Yoyo's playground 🪀

(yes my name is pronounced like the toy 🪀)

Hiya! I’m a Canadian-Chinese designer currently based in East London. ˙ᵕ˙ As a creative, I am interested in design as a playground for storytelling, and I works closely with nostalgia-related concepts such as old-internet aesthetics and retro imagery; I’d coin my creative style as ‘nostalgia branding’.

Through my practice, I’m particularly intrigued to bridge the intersection between subcultures, whether it’s digital vs analogue, AI vs early internet, and overall creating a space where contrasting and niche themes can be explored and dissected.

Currently specialising/interested in: publishing, motion graphics, 3D art, and narrative design

Let’s work together! (CV)

A sneak peek of the what’s in the works:

TOMATO EGG ZINE, Issue #1

Men I Trust ‘Untourable Album’, reimagined design

SAVEPOINT: A temporary zine pack

My life is as much yours (as it is mine)

@#<LIFE IS AN RPG:A Nintendo Calendar>?!

TOMATO EGG Zine, Issue #1

PRESS by STACK

Made & designed by: Yoyo Wang, Agassiz Chan, and Katy Thompson
Format: A5 perfect-bound, with A6 risograph recipe booklet
Genre: Non-Fiction, Food/Creative Zine
Length: 175 pages
Country: London
Year: 2024

Sold in: Gosh! Comics, Magculture, Reference Point

ESEA Diaspora
Food Narratives
Platform for Creatives

TOMATO EGG zine uses the traditional Chinese tomato and egg stir-fry dish as a lens to explore themes of nostalgia, identity, and belonging. The first issue includes personal stories from 15 Asian creatives. The zine features photographs of the creatives themselves, interviews with them exploring their Asian roots and their personal connection to this dish, as well as little goodies for the reader such as an interactive bookmark. Designed to evoke a sense of warmth and connection, our aim is to create a platform for underrepresented ESEA voices and foster inclusive dialogue through the universal language of food, as well as connect people who experience distance from their heritage and culture.

PRESS (review by Steven Watson of STACK): https://ualshowcase.arts.ac.uk/collection/stack-magazines-shelf-life
The full online version can be accessed on our ISSUU: https://issuu.com/tomatoegg/docs/pages_
To see/read more on the CSM Online Showcase: https://ualshowcase.arts.ac.uk/project/547744/cover
To purchase a copy, check out our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tomatoeggzine/?hl=en

SELECT SPREADS:

Men I Trust ‘Untourable Album’ (2020): Reimagined Design

Music
Modern Folklore
Alternative Branding

VINYL AFTEREFFECTS ANIMATION // SONG: ALWAYS LONE (! sound upon playing)

Inspired by the gothic font used in the original ‘Untourable Album’ and the various illustrations within the vinyl cover that resembled folklore and mythological drawings, I leaned into this fantastical branding for the album, kickstarting this self-initiated brief to reimagine the 2020 Men I Trust album.

With their music sounding equally as dreamy, falling under the genres of indie/bedroom/dream pop, I designed the visuals with a mindset that it should reflect the same level of fiction-- whilst still being quite playful, as exemplified through their original illustrations-- some of which I have kept the theme of-- such as creating similar mythological visuals. The overall colour palette is kept simple but trendy- with colours that aren’t overly intense but still makes a statement- much like the feel of Men I Trust music.

The fonts chosen are Libra (title and tour dates)- which as a gothic/viking feel to the sharp and strong identity, suitable for headings and important information. The other font used is Charm (slanted, thinner typeface), which has a more delicate feel that contrasts nicely with Libra, and thus used for longer pieces of information so it won’t be overwhelming to read.

SAVEPOINT: A Temporary Zine Pack

A4 Magazine Archive, Editorial Design, Art Direction, Photoshoot
Format: Saddle-bound, Xerox Printed
Length: 39 pages

Archival
Lifespan of the Internet
Time Passage

My zine pack named ’save point’- is in reference to the save points in games, where players can save and preserve your current progress. This sentiment is encapsulated in exploring the concept of ephemerality through temporary mediums, created under a time restraint (time, time, and time again.)
It aims to embrace the ‘unkindness’ in the rapid passage of time, as inspired from the song title ‘The World Moves Quicker Than I Had Ever Realised and Sometimes It's Unkind’ by Dylan Henner (You Will Always Be, 2022).

The magazine archive, it explores the following topics: digital consciousness, machine-human ambiguity, divine machinery, and digital immortality. Among these subjects, it is investigated through media-- such as films, books, and design works- that I have consumed myself.

The aesthetic is inspired by retro video games and old tech consoles, to subconsciously remind readers how far the technology has come since their early days.

In this narrative of 'Save Point', the primary audience is-- intriguingly-- the future self. It's a dialogue across time; a message in a bottle sent into the currents of life; it’s destined to be rediscovered. This zine pack isn't merely a collection of memories or artefacts; it's a roadmap of personal evolution, a time capsule for the future self to reminisce, reflect, and recognise the life I have/had. It's an introspective story-- not for nostalgia's sake-- but as a portal to illuminate how far one has come.

ZINE PACK PHOTOSHOOT:

SELECTED SPREADS:

My Life is just as much Yours
(as it is Mine)

A6 Risograph Postcards, Illustration, Cassette Design

The Egg Theory
Birth/Life/Death
The Past/Future Self

How much of my life has someone else lived?” This was the guiding question to this self-initiated project. Based on the short story ‘The Egg’ by American writer Any Weir-- based roughly on the story of an anonymous man who discovers the “meaning of life” as shown by God after he dies. God shows him that he is both himself and everyone that has ever existed; the whole universe was created like an ‘egg’ for you, me, and everyone else. "Every time you victimized someone ... you were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you’ve done, you’ve done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be, experienced by you."

This project began with interviews with the closest people in my life, and we exchanged views on the topic of Birth, Life, and Death. These interviews were then transcribed and extracted as inspiration for the illustrations. The decision to keep the quotes anonymous reflects the nature of the concept- although everyone I spoke to is from very different backgrounds and upbringings, yet- there remained a similar ethos of life that ran across them all. I found this to be quite a beautiful illumination, and hope the following sentences presented in the designs can reach different groups of people, as well.

POSTCARD VARIATIONS (5 KINDS):

Haunted by Ghosts of Lost Futures:
A Study of Mecha Butterfly

Laser Cut Transparent Board, Publication Design/Production, Creative Writing, Photoshoot
Length: 8 pages
Year: 2023

Hauntology
Butterfly Effect
Anthropocene

As an echo to the Anthropocene, this work explores the butterfly effect, hauntology (definition: the idea that the present is haunted by the metaphorical “ghosts” of lost futures), and anthropocentrism (the ethical belief that humans alone possess intrinsic value) through the display of a mecha toy board that symbolises a lost future.

My aim is to encourage the audience to envision the potential dystopian future through portraying 3 butterflies as mecha toys, each inspired by a biblically accurate angel which emphasises the vice of humanity. The angel butterflies are portrayed in a traditional mecha toy board, along with a brochure explaining the context of the designs, akin to instruction brochures that come in toy boxes. The models are laser cut from transparent materials, emphasising the loss of natural beauty often associated with butterfly wings, while the transparency itself resembles a ghostly reminder of its past.

This project draws inspiration from the 'butterfly effect,' a concept from chaos theory-- which emphasises how small changes can lead to significant, far-reaching consequences. This is used as both a metaphorical reference to the anthropocene, but also a direct acknowledgment to the use of butterflies as imagery.

LASERCUT BOARD PHOTOSHOOT:

CREATIVE WRITING PUBLICATION:

TOMATO EGG Zine:
Full Exhibition Display

CSM Graduate Showcase, 2024

Banner Design, Laser cut shelves, Risograph posters, and Sticker Design

Exhibition Curation Interactive Design
Merch Design

Taking the audience and the given space of our project into consideration, we designed a full asset of works to complement the zine. This resulted in our A frame display into a ‘market shop’ concept, where the top banners resemble the design of a market tent, and the laser cut shelves act as the roof-- which turned out especially well when the sun lights directly on our display.

The risograph posters and stickers are sold with our zine, enhancing our brand identity outside of the publication.

@#<LIFE IS AN RPG: A Nintendo Calendar>?!

Spiral-bound Square Zine, Nintendo Lite Case Design, ASCII Illustration & Typography
Length: 53 pages

Year: 2024

ASCII Art
Gamification
Unconventional Publishing

This self-initiated project is a part of the Savepoint zine pack, and is a 2024 calendar designed in the style of a spiral-bound zine, inspired by the simplicity and nostalgia of ASCII text art. The calendar draws from the visual aesthetic of early digital culture, particularly from the days when ASCII art was a popular way to express creativity online. By reinterpreting this digital art form, I wanted to create a piece that connects modern design with a nostalgic reflection on the past.

The calendar isn’t just about timekeeping—it’s about storytelling. Inside, I’ve included pages from my own calendar entries from the 2023 year, using them to show how a person’s calendar can reveal much more than just dates and deadlines. This aspect is printed on semi-translucent tracing paper, emphasising the idea this is a record of the past.
A calendar is a record of daily life, a window into someone’s world: offering glimpses of their activities, their friendships, and their routine. The contrast of new dates with old entries creates a dialogue between past and present, making the passage of time more tangible.

The use of ASCII art throughout the design serves as a reminder of a time when this simple, yet expressive, form of digital art was part of our everyday digital experiences. For many, ASCII art was a creative outlet during the early days of the internet, and its inclusion here evokes a sense of digital nostalgia.
By revisiting this style in a modern calendar, I aim to connect with that history while giving it a new take. The result is a playful and reflective piece that encourages users to not only keep track of time but also to think about how far they’ve come and what their own personal "archives" might say about them.

What the Forest Told Me

Deliverable for COP26 x CSM
Concertina Zine, Illustration, Poster Design

Design for COP26

Weaponising Childhood Fable
Deep Ecology

Cop26 stands for the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference, which will be held on the 1st of November, 2022.
The COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow in November is seen as crucial if climate change is to be brought under control. Almost 200 countries are being asked for their plans to cut emissions, and it could lead to major changes to our everyday lives.

Inspired by the article ‘Decolonise science– time to end another imperial era’ by Rohan Deb Roy, where the author recounted the aftermath from the colonisation of nature, which prevented the colonised countries from climbing back with their resources.

The ‘lesson’ from the story is aimed to emphasise on the importance of how finding a “way back” is a possible solution for humans to evolve with nature, and my personal interpretation of this was to recall childhood illustrations & imagery as a way to reach the curious inner child who just wanted to exist peacefully with nature, and everything else in the world.

Story Summary:

An anonymous narrator begins recalling a memory that changed his perspective on life. The story begins with the narrator as a young boy, lost in the forest at night. Upon calling for help, three kind forest spirits appear and offer to guide him home. During their journey, they encounter a spider web blocking their path —in which the ignorant boy planned on burning down to make way. The spirits stop him, and show him visions of the world whilst educating him on the importance of taking care of nature— along with other lessons such as the symbiotic relationship between humans and nature.

CSM SYNERGY: Graduate Identity for Central Saint Martins Showcase

SHORTLISTED
Collaborators: Nicole Brunner, Ivana Duong, Punnapim Punnatheepitak, and Giulia Dusault
Branding, Typographical Design, Wayfinding Point Design, UX/UI Design, AR, Window Display Design

Branding Identity
Collaborative Graduates as a Cohort

CSM Synergy is a visual identity for the Annual Graduate Show Exhibition, hosting thousands of people who come from all over the globe each year. Our concept of CSM SYNERGY is creating an identity that embodies the synergy of creative forces coming together in impact, celebrating student diversity and unified talent.
In a group of 5 team members, we worked on this brief with the course tutors as well as the UAL as a client.

Our concept includes representing each graduating year (Foundations, Ba, and MA) by a star shape, which also symbolises a ‘clog’ in the machine of keeping the creative industry going. The stars are created with the design choice of making them stand out, whilst keeping true to the minimalistic aesthetic of the CSM branding.
The colour palette is made with the consideration of the show taking places during June, hence a more summer colour palette. Our assets included making: a wayfinding point, window displays, as well as additional elements such as stickers, AR filters, and motion graphics that come to live upon entering the UAL website.

ASSET DELIVERABLES (Website, Social Media, AR, Stickers):