ABOUT WEI YEW
Wei Yew practiced graphic design in Singapore before emigrating to Canada in 1976. He opened his own firm, Studio 3 Graphics, in 1980, which was rebranded to Wei Yew & Co. in 2005. Among Wei’s many notable projects are the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, the 1988 Olympic Winter Games Arts Festival, the TriBach Festival, and numerous iconic logos such as those for Epcor, the Arts District, Syncrude Canada, Stollery Children's Hospital, The Citadel Theatre, Edmonton Valley Zoo, and the Calgary Olympic Development Association. Wei was also responsible for the stunning multimedia presentation to the IAAF selection committee in Monaco, which helped bring the 2001 IAAF World Championships in Athletics to Edmonton. His work with the Association for the Export of Canadian Books has significantly raised the profile of Canadian book publishers through branding and exhibit designs at international book fairs in London, Frankfurt, Bologna, Beijing, and New York.
What sets Wei’s creativity apart is his ability to adapt designs to various media and three-dimensional formats. He studied architecture for 3½ years before deciding to become a graphic designer. His portfolio includes 3D works such as the Polar Iconic Sculpture in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, the Healing Garden monument at the Cross Cancer Institute, the Robert Tegler Student Centre Recognition Tree, and the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award. Wei was instrumental in the planning and design of exhibits at the 44,000 sq. ft. Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, which opened in September 1985.
Wei also designed the prestigious Moriyama Royal Architectural Institute of Canada International Prize Award, presented on October 11, 2014. With a budget of $2.5 million (1988 dollars), he project-managed and designed the entire Olympic Arts Festival held in Calgary during the 1988 Winter Games, finishing the 17-month project $250,000 under budget. Wei won the competition to design the Provincial Police & Peace Officer Memorial Monument at the Alberta Legislature, a project completed on budget and on time. He also designed the $25 million Sir Winston Churchill Memorial Park at the Garrison, currently awaiting funding.
Wei’s design experience is international in scope. High-profile projects include a commission by IOC President Samaranch to produce a centennial publication, The Olympic Image, which involved over five years of research. He created logos for the Olympic Truce (winning an international design competition) and the Environmental Olympics. In 2002, at the IOC’s invitation, Wei addressed the 2008 Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG), sharing his expertise with BOCOG and 800 design delegates at the International Design Conference. In June 2004, he spoke at a Design Conference organized by the 2010 Vancouver Organizing Committee for the Winter Games (VANOC) and served on the jury for the 2010 VANOC emblem competition. Wei also designed the Olympic look for EPCOR, the official supplier to the 2010 Games. In 2021, he was one of three international judges for the International Union of Architects logo design competition in Paris.
Wei’s works have won international design awards and have been featured in prestigious design magazines such as Communication Arts. His accolades include the 1994 Mayor’s Award for Business & the Arts, The City of Edmonton’s Salute to Excellence, and the City of New York’s declaration of June 7, 1996, as The Olympic Image Day in his honour. Mayor Bill Smith presented Wei with the 2004 Waldo Ranson Spirit of Edmonton Award for his spirit, integrity, and leadership. He also won the 1993 Mayor’s Award for Sustained Support of the Arts and received the City of Edmonton Citation Award for the 2011 Salute to Excellence program. Wei is the proud recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.
Wei has served on the teaching staff at MacEwan University and DevStudios eMedia Design School in Edmonton. He has also been a sessional lecturer at the University of Alberta, NAIT, Edmonton Digital Arts College, and Pixel Blue College. He has conducted lectures and workshops throughout Western Canada, the Yukon, and the Orient, and has adjudicated numerous design competitions, including the first-ever graphic design show in Shenzhen, China.
CLICK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX FOR THE MENU