Vicky Li

Attention, please! 😆🔊 Did you know SF Foodies & Paper Charms is up and running? Let’s craft paper charms together! Monday’s at #unionsquaresf ✨ FREE ✨ sf FOODIES & Paper Charms, Vicky ( @bigobug ) March 16th, 4-6pm #citystudiosf #sfrecpark #shopdinesf

ertia 无为 • NAMING THE DRINK • This brand identity began from the quote, “大道无为, 众生自渡.” from a recent novel I picked up. The quote itself is from taoist philosophy, and it could be broadly translated to “The greatest path is without action, and everyone has their own journey”. I picked out the word “无为” as a direct translation is “action without effort”. Wuwei is often depicted with rivers, so I really associated it with “going with the flow” where it’s also a form of authority. For the English wordmark, how could I showcase the same feeling? Chinese is a very metaphorical language, while English is fairly literal. Ertia is a make-up word I ripped-off of “inertia”, if “inert” had a negative connotation of stagnation, but not inherently composed of rich metaphor derived from it’s chinese word mark. Then let’s remove “inert” for ertia, which is pronounced quite similarly to earth. • ETHOS + IDENTITY • So the biggest challenge was how can I tie a philosophy such as ertia无为 into a sparkling juice brand? Bringing the core values of 无为, by going with the flow is a form of authority. By trying to alter a fruit’s innate form (i.e. taste or sweetness) is a disruption of harmony. This meant that ertia as a brand doesn’t claim to be what it isn’t. It should align with the nature of the fruits used—dragon eye, saturn peach, tangerine—which motivated the color palette. Beyond 3 flavors, the packaging would derive from the color of the fruits used. A nod to the fact I was inspired by novels, I wanted to depict the nutrition label in descending order like traditional chinese books; however, remain contemporary through the softness of the Chinese typography. For the English, luckily the nutrition label isn’t the first thing you see, it can conform to the format of the Chinese type treatment but remain legible as a secondary read. It’s blocky-enough to stack, but softer than usual Chinese typography. With the type the goal is to showcase the delicacy, the bottle is quite small–it’s very intimate. A typeface that was more rounded, gentle, open felt just right for ertia. • . • • FINALLY NOTES • Thanks Mark Fox [🦊] @design_is_play for your advice throughout the process!

Hey! ✨ I’ve been quiet for a moment, but since last October, I’ve been working on this brochure for @love.livesinsf ‘s Art Walk at Union Square for this February 19th-22nd all-day from morning to night! This is a collaborative brochure I designed, and the lovely illustrator is Kaeli ( @mrsandmann ) ! A graphic designer like me can’t live without their illustrator friends! Here’s to an awesome opening reception at Hotel Emblem! #unionsquaresf #lovelivesinsf #cca

Big shout out to our star drawers Angela Zamora, Kaeli McLeod, Isaiah Torok, Shreyas Poojary, Vicky Li, Madison Griggs, and Delanie Lippert for their skills with people and on paper. Huge thanks to Mark and Chad of Union Square Alliance for the opportunity. That’s a wrap for 2025. We look forward to seeing everyone again in spring 2026!

Can we design a logo in 1 week? Only if you have an awesome design team of 5 people! For us that was Piper, Judith, Tony, Adrian, and me! As a Graphic Designer in @cca.caplconnects & current Art Director of CCA’s Humble Pie for the class in the fall of 2025, we creating in a real design sprint! The big challenge was how could we implement the values of humble pie into the logo —— especially in this short amount of time? Humble Pie is a writing organization, and it’s student-led, outside of being derived from “serving you a slice of humble pie”. Our organization is fluid, and each class of students have different ideas, tastes, and values! Ultimately, what never changes about humble pie is that it’s about community! Combining all these attributes together, we serve to you a plate of pie. 🥧 But that’s not all! 🤩 We don’t just cook pies here at Humble Pie literacy journal, there’s something baking in the oven… waiting to plated. 🤫🍽️ @ccahumblepie #cca #humblepie #californiacollegeofthearts #sanfransisco

Oooo, meet the graphic designer — Vicky Li! Creator of “Ready To Fight” / “来打架！” Fun Fact: Did you know that Vicky played some Bruce Lee video games to get an idea of how to draw Bruce Lee? 👀 (Of course, watching the movies helped too!) #sanfrancisco #citystudiosf #brucelee #chinatown

Are you ready to fight? 你准备打架吗？ It’s been so long since I’ve done anything in chinatown, glad to be back! :) My design about Bruce Lee & Wong Kim Ark for the Chinese Historical Society of America at chinatown… more to come! #citystudiosf #chsa #sanfrancisco #chinatownsf

READY TO FIGHT! 來打架！ Bruce Lee （李小龍） & Wong Kim Ark （黄金德）screenprints in celebration of Bruce Lee’s life and legacy at Chinatown right now! 👊 💥 Get a special limited edition print for free! Sponsored by the Chinese Historical Society of America ( @chsamuseum ) and screenprinted by us, City Studio and Collective Action Studio! 🖌️Ready To Fight!” Design by Vicky Li ( @bigobug ) 🖌️ Bruce Lee Design by Joe Aquilizan

Hey City Studio Friends! Did you know that we’re at Chinatown right now, screenprinting Bruce Lee and Wong Kim Ark for the Chinatown Block-Party? Come join us from 1pm-4pm TODAY! October 4th! #citystudiosf #chsa #chinatown #sanfransisco

Clay hearts for all ❤️ Help us distribute Clay hearts around San Francisco for everyone to find! @love.livesinsf

Oooo, what’s happening in SF today? 👀 Kaeli is making a comeback at Friends of Jackson Park, teaching little ones (and the not so little ones!) how to make clay hearts! ❤️ If you have a little one or if you simply want to make a clay heart yourself—come around! With 5 student staffs members, all about our initiative to spread love around San Francisco! #sanfransisco #friendsofjacksonpark #jacksonpark #cca Love Lives in SF Jackson Park Sept 6th, 11:00-3:00pm

Today was hectic! 😅 It was cool to see new people, and old people hanging around 🤩 📝 Note to self: bring more than 1 pair of scissors per table! 👀 Also really fun to see people try out different food cuisines people are drawn to… 🤔 P.S. If you leave your paper charms on the table, it becomes free real estate for inspo— 😔🤚 I don’t make the rules! (Except I kind of do)