Angela Shen at the tulip festival ✦ Angela Shen
SFU CMNS & IAT · Incoming IAT Masters Student, SFU, Fall 2026

Designer,
communicator,
and artist.

I've spent my whole life making things for people: paintings, interfaces, campaigns, stories. The thread running through all of it is the same: the moment someone feels something because of what you made.

UX Design Visual Communication Paid Media Chinese Brush Painting Editorial Illustration Photography
"I perhaps do too many things, but I love everything I have done."
— Angela Shen

Shanghainese by origin, British Columbian by half a lifetime

I grew up in Shanghai and have lived in B.C. as a permanent resident for over half my life. Two cities, two languages. I speak Mandarin at native level and English as the language I think and make in. Neither place is a background detail; both are active parts of how I read situations, communicate across difference, and design for people who aren't like me.

Growing up between cultures taught me early that most communication problems are really translation problems, not just of language, but of assumption, reference, and context. That's a lens I carry into every project.

Shanghai, China British Columbia, Canada Native Mandarin Permanent Resident
Angela interviewed by Vancouver Is Awesome, age 17

Vancouver, B.C. · Age 17

Angela on Nandan Road, Shanghai, age 22

Nandan Road, Shanghai · Age 22

Making things that make people feel something

I've been making things (paintings, interfaces, campaigns, stories) for as long as I can remember. The thread is always the same: the moment between the work and the person receiving it. That small, genuine surprise. That flicker of being seen.

Chinese brush painting taught me the discipline of irreversibility. Every mark is final. I carry that into design: good systems reduce anxiety rather than produce it, and good advertising is a story someone wants to be part of, not a message pushed at them.

At VACFSS, running 4M+ impression campaigns on a $15K budget made it concrete. Design at that scale isn't decoration, it's infrastructure. I'm drawn to work where the stakes are real and the audience is underserved.

Chinese brush painting in progress Weather Yes But — storyboard illustration

Experience & Credentials

A summary of my work, full PDF available below.

331% Increase in web traffic
4M Impressions in one year
80K Landing page views

Work Experience

July 2025 – Present Vancouver, B.C.
Communications & Recruitment Specialist, UX Designer
Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society
  • Spearheaded strategic initiatives aligned with organizational policy, resulting in optimized and more efficient recruitment solutions.
  • Achieved a 331% increase in web traffic by launching high-impact campaigns and overseeing UX improvements over two years, generating 4M impressions and 80,000 landing page views within a single year.
  • Directed end-to-end creative and media strategy for recruitment, managing all design assets and multi-channel execution across Meta and Google Ads.
  • Provided data-driven insights to leadership on advertising performance and conversion trends, directly influencing shifts in applicant traffic.
Sept 2023 – July 2025 Vancouver, B.C.
Communications & Public Relations Assistant
Vancouver Aboriginal Child and Family Services Society
  • Produced annual reports and designed visual assets, including event banners, community greeting cards, and a complete re-brand of New Employee Orientation materials.
  • Coordinated agency events for 200+ attendees over two years; managed end-to-end logistics including invitations, on-site photography, and reporting.
  • Maintained the primary website and managed social media accounts, scheduling posts based on engagement data and event sponsorships.
July – Dec 2025 Surrey, B.C.
Motion Director & Technician
StudioIAT
  • Directed 12 high-fidelity motion capture shoots, overseeing set direction and approval of takes to ensure data integrity for animation production.
  • Executed post-capture data cleanup, refining raw motion data for seamless integration into animation pipelines.
July – Sept 2022 Surrey, B.C.
UX Designer, Graphics Artist & Illustrator
Luv the Grub / Hey Girl
  • Led the design of new packaging, labeling, and a product microsite, utilizing product testing to ensure an optimal user experience.
  • Created custom brand mascots to drive engagement across infographics, posters, and social media.

Education

Graduating April 2026 Burnaby, B.C.
B.A. Joint Major: Communication & Interactive Arts & Technology
Simon Fraser University

Leadership: Director of Volunteering (CPRS Vancouver) · Representative (Dean's Advisory Council) · Member (BC Youth Council) · Executive (SFU Surge & SFU Artist Club)

🥈 Chinese Brush Painting, Silver 2024 🥉 Chinese Brush Painting, Bronze 2025 🏆 SFU Opportunity Fest, 2nd Place 2022 🎬 VCFF Short Film Nomination 2025

Skills & Tools

UX Design Brand Marketing Paid Media (Meta & Google) Strategic Planning Copywriting Adobe Creative Cloud HTML / CSS / JavaScript Google Analytics Meta Ad Suite Maya Illustration Graphic Design
Download Resume PDF ↗
Creamy, Soda, and Rufus — Angela's three adopted budgies, left to right

On the subject of the most important members of my household

I have three adopted budgies. They are loud, opinionated, and deeply convinced that whatever I am working on is less interesting than them. They are correct. Caring for animals that needed a home is something I feel strongly about. There's an obvious throughline to the rest of my work.

Chinese watercolour portrait of Feifei
Teen Witch editorial illustration for The Peak
Winter Solstice Card 2023
Peace Girl illustration

Let's work together

Open to UX, communications, and design roles, graduating Spring 2026.

Get in Touch View Experience LinkedIn ↗