About

I am Oltree Hui, a graphic designer—though, in this fragmented age, I inhabit a multiplicity of roles: I design, I write, I teach... Though these roles take different forms, they are unified by a common purpose: to explore and reimagine the systems, symbols, and contexts that shape our world. For me, design is not only an object of commerce but also a cultural practice. It survives and gains its meaning only within the specificity of its social context, bearing a dual responsibility: to serve the functional while interrogating the ideological.

My journey began in the realms of oil painting and performance art, media rich with potential for confrontation and revelation, particularly in the context of political and social engagement. Yet, over time, I perceived a certain ambiguity in expression: while it liberated my voice, it did not necessarily establish a genuine connection with others.

Design, by contrast, operates within a different semiotic system—one that prioritizes communication over expression. To design is to place oneself within society, not merely to convey information but to construct dialogue. It requires a paradoxical "dissolution of the self": one must think from the perspective of others, empathizing with not only the subject matters, but also the users and perceivers. Even when design is critical or subversive, it must remain gentle, non-invasive, and educational—a kind of ethics of form. Yet, at times, design may need to adopt an aggressive form, paradoxically embracing forcefulness to fulfill its purpose, to rupture the codes it seeks to reconfigure. This tension between subtlety and intensity transforms design into an exhilarating game, a dynamic interplay of constraints and possibilities.

Thus, I came to understand design as a quiet revolution. It does not shout or impose but influences, infiltrates, and ultimately reconfigures the symbolic codes by which we navigate the world. Through this process, I found not only a profession but also a mission: to transform the social text and rewrite the world through subtle interventions.