to recycle will give customers a discount
on a subsequent purchase.
36 | Biovape Project
“Curb Your Addiction” program
The campaign was inspired
by the marketing for
Hinge.
“The dating app designed
to be deleted.”
< Instagram post
The full program will take
about 15 months and will be
broken down into 2 parts.
Biovape Project | 37
Each customer will be matched
with a Quit Coach, who will
further break up the 2 parts
into multiple stages. At each
stage, we will provide the
vape pens.
As the stage progresses the
vape pens will decrease in
nicotine concentration until
the customer is fully rid of
their cravings.
Customers will pay for the
vape pens per stage. The
return program still applies
here.
Customers can also choose to
participate in either part 1
or part 2 by itself.
38 39

Thanks for making it this far! :)