Portfolio
Frank & Teresa Wu, 2025, Book, 10 x 8 in
This piece was in response to an assignment to creatively and truthfully portray a significant person in the community, through writing a documentary paper and designing a book to hold the story. I chose to focus on my grandparents, Frank and Teresa Wu, whose journey from China to Taiwan and eventually to Silicon Valley reflects resilience and deep cultural identity. I started by creating a mood board to experiment with different color palettes, fonts, and visual elements that connected to both my grandparents and Chinese culture. Using Adobe Illustrator, I drew and designed graphic elements that are personal and symbolic. I then visited their home to take photographs of meaningful objects and family archives to include in the book. Bringing everything together in InDesign, I focused on creating the feeling of warmth and balance through layout and composition. This process was especially meaningful to my family and me, as interviewing my grandparents and learning more about their immigration story allowed them to share memories that brought us closer and deepened our connection to each other.
Money Talks, 2025, Digital Article
For this magazine spread, I created a layout to visually amplify an article examining the influence of billionaires on American democracy. My goal was to design a bold, symbolic composition that complemented the article’s critical perspective. To do this, I developed a custom color palette of reds, greens, and blues to represent themes of wealth, political power, and national identity. Additionally, to convey authority and seriousness, I chose a serif typeface that grounded the design. By layering visuals of the American flag, stacks of money, newspaper clippings, and the White House, I designed a collage that blended realism and abstraction to connect to the article’s critique of influence and control. Together, these design choices transformed a complex issue into a bold and impactful visual narrative that captures the tension between patriotism, capitalism, and democracy.
Black & White Name, 2024, Photograph
This piece was in response to an assignment to photograph objects found in nature that form the letters of my name without using actual text. Using a 50mm lens, I looked for unique, graphic shapes in my surroundings to create each letter of “SOPHIE.” The “S” came from the curve of a fence in my neighborhood, the “O” from a hydrangea that hadn’t fully bloomed, the “P” from my mailbox flag, the “H” from the structure of my own fence, the “I” from a pedestal in a garden, and the “E” from a bench at my high school. I later edited the photos in black and white to emphasize value and form instead of color. Through this process, I began to notice how ordinary objects could take on new identities when viewed from a different angle. Through cropping, contrast adjustments, and black-and-white conversion, I focused on simplifying each image to its essential shapes. This approach taught me to observe more closely and find design and structure in the spaces I usually overlook.
Floating, 2025, Photograph
This is a personal piece that explores peacefulness and the practice of noticing. I photographed soft, bell-shaped foxgloves in the morning, dew still clinging to the petals. I used a macro lens and natural light to highlight texture and subtle color shifts. Close focus and a shallow depth of field create a quiet isolation, as if time has slowed. The flowers seem to float in space, their arrangement guiding the eye through the image. Through these choices, I aimed to translate the sense of calm I feel when photographing into a visual experience for the viewer. The soft focus and muted tones reinforce a feeling of quiet and tenderness. Photography serves here as an abstract way to express presence and stillness, allowing me to notice and convey the small details that evoke a deeper sense of awareness.
Whispers in Pink, 2024, Photograph
This diptych captures two pink flowers in detail. Through this piece, I wanted to explore how softness and strength coexist in something delicate, like a petal, and how noticing small details can reveal subtle beauty. The left image emphasizes form, highlighting the curves and structure of each petal, while the right introduces movement through water droplets, creating a contrast between stillness and change. I used natural light and a shallow depth of field to isolate the flowers from their surroundings, emphasizing texture, shape, and subtle color variations. The magnified focus encourages attention to smaller elements that might go unnoticed. Through these compositional and technical choices, I translated the quiet focus and sense of presence I experience while photographing into a visual experience, showing how simple moments in nature can carry depth and natural beauty
Earth, 2025, Photograph
This piece was created for an assignment called the Explorations project, which asked me to strengthen a specific 21st-century skill. I chose to focus on visual literacy through macro photography and created a series inspired by the four elements of nature. For Earth, I photographed a few small leaves growing sideways from a tree trunk, focusing on their relationship to the textured bark. Using my macro photography skills, I emphasized the contrast between surfaces and used light to define the shapes and patterns within the image. These choices helped express how smooth and rough elements can coexist. This piece helped me notice how composition, light, and perspective can convey balance and connection to the natural world
Surreal Summer Collage, 2025, Digital Collage
This piece was in response to an assignment to make a surreal collage representing my summer experiences, while connecting it to an art era. I chose Impressionism for its focus on light, texture, and personal perspective, and used digital pointillize and dry brush effects to reflect that style. The collage combines moments from my trips to Taiwan, Korea, and Disneyland. I incorporated images of Taipei 101 and Jiufen into the composition to show the layered atmosphere of Taiwan. The DDP dome from Seoul and small Smiskis reflect the playfulness and curiosity I felt in Korea, and Pixar Pier and Mickey Mouse reference the nostalgia and joy of my Disneyland visit. By blending these scenes in a dreamlike way, I aimed to show how memories overlap and shift, becoming surreal. The composition balances vibrant imagery with a combination of color and form, highlighting how layering, texture, and visual choices shape the way I remember experiences.
Sanrio Harmony, 2025, Mandala
This personal mandala was a response to the question, “Who am I?”. Using Adobe Illustrator and a pressure-sensitive tablet, I created a detailed, symmetrical design that blends traditional structure with playful character elements. The black and white version emphasized line, form, and symmetry, while the colored version brought the characters to life, requiring careful choices of contrast and palette to maintain cohesion and balance. I later used a laser engraving machine to produce a physical version of the mandala, transforming it into a tangible, textured object. Working on this piece made me more aware of how small choices, such as adjusting line weight or arranging motifs, can shape the way a viewer experiences the design and contribute to its overall harmony. This project allowed me to explore graphic design as both a relaxing and challenging way to express myself, showing how abstract patterns and playful imagery can coexist in a piece that is visually engaging and personally meaningful.
Water, 2025, Photograph
This piece was also part of my Explorations project, where I focused on strengthening visual literacy through macro photography. To represent water, I photographed an allium flower covered in water droplets, capturing the light interacting with its spherical structure. Using a macro lens, I studied the reflective textures and symmetry that appear when viewed up close, noticing how light and focus can reveal hidden detail. Through experimenting with aperture and lighting, I aimed to highlight the shape and pattern of the allium while maintaining a sense of calm through simplicity and focus. The repetition of shapes and subtle reflections helped me see how attention to composition and light can turn an ordinary subject into a thoughtful visual image. This piece encouraged me to observe my surroundings more carefully and recognize balance in small, precise details.