Ju Xie's Visual Design Projects Explore Narrative and Identity Through Graphic Systems

Ju Xie, a Chinese visual designer born in 1997 and based in Los Angeles, creates work that transforms cultural, social, and emotional narratives into visual imagery. Her practice spans traditional graphic design, motion graphics, and 3D environments, utilizing techniques like collage, typography, animation, and modular systems to build layered visual storytelling. Xie initially trained as a painter before shifting to graphic design, bringing a strong sensitivity to composition, light, and rhythm into both static and animated works. Her projects have earned international recognition from awards including the International Design Awards (IDA), C2A Creative Communication Awards, London Design Awards, and MUSE Creative Awards. A notable project, 'The City of Chicago Branding,' explored the city's cultural character by translating its genius loci into images. Xie identified six qualities that capture Chicago's spirit: innovation, intellect, loyalty, courage, tenacity, and ambition. These attributes reflect the city's legacy of industrial resilience, solidarity, artistic experimentation, and civic activism. The project developed a modular visual language where each quality is expressed through a geometric shape inspired by Chicago's urban landscape elements—such as the city grid, river branches, and skyline silhouettes—which combine to form the letter 'i' in 'Chicago,' conceptually referencing the pronoun 'I' to suggest civic identity emerges from individual citizen experiences. Another significant project was created for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), one of the largest mental health organizations in the United States. This work, recognized internationally in 2025, addresses social stigma around mental health discussions. Based on research into personal narratives shared online, where individuals described emotional experiences through metaphors of fragmentation and healing as repair, Xie used collage as the primary method. The visual language combines layered images, typographic fragments, and interrupted grids to create compositions that are both unstable and cohesive, embracing imperfection and complexity rather than imposing perfect harmony. Xie explained the goal was to create a visual environment where these experiences could exist honestly without forcing them into perfect order. In motion graphics, Xie transformed the iconic M&M's characters into immersive animated environments, interpreting the personalities of Yellow, Red, and Blue by constructing distinct visual worlds that reflect their specific traits. Each environment serves as a spatial extension of the character's identity: Yellow's evokes nature with warmth and curiosity; Red's reflects strong individuality through dynamic compositions and energetic movements; Blue's introduces a calm, relaxed atmosphere. These environments continuously transform during animation, creating a playful sensation that reinforces brand identity. Xie's work demonstrates how graphic systems can interpret historical narratives and collective identity, presenting civic identity as a narrative shaped by individual voices.