Before deciding to study at Whitireia and WelTec, Designer Lei Li (Lee) was an avid traveller, always returning to one of his favourite places: New Zealand. After travelling for eight years, Lee decided it was time to pursue his passion for photography and explore his creative side. With a soft spot for Wellington, Lee chose to study at Whitireia and WelTec. The culture, friendly people, and creative atmosphere of Wellington all appealed to Lee.
“Wellington feels so special. Wellington is true New Zealand. It’s windy, the culture is cool, it’s diverse, there’s cool artwork everywhere, and there are some great bars. Plus, the people are so friendly.”
Lee’s first introduction to Whitireia and WelTec was in 2019, when he studied a photography course. He then returned home to China where he opened his own photography studio. After running his studio for several years, Lee’s desire to return New Zealand sprung up again. Keen to study with Whitireia and WelTec, Lee enrolled in the Bachelor of Creativity (Digital Media).
Over three years, students studying the Bachelor of Creativity (Digital Media) gain the skills to bring their concepts to life, work on client projects and build a work-ready portfolio. Students create 2D and 3D animations in Animation Design, learn how to communicate through a visual language in Graphic Design, and how to blend text, images and sound to create exciting content in Screen Design. In Game Design, students learn about the ways storytelling, conceptual art and worldbuilding can be constructed to create exciting interactive games.
The Bachelor of Creativity (Digital Media) appealed to Lee because of the freedom to choose what he wanted to focus on. Students pick up skills in all areas, but when it came to the final projects, they would have the chance to use their preferred discipline. As an avid gamer, specifically World of Warcraft, Lee already had a natural affinity for gaming, so chose Game Design as his focus.
As a self-directed learner, Lee loved the opportunity to be introduced to so many new skills, happily branching off in his own time and watching tutorials on different tools. This love for learning helped Lee develop into one of the top students in his class.
One of Lee’s favourite projects was “Illuminati”. The concept for this game was born from a story building exercise. Lee’s story centered around a post-apocalyptic world, after a nuclear war, where the remaining humans must live underground and use solar energy to survive. See an excerpt from the game below.
To create this world, Lee predominantly used Blender, an open-source 3D computer graphics software tool, game engines Unreal Engine 5 (UE5) and Unity.
During his studies, Lee built strong friendships with his classmates. “I made a lot of friends in my class. It was a small class, and we all got along. We still catch up for drinks when I’m down from Auckland!”
Lee loved that the tutors encouraged him to explore his favourite area of design. “They let me choose what I wanted to do my projects on, and then supported me to explore that area to the fullest. They supported everyone with suggestions of similar work to get inspired by, or just shared their own experience in that area.”
Lee's work
Lee is thankful for the amount he learnt about design processes and principles, which he describes as invaluable in his work now. “Being taught those design principles and applying them through many different projects and mediums has been so beneficial in my work now.”
Now, Lee is working for a company called YOUHAOU Trading Limited doing design. “In my role, I create the packaging for a range of different supermarket products – it might be a bag of rice, pastries, or chips. When a company wants to import their products and sell them in New Zealand, they’ll often need to redesign the packaging. It involves a lot of graphic design, and a little bit of 3D modelling.”
Lee is enjoying applying what he’s learnt at school to a full-time job. Learning to work in a team, juggle multiple projects, and problem-solve on the go have all been beneficial. After gaining some work experience, Lee plans to return to his passion, game design.
Study Digital Media in Wellington →
Learn real skills to bring your concepts, characters, creatures or worlds to life. Come and learn from tutors who will teach you about animation, game, graphic and screen design (film and visual effects). Whether you’re creating captivating animations or imaginative illustrations, designing gameplay experiences, or shaping visual narratives, there’s a world of creativity waiting for you!
