Ruochen Zhang (Rochelle) Portfolio

RUOCHEN ZHANG GRAPHIC DESIGNER/ILLUSTRATOR

D AT E

COVER LETTER

8 March 2019

Dear Manager,

FROM Ruochen Zhang (Rochelle) Graphic Designer / Illustrator 11A Fisher Lane, East Brisbane, Australia, QLD 4169 T: +61(0)435 815 854 E: rochellezhang@outlook.com

PORTFOLIO https://issuu.com/rochellezhang/ docs/ruochen_zhang__rochelle_

Further to your advertisement for a communication designer position, I should like to apply for this vacancy, and enclose my resume and portfolio for your consideration. I am very interested in this job, as I’m attracted to your team concept and design direction that I can feel inspired and motivated.

I am a graduate of Griffith University. In 2018, I have finished my Master of Visual Arts degree. I have built up my knowledge and skills through the practices and assessments during the time. Based on this, I developed good understandings to multiple design styles utilised in both orthodox and unorthodox focus among cultures. As a person from overseas, I keep trying to unite my cultural background and design skills I learnt in Australia.

For example, I had made some progress in revisiting graphic illustrations to showing solidarity with the gay community in China. I am also growing a concept of the shoebox design that reflects my design prefer during a time.

Besides these, I keep a tremendous passion with logo design and branding for years, which push me exploring as much as I can within the industry.

My range of design ideas usually inspired by interests and daily life, and I am proud that I can make them a part of my passion for pushing me exploring further and larger. This hunger makes me activated all the time, as design already became a part of my life. Though, I am continually upgrading my design skills in multiple forms, monitoring and absorbing new design ideas regularly, as I am never satisfied with the current frame.

I am convinced that my strongest abilities are: 1. I am proficient with Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Indesign. Though, I’d evermore love to learn more tricks from the team and improve my lacks.

2. I am always willing to come up with creative solutions to problems, take in other’s advice and feedback, then develop my concepts.

3. My outgoing personality makes me able to get along well within teams.

4. Bilingual in English and Chinese. I am confident in both of my English verbal and written communication skills.

I hope my advantages will fit your taste as I starve for this place. Though my working experience could be not enough at the moment, I am sure that I can bring passion and greedy with me to your team and be contributing to the brand. In closing, thank you for your time and consideration, and I wish to have an opportunity to discuss my interest in this position with you in person.

Sincerely, Ruochen Zhang (Rochelle)

RUOCHEN ZHANG GRAPHIC DESIGNER/ILLUSTRATOR

P O R T F O L I O C AT E G O R Y 2017-2018 QiXi Postcard & Dissertation (EX) This is a master degree outcome aims at revisiting traditional Chinese illustration to show solidarity with the gay community in China. The outcome explores the potential for graphic design to contribute to documentary data that displays heterosexual solidarity with the gay community in China.

C O N TA C T 11A Fisher Lane, East Brisbane, Australia, QLD 4169 T: +61 (0 )435 815 854 E: rochellezhang@outlook.com P: https://issuu.com/rochellezhang/docs/ruochen_

zhang__rochelle_

E D U C AT I O N 2017-2018

MASTER OF ARTS IN VISUAL ARTS Griffith University

Product Design

2015-2016

This project is branding a type of shoeboxes that deliver my understanding of modern elements during a specific time period. The shoebox styles are currently compressed and developed to Minimalist, New Tokyo and Pop Art.

DIGITAL MEDIA - Graphic Design Griffith University

SKILLS

2016-2017 Roche.Cube

Pause Cards, Poster and Dissertation (EX) Pause is a project contributes to social benefit, which aims at curbing a low-age trend in the smartphone addiction. This project practices a soft, suggesting message-delivery that can pass a positive energy to the audience.

Adobe Photoshop Adobe Illustrator Adobe Indesign Adobe After Effects Adobe Premiere Hand Drawing Blender

LIVEWORM Intern Logo, Typosetting, Poster and Map Working in LIVEWORM encourages me to practice multiple design format includes branding, typesetting, and poster design. The experience raises my skills with not only Adobe Creative Suite but also teamwork ability to a higher level.

Individual Practice Logo, Illustration and Artwork I enjoy integrating personal interests into my design. The interest occupies a significant amount of my passion. These individual practices include multiple graphic design outcomes and several fine-art-sort artworks.

EXPERIENCE 2016

LIVEWORM The Gold Coast

- JUNE 2018 QCA - GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

QiXi

Revisiting Traditional Chinese Illustration to Show Solidarity with the Gay Community in China

- Dissertation & Postcards -

Everyone, no matter what their situation or their location, ought to receive love.

This series of postcards explores how the QiXi project - borrowed the name of the traditional Qixi Festival in China, which seems to be a Chinese Valentine's Day in nowadays - has used graphic design in order to demonstrate solidarity with the gay community in China. The project reflects cultural identity, but also includes

gentle persuasion inline with Chinese culture in terms of showing and supporting an acceptance towards same- sex couples from a heterosexual perspective. The QiXi postcard design is part of a growing body of creative projects, which explores the potential for graphic design to contribute to documentary data that displays heterosexual solidarity with the gay community in China.

- JUNE 2018 QCA - GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

1 Iin terms of expression, Chinese love is more euphemistic and introverted than western love. The gay couple in this postcard is representative of this cultural significance. The design renders an ambiguous phenomenon between two characters, with a fan used to obscure that they are getting closer, while still leaving space for the audience to feel the deeper connection between the characters.

- JUNE 2018 QCA - GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

2 There is an assumption that cultural identity can positively influence the gay community in China, and that similarly solidarity can be strengthened through a gentler, positive persuasion. This kind of gentle persuasion fosters a kind of cultural recognition and acceptance towards the gay Chinese community. When considering familiarity, and sense of belonging, it is useful for historical landmarks and traditional Qixi activities to be present.

- JUNE 2018 QCA - GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

3 The combination of modern and the traditional is consistent throughout. It is conveyed through fashion, with the characters' styles in my designs being diverse and mixed, borrowed both from contemporary Chinese style and traditional concept. The purpose of the arrangement is to attest to a balance between the old and new, blending the conflicts and mixing them up。。. It is a practice based on the reality of the Chinese society where the government makes gay-relevant topics ineffable as a mainstream.

- JUNE 2018 QCA - GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

4 The project aims at revisiting traditional Chinese illustration to show solidarity with the gay community in China, which belongs to my master dissertation. The thesis counts cultural identity can reinforce the efficiency of such a project, and encourage its possibility for producing a positive influence both within, and outside the gay community in the Chinese society.

- JUNE 2018 QCA - GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

※ QiXi postcard designs are printed on extra-thick Mohawk Superfine® stock with an uncoated, natural texture. The quality of the paper is 600 gsm, with a red edge on each card. The red edge is able to provide the audience with extra impact and additional Chinese flavour, as red is a colour represents good fortune in Chinese culture，. It expresses a kind of anticipation and hope for same-sex couples, as well as solidarity with the gay Chinese community.

-NOV 2017 INDIVIDUAL PRACTICE

Vltava - Logo -

The logo is created for my piano teacher who uses Vltava as his pseudonym. The Vltava is the longest river within the Czech Republic, which is commonly referred to as the Czech national river. Though, my piano teacher took Vltava as his pseudonym m o re f ro m i t s c u l t u ra l s i g n i f i c a n ce , specifically in music. One of the bestknown works of classical music by a Czech composer is Bedřich Smetana's Vltava, usually called The Moldau in English. It is from the Romantic era of classical music and is a musical depiction of the river's course through Bohemia. Smetana's symphonic poem also inspired a son of the

name by Bertolt Brecht. An English version of it, by John Willett, features the lyric "Deep down in the Moldau the pebbles are shifting/In Prague three dead emperors moulder away". It has inspired me to determine the keynote of this logo. It is Prague, the home to a number of famous cultural attractions. The logo uses Charles Bridge - a historic bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague - and its two towers as the icon, clarifying and highlighting a Prague flavour. The serif typeface makes the whole expression more classic. The check on the font acts in cooperation with the similar pattern on two towers above.

-JAN 2017 INDIVIDUAL PRACTICE

7 - Logo -

It is a logo practice borrows inspiration from the Exotic Butterflies in The 2015 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. The colour combination builds a hierarchy to highlight the main subject, 7. A more impressive part is, this colour combination makes the

logo able to presents diverse visual effects with different backgrounds and ambient lights. The logo can be enhanced against the white background, while the darker surrounding can relieve the strengthen of butterflies but heighten the cyan 7.

-DEC 2016 INDIVIDUAL PRACTICE

C - Logo -

This design is created for a client who requires a Chinese style logo utilises the capital letter of her name. The outcome is my first practice of cooperating Chinese elements and western design skills I learnt in Australia. The logo uses graphic patterns to create the figure of traditional C h i n e s e p a p e r- c u t s , w h i l e a n o t h e r

version forms the silhouette effect. The red colour represents lucky and good fortune in Chinese culture. Though the red-black combination could make the logo expression being over conservative, the peony, magpies and hairpin patterns render a feminine hue makes the design more gentle and soft.

- OCT 2016 QCA - GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

Roche.Cube - Product Pattern Design-

Things tend to be interesting when people nowadays would love to buy some creative stuff that can stylish their home and contribute to their aesthetics. It provides designers with more opportunities to spark inspirations within the design process.

This project is branding a type of shoebox that delivers my understanding of modern elements during a specific time period.

The current shoebox design used to have two different styles -MINIMALIST and

NEW TOKYO, which belongs to a growing body of the long-term design expression.

In 2017, I created a new Pop Art version.

Excluding the university assessment part, Roche.Cube brings me more fun than the design itself. I produced the Roche.Cube to a game module within The Sims 4 by learnt using the 3Ds Max and Blender. Every time I saw the shoebox presents within the game, I would always be pleased by the complex of accomplishment.

- OCT 2016 QCA - GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

MINIMALIST This style, MINIMALIST, is build up with only black and white, use simple geometric patterns and lines to create a minimal life taste. From the very beginning, this style has changed and developed overtimes, as I upgraded my understanding of minimalism in visual, and my design skills at the same time.

- OCT 2016 QCA - GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

MINIMALIST

- OCT 2016 QCA - GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

MINIMALIST

MINIMALIST

- OCT 2016 QCA - GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

NEW TOKYO In 2003, Japanese hip-hop, which had long been present among underground Tokyo's club scene, influenced the mainstream fashion industry. This colourful street culture calls Harajuku that is famous for its bold colour-mixing looks.

The NEW TOKYO cubes follow the Harajuku style, build up with fabulous colours that represent a creative personality.

- OCT 2016 QCA - GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

NEW TOKYO

- OCT 2016 QCA - GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

NEW TOKYO

TO

Y K O

- JUNE 2017 QCA - GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

POP ART Pop Art is a style that uses bright colours and takes its techniques and subject matter from daily, modern life. I was thoroughly attracted to its bold colour combination and special texture. These designs took inspiration from both once and contemporary Pop Art artists' artworks that made me so addict to this fabulous art form.

- JUNE 2017 QCA - GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

POP ART

- JUNE 2017 QCA - GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

POP ART

- JUNE 2017 INDIVIDUAL PRACTICE

※

- OCT 2016 QCA - GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

Pause - Cards & Poster -

Along with the advancement of the smartphone industry, the smartphone with a considerably improved advanced mobile operating system quality is being used wider and wider. In recent years, more and more people start using smartphones, and even children are able to have their own ones. Studies in the past few years show the percentage of smartphone addict within total users continue to be higher and higher, and the smartphone addiction

symptoms appear in a low-aged trend.

The Pause project uses the pause mark as an icon, delivers a group of cards that contribute to the design fields of curbing the low-age trend in the smartphone addiction. The project targets children and younger teenagers as the main audience, persuade and encourage them to pause using the smartphone and paying more attention to fun activities or people surrounding them.

- OCT 2016 QCA - GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

” The card design is trying to cater to the target audience's preference orientation by using fun icons, hand-drawing patterns and fabulous colours. This set of cards transmit positive suggestions through pictures and slogans, as well as the pause mark on the front face is combined by some activity icons that can also give my audience some idea to what they can do without the smartphone.

The Pause project practices a soft, suggesting messagedelivery, which is trying to avoid sneering and provoking, aims at passing positive energy to the target audience as they can accept then follow up.

- OCT 2016 QCA - GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

- OCT 2016 QCA - GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

- OCT 2016 QCA - GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

- OCT 2016 QCA - GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY

Poster Design

- OCT 2016 INDIVIDUAL PRACTICE

Havensward Ishgard - Paper-Cut & Ink -

I enjoy integrating personal interests into my design. It occupies a significant amount of my passion and motivation. My interests always bring me such brilliant inspirations and ideas, they can be from a scene within the video game, the storyline of a book or even a pop star. This paper-cut shapes the Ishgard - my favourite city-state in Final Fantasy XIV located in the harsh snowfields. The city becomes accessible

in Heavensward - the first expansion of the game. I was attracted to the storyline of the Heavensward expansion and the background story of Ishgard. The passion motivates me to finish this creation in a very short time, even before the waterink-dyed paper got dried. Personally, this work is my new practice to the art form of paper-cut that influences my design preference more or less.

- OCT 2016 LIVEWORM - GOLD COAST

LIVEWORM SUMMER - Digital Print Posters -

- OCT 2016 LIVEWORM - GOLD COAST

Strata Conference Booklet - Logo & Typography -

T h i s o u tco m e i s o n e p a r t of d e s i g n alternatives for the 2017 Strata and Community Title in Australia for the 21st Century. The design purpose is following client requires and previous conference booklets, raising as much design ideas as possible to provide more leads to the client. Because of the conference appears to be a significant part of Griffith University, the design follows Griffith Identity Manual

with regard to corporate colour and typeface for the logo. The characteristic bright, warm colour and black-and-white pictures declare the relationship between Griffith University and conference team.

The logo design uses geometric shapes that integrate with the green-magenta frame to create an advanced connection between nature and technological 2017 as the client requires.

- OCT 2016 LIVEWORM - GOLD COAST

Inner Pages & Logo

- OCT 2016 LIVEWORM - GOLD COAST

QCA G14 Opening Event Map - Digital Print -

QUEENSLAND COLLEGE OF ART, GOLD COAST

POINTS OF INTEREST:

G06 Academic 2 Building • Fashion Studio, computer lab, Small Photo studio Porem qui dendi doluptas dolorenissus sequi comnihitiis dolorep •

G14 Visual Art Building • Workshop (Room 2.16) Porem qui dendi doluptas dolorenissus sequi comnihitiis dolorep

• Whitebox Gallery (Level 1) Porem qui dendi doluptas dolorenissus sequi comnihitiis dolorep

• Life Drawing Studio (Room 1.10) Porem qui dendi doluptas dolorenissus sequi comnihitiis dolorep

• Computer Lab (Room 2.29) Porem qui dendi doluptas dolorenissus sequi comnihitiis dolorep

• Liveworm Studio (Room 2.30) Porem qui dendi doluptas dolorenissus sequi comnihitiis dolorep

• Argus (Room 2.33) Porem qui dendi doluptas dolorenissus sequi comnihitiis dolorep •

G31 Art & Education Building • New life drawing studio, computer lab Porem qui dendi doluptas dolorenissus sequi comnihitiis dolorep

TOUR ROUTE

QUEENSLAND COLLEGE OF ART, GOLD COAST

DESIGN STUDIOS OPENING WEDNESDAY 12 OCTOBER 2016

Outdoor Studio

(G14_2.13)

Drawing & Cut-out works

Art & Design Studio (G14_2.12) 3D Design Student works

Courtyard Area Plein air painters

6

7

8

3D printing room laser cutting in action

The Parlour (G14_2.11)

2

4

Audio Visual Studio (G14_2.25)

3D Print Room (G14_2.12A)

9

Morning Tea

5

Photographic works in progress

1

‘Fireflies’ Light Fitting, Donated by Yellow Goat designed by Conrad Johnsson, a graduate of the Queensland College of Art, Gold Coast. The ‘Fireflies’ are ‘wings of clear acrylic suspended in clusters, each embracing a glowing core.’

3

START HERE

Design Studio A (G14_2.10 A) Opening presentation

Photography Studio (G14_2.20) Photographic works in progress

- SEP 2016 LIVEWORM - GOLD COAST

GETAMUNGSTIT 6 (SUMMER) - Typesetting -

T h i s a r t i c l e , Wo r l d B o g S n o r ke l l i n g Championships, belongs to the GETAMUNGSTIT 6 (SUMMER) magazine.

The typography follows article concept examples provided by the client. The

overall colour combination uses bold, fabulous colours that continue the c o n s t a n t s t y l e o f G E TA M U N G S T I T. Illustration sources come from Liveworm's material library.