Hi, I’m Ziyi Xu ( you can call me Z) I’m a graphic designer. I love colors, I love Surrealism, I love maximalism, more is more is more...

Neon Dawn

Neon Dawn was my Graduate Thesis project. The thesis talks about the artificial and the afterlife through the lens of Chinese traditional funeral rituals.

A Chinese traditional funeral is a spectacle. It’s complicated and ceremonious. It also becomes a standard whether you show your piety to dead. During the funeral, people will burn fake money, because people believe that the afterlife is similar to the world we are living in now. Through burning, you can send money and other material wealth to the deceased. The event is so elaborate, people will even invite professional criers to the funeral to facilitate proper mourning.

Why is it necessary to hold on to material wealth for the afterlife? My thesis investigates this idea. I wanted to articulate this to a western audience by establishing an online retail store exaggerating these practices.

Thesis Advisor: Carolina Trigo

Save Music in Chinatown Identity

Save Music In Chinatown is a non profit organization which helps fundraise money for the music program at the Castelar Street Elementary School in Chinatown, Los Angeles.

The Hong Kong Cafe in Chinatown was a focal point for LA’s Punk Rock music scene and Save Music in Chinatown’s founders Martin Wong and Wendy Lau are big fans. They coordinate punk shows to raise money for the organization. They want to leverage this time period in music to inspire and engage children to appreciate and love music.

I created a visual identity system for them to help them market their efforts and attract more punk fans and music aficionados. Castelar Street Elementary school offers a Mandarin language immersion program for its students, this influenced the new identity which is based on the Chinese alphabet grid that students start learning how to draw Chinese characters with.

Advisor: Stephen Serrato
Illustration: Eloise

Second Nature

Second Nature is a magazine that explores various topics through the lens of what is perceived as fake, unnatural, plastic, artificial, and synthetic. Our perception of what is real changes over time informed by new processes, materials and belief systems. Second Nature frames our perception of what is real and what is fake.

Issue 1: Music
Issue 2: Food
Issue 3: Fashion
Issue 4: Love

Advisor: Annie Huang

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