2025 Hot New Things: Sioeli Paea, Unitec
Design Assembly profiles a selection of the top graduates from the best Art and Design Schools in Aotearoa New Zealand. We welcome these talented emerging professionals to our industry, learn about their passions, final projects, developing creative confidence and ambitions for the future.
Sioeli Paea recently graduated with a Bachelor of Design & Global Studies from Unitec. Find out more about undergraduate and postgraduate study options in art and design by visiting our Design Schools page.
Tell us a bit about yourself:
Hey, my name is Sioeli. I’m an Auckland based designer and I’ve just finished up my Bachelor of Design and Contemporary Arts degree at Unitec. I’m of Polynesian descent (Dad is Tongan, Mum is Cook Islander/ Samoan). I grew up in Ōtara, South Auckland but moved to Highland Park, East Auckland at the age of 7. This is where I spent the rest of my childhood and adolescence. Growing up in two different places has shaped my creative process as a designer; it is often reflected in my work as a lot of it deals with ideas such as duality, intertextuality and the dichotomy between things that are different.
What was the focus of your graduating project?
Earlier in the year our class worked on a group project where we had to design a visual identity for a potential brand of organic snacks and chocolates. I enjoyed this part of the creative process and I wanted to incorporate some form of visual identity into my next project. I decided to base my work on Ōtara and where I grew up so one of my lecturers (shout out to Jonty Valentine) suggested that I look at city councils and how they use design elements as part of their visual identities. At this point I still felt like my project was lacking a sense of originality and palpability so to speak so I asked myself; what would happen if a suburb were to be visually branded like a nightclub as opposed to the conventional visualization of a city council?
Tin City is the amalgamation of two different cultural spheres being presented as a cohesive and communal visual identity. I designed a bunch of posters, flyers, wristbands, social media posts and even some 3D models to convey this sense of dualism for this conceptual brand. With this project I wanted to explore and bridge the gap between nightclub culture and South Auckland suburbia through the use of visual branding and identity.
Why did you choose to study design at Unitec?
I decided to study here at Unitec because I was unsure of what I wanted to pursue as a career within the creative industries. This degree gave me an opportunity to explore and learn different design skills and creative outputs throughout my studies which is something that greatly appealed to me.
What did you enjoy most about the design programme?
My motion graphics classes were some of the most fun I had throughout my studies. It’s funny because I’ve always been fascinated with motion graphics since I was a kid but I never knew what that field of design was called until I started studying at Unitec.
Also before studying I assumed I knew what I wanted out of this degree but throughout my studies I have taken interest in aspects of design that I originally had no interest in. At first I wanted to focus on web and digital media design but over the last 3 years I have discovered how much I actually like publication design and the creative process behind that. I always wanted to learn a wide range of creative skills but I didn’t expect to enjoy publication design as much as I did.
What was your biggest challenge while studying?
The whole thing about being a struggling artist is cliche but it holds some truth to it. The same can be said about being a broke student amidst a cost-of-living crisis. Put two and two together and that pretty much sums up my biggest challenge throughout my studies. Sometimes being a designer can be expensive when you’re looking at costs for materials, software and other resources. I managed to finish my degree without having access to my own computer due to financial strain but it was pretty difficult not having the luxury of taking my work home with me after class or being able to work on stuff on my own time. This was somewhat a blessing in disguise though as it forced me to be more conscious of how I spent my time and required me to be present at uni if I wanted to work on stuff rather than working from home where I could easily give way to any distractions or excuses. However this was still a strain on me as I had to sacrifice a lot of time and late nights away from home just to get work completed.
Also imposter syndrome. Still struggling with that one.
What inspired you to pick design as a career path?
It was actually an old counsellor of mine that suggested this to me. At the time I was stuck in a dead-end factory job that I absolutely hated. She asked me what I was passionate about and when I told her I liked being creative she suggested that I should go and study design if my factory job was making me so unhappy. We sat there in her office and we looked at a bunch of creative arts and design degrees on her computer. Unitec popped up and the rest is history. So basically this is all her fault. Shout out to her though.
What’s next for you?
I need to find a job lol. But in all seriousness I want to expand my portfolio over the next few months with some freelance work and passion projects of my own. I also want to learn and develop other creative skills such as film photography and screen printing. Eventually I’d like to work with an agency in some capacity as I’d love to have that sort of experience as a creative. I’ve always been an avid music listener so applying my design skills in that creative field would be cool too. As of right now any entry level job in the creative industry would be a step forward in the right direction for me. The future is always uncertain but I’m excited nonetheless.
Where can we see more of your work?
My Portfolio, LinkedIn and Instagram, or email me.
Design Assembly profiles a selection of the top graduates from the best Art and Design Schools in Aotearoa New Zealand. We welcome these talented emerging professionals to our industry, learn about their passions, final projects, developing creative confidence and ambitions for the future.
Find out more about undergraduate and postgraduate study options in art and design by visiting our Design Schools page.
