Chenyang Wei
I am a graphic designer and I am interested in photography, publications, visual storytelling, and visual phenomena in daily life. Many of my projects start with subtle observations, such as a space, an image, or some ordinary and easily overlooked things in life.
I am accustomed to first understanding a theme through photography, recording, collecting, and on-site observation, and then slowly organizing these materials to see if there are any areas worth further development between them. This process will also affect the final form of the work, so my project may not necessarily use the same medium. Som etimes I do publications and photography, and sometimes I use images, sounds, or different materials for experiments.
I prefer to find the starting point of design from real environments and daily experiences, hoping that my works can preserve some processes of observation, research, and experimentation.
Reading Glasgow
This project explores how handwritten signs, shop
storefronts, architectural signage, and street graphics
convey information and reflect Glasgow’s urban
environment. Through photography, categorization, and
publication design, the project documents everyday
graphic language as part of the city’s visual identity.
Sense Space Elective
Sense Space Elective explores how different senses can shape the way we experience space. Through a series of experiments with touch, smell, sound and light, I tested how materials and sensory experiences can create different perceptions of an environment. The project uses photography, mapping and material experiments to document these observations.
The Trace Archive of Sauchiehall Street
This project uses photography, slow observation, and on-site recording to document overlooked traces on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow. I collected and classified these traces into three categories: ground, walls, and urban facilities. Through photography, handwriting analysis, and visual classification, this project explores how everyday traces become visual archives of time, use, and human activities.
Dreams of Home
Dreams of Home is a visual translation project based on an experimental short film. I explored how moving images, subtitles and sound could be translated into a physical publication. By extracting still images and text from the film, I developed a zine using blue tones, translucent materials and layered imagery to recreate its dreamlike atmosphere. The project explores how a narrative can change when it moves from film into print.
Reading Charity Shops
Reading Charity Store explores the visual language in Glasgow Charity Store. The project started with visiting different stores where I took photos and collected examples of price tags, handwritten labels, logos, and displays.
By comparing these materials, I became interested in how charity shops use visual systems to organize items and convey information. I also studied the differences between stores, including color usage, layout, pricing, and categorization.
This study has been developed into two publications. One combines research, observation, and visual analysis, while the other focuses more on repetitive labels and markers discovered during field investigations.
