Meet Yue（Leah） Liu | Graphic Designer & Visual Storyteller

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yue（Leah） Liu and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yue（Leah）, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
To me, risk is closely tied to opportunity. It usually comes with uncertainty, but it also creates space for growth. Stepping outside my comfort zone has been an important part of my journey.

Even when outcomes aren’t guaranteed, taking risks has helped me learn and gain clarity along the way. Avoiding risk often means staying where you are.

In my life and career so far, taking risks has meant being open to new environments, learning through unfamiliar situations, and getting more comfortable with uncertainty.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My work sits at the intersection of observation, emotion, and design. What sets me apart is that I don’t start from trends. I start from paying attention.

This way of seeing began with something as simple as shopping bags. As a child, I collected them not for what was inside, but for how they felt. I was fascinated by their textures, the subtle weight of the paper, and the way colors shifted in different light. I didn’t have the words for it then, but I was already learning that everyday objects can carry emotion.

That instinct later evolved into a slower design process. I’m naturally patient, and I tend to sit with details, like a quiet gesture or a change in light, for a long time before they become design. Before I ever studied design formally, I spent years drawing and observing. That experience trained me to notice rhythm and form where others might see nothing. Today, in my graphic design practice, I don’t focus only on tools. I focus on translating lived experience into visual language.

My professional path hasn’t been a straight line. There were many moments of doubt, especially when navigating unfamiliar environments. What helped me move forward was changing the way I talked to myself. Instead of asking whether I was “good enough,” I asked whether I still loved it enough. As long as that curiosity was there, I knew the path was worth taking.

Right now, I’m most excited about moving beyond static design. I’m exploring how brand identity can create moments of interaction between people. I don’t want audiences to only look at my work. I want them to engage with it.

If there’s one thing I hope people understand about my brand, it’s that it isn’t built on being loud or perfect. It’s built on being attentive and human. I believe the most meaningful design doesn’t come from a computer. It grows from honesty, care, and a deep respect for lived experience.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Atlanta is a city I’ve really grown to love. It has a good balance. You can feel the energy of the city, but you can also slow down and enjoy everyday life. There’s space to breathe, think, and connect with people, which is something I really value.

If a friend were visiting, I’d definitely take them to Piedmont Park. It’s one of the best places to experience that balance. You can take a walk, sit on the grass, and just enjoy being outside. What I love most is that the area around the park feels very alive, but not overwhelming.

Around Piedmont Park, there are a lot of great restaurants and coffee shops, so it’s easy to spend the whole afternoon there without rushing. One of my favorite places nearby is Bulla Gastrobar. It’s one of my go-to restaurants. The food is comforting, the atmosphere is warm, and it’s a place where you can really relax and enjoy a meal.

I also love that after eating or having coffee, you can walk right back into the park or head to nearby places like the Atlanta Botanical Garden or the High Museum of Art. Everything feels connected, which makes the city very livable.

For me, that’s what makes Atlanta special. It’s not just about specific places. It’s about how nature, culture, food, and everyday life all sit close together. It’s a city where you can move at your own pace and still feel inspired.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to dedicate my Shoutout to Giorgia Lupi.

What has influenced me most is her way of thinking, especially her systematic and human-centered approach to design. Her work showed me that design, across different forms and mediums, is ultimately about how we observe, organize, and make sense of the world.

I’m especially inspired by her Data Humanism philosophy and projects like Dear Data. What resonated with me was the mindset behind the work—the attention to small moments, lived experience, and emotional nuance. It showed me that systems can be poetic, and that structure and sensitivity don’t have to be opposites.

This perspective has shaped my design method beyond any single discipline. I’m interested in how systems, branding, and visual storytelling connect with one another, and how thoughtful structure can support human experience. Her thinking encouraged me to approach design more holistically to look for the human layer within structures, and to translate that into clear, meaningful visual language.

Because of this influence, I see design as a connected practice. Whether I’m working on branding, visual systems, or communication, the core remains the same: observing carefully, thinking systematically, and designing with empathy.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahyueliu

Image Credits
Background artwork: The Second State (1987) by Geng Jianyi.