i’m a storyteller & people-first designer.
i’m all about conversation, with my favourite challenge being to figure out ways to carve inroads toward true connection.

i want my creative practice to help connect
brands to a purpose, purpose to people
and people to each other.

me, in a nutshell

me, in a nutshell

Hi there! I’m Jen Li, a Malaysian-Chinese creative ~ originally born in Ipoh, currently based in Brisbane. Out of all the design niches, I particularly love brand identity design and am fascinated by how brand narratives drive connection and cultivate belonging ~ especially for more marginalised communities. As the baby of a bookworm family and an incessant daydreamer, storytelling has always been a massive part of my life. Naturally, creating narratives became my favourite part, and what I see as a critical part, of being a designer. Being able to do the thing that I love, and help brands and people along the way, is something I’ll never take for granted. Outside of work, I enjoy illustrating, dancing, and hunting down the best boba in town.

my street cred

experience

  • Rumble Strategic Creative
    As my internship came to a close, I was offered the opportunity to step up as the team’s Designer. In this more involved position, I channelled my creativity to help develop more compelling design solutions for an even broader range of clients including Bolton Clarke, RBWH, Pacific Fair, and HB Land to name a few. In addition to owning the finished art process across print (large and small format) and digital, I also worked closely with my art directors to develop fresh print and digital collateral for clients ~ seeing and facilitating campaigns through from brief to rollout. In this role, I was also trusted to help design and compile pitch decks which represented our campaigns, creative ideas, and collateral concepts in a clear and evocative manner ~ elevating Rumble’s position for new business tenders and client opportunities.

  • Rumble Strategic Creative
    During the Rumbletown Scholarship process, my portfolio caught the eye of Rumble’s Creative Directors, who decided to generously grant me an internship opportunity. This was an invaluable experience which undoubtedly pushed me to be the designer I am today. I helped work on a range of brands including Containers for Change, Ugly Xmas Rashie, Zero Positive and more. My responsibilities included executing finished art for a range of collateral, as well as designing logos and ideating art direction concepts to facilitate the studio team’s output. I also assisted with several ad hoc design tasks including editorial layouts and marketing materials for internal business activities (e.g., EDMs to clients, preparing credential decks and internal document designs).

  • Kitney OHS
    As Kitney’s primary designer, my main responsibilities consisted of creating print and digital marketing materials for their internal and external business endeavours (e.g., email footers, flyers, signage, promotional banners, merchandise). I also developed their social media strategy and created corresponding collateral to help them establish a digital presence. Additional tasks I initiated include creating a style guide and suite of designed templates to clarify their visual identity system, developing an internal briefing process to empower other my teams’ design capabilities and revamping their corporate documents.

  • Queensland University of Technology ~ GPA 6.96
    My visual communication major granted me an extensive amount of experience in various facets of design. Alongside sharpening my innate design eye, I have acquired a diverse and developed design arsenal including strong branding, typography and editorial skills. I also dabbled successfully in art direction, motion design and digital design, and am keen to keep exploring these emerging niches. My dedication to my practice was recognised by the faculty, who approached me to get involved in platforming my experience with this major to help inspire the future generation of budding designers.
    Watch QUT’s coverage of my experience in Visual Communication: Visual Communication at QUT
    Watch QUT’s coverage of my experience as a Double Degree student: Business and Visual Communication

  • Queensland University of Technology ~ GPA 6.96
    My business degree significantly enriched my design school experience and continues to enhance my creative practice as it taught me how to hone my analytical mind in a creative context. In fact, my passion for strategic and genuine consumer-centric thinking derives largely from my experience in business school. As an advertising major, I also gained considerable experience in, and a fondness for, copywriting and campaign ideation.

awards

  • QUT Design Festival 2022
    This award is issued by Adobe to a select shortlist of young designers from QUT’s graduating design cohort who demonstrated a strong creative vision and executed inspirational work.
    Explore the awarded project: Hide & Seek
    Watch QUT’s coverage of the awarded project: Visual Communication with Jen Li
    Read QUT’s coverage of my design process for the project: Jen Li’s mission to empower budding creatives through narrative-driven design

  • Rumbletown Pathways Scholarship 2021
    This inaugural scholarship provides one BIPOC, CALD or mature-age QUT student with financial support and access to mentorship in the Advertising, Digital, Media and Communications fields. I was lucky enough to be shortlisted for the award.
    Read about it here: Meet our Rumbletown Pathways Scholarship shortlist

  • QUT Faculty of Business and Law Dean’s List
    This title is awarded to students who achieve a GPA of 6.5 or above.

  • QUT Faculty of Creative Industries Dean’s List
    This title is awarded to students who achieve a GPA of 6.5 or above.

  • QUT Business Academic Excellence Scholarship
    This scholarship is awarded to prospective business school students who achieved an OP 1 or 2.

tl;dr

if you’re after someone with a keen eye and a huge amount of heart, i’m your gal.

let’s make
magic happen

drop me a message
hellojenliwan@gmail.com