World of Warcraft — Martin “Wai" Nguyen

The Overview

Few games carry the legacy and cultural impact of World of Warcraft. Since its launch in 2004, the game has built a passionate global fanbase through its rich lore, iconic factions, and expansive fantasy world. Having grown up playing the game, contributing creatively to the franchise was both professionally exciting and personally meaningful.

Working alongside the creative team at Blizzard, the goal was to translate the spirit of the game into physical spaces and visual systems that celebrate the brand, its community, and the world it represents.

The Challenge

World of Warcraft has an incredibly deep visual history. Its aesthetic language—ranging from faction symbolism to ornate fantasy typography—is instantly recognizable to millions of players.

Honor the established visual identity and lore of the franchise
Ensure all creative felt immersive and celebratory for longtime fans
Maintain clarity and visual impact across a multitude of assets

The Impact

The work extended the World of Warcraft visual identity beyond the screen, translating its lore and iconography into a wide range of real-world applications. I designed environmental graphics, digital assets, packaging, signage, and even custom beer labels—creating a cohesive visual presence that celebrated the franchise across multiple touchpoints.

For me personally, contributing to the creative legacy of a game I grew up playing was a true full-circle moment.

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Creative Director : Erik Jensen
Design Lead : Michael Carillo
Producer : Caroline Wu Bonti
Producer : Andrew English
Sr. Production Artist : Ken Murayama
Sr. Graphic Designer : Martin Nguyen
Sr. Graphic Designer : Paul Finochio
Sr. Graphic Designer : Ty Stevens
Graphic Designer : Hannah Straw

Courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment

For the Shadowlands expansion of World of Warcraft, I contributed to the development of the Collector’s Edition—designing key visual elements that extended the expansion’s thematic identity beyond the game itself. The work focused on translating the distinct aesthetics of the Shadowlands realms into physical design, culminating in a custom visual system for the Collector’s Edition packaging—including the design of the Collector’s Edition box, pin placard, commemorative postcards, and supporting digital assets. In addition, I art directed and designed the Shadowlands art book from the ground up—structuring the narrative, pacing the artwork, and crafting layouts that elevated the concept art while delivering a premium experience for fans.

Key contributions included:

Designed custom patterns and iconography inspired by Shadowlands’ lore
Developed visual elements used within the Collector’s Edition packaging
Art directed and designed the Shadowlands art book from initial concept through final layout
Organized and structured artwork to create a cohesive narrative experience throughout the publication

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Shadowlands

For BlizzCon 2019, I designed a series of themed beverage labels inspired by World of Warcraft lore, including a beer can label featuring the fan-favorite character Murky and two beer bottle labels representing the franchise’s iconic opposing factions, the Alliance and the Horde.

The design process focused on translating recognizable faction symbolism and character personality into a bold, collectible label format that would resonate with fans attending the event. By blending playful illustration, faction iconography, and fantasy-inspired typography, the labels captured the spirit of Warcraft while creating memorable, on-theme experiences for BlizzCon.

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BlizzCon 2019

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For the launch of Burning Crusade Classic, I contributed to the development of an out-of-home campaign designed to bring the return to Outland into the real world. The work included large-scale transit takeovers across bus and train wraps as well as a projection-mapping activation that transformed architecture into a portal-inspired visual spectacle.

Drawing from the expansion’s iconic fel-green energy and dark fantasy aesthetic, the creative translated the game’s visual language into bold, high-impact environmental graphics that captured attention in urban spaces and celebrated the return of World of Warcraft’s most beloved expansion.

Check out the behind-the-scenes video here!

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Burning Crusade Classic

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Eternity’s End

Designing the logo for a Eternity’s End, the final chapter of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, was a standout moment in my work on World of Warcraft. As a longtime player who grew up with the game, contributing to the visual identity of a major patch was a rare full-circle experience. I developed the logo through explorations of typography, cosmic motifs, and visual cues that reflected the scale and finality of the narrative. The final mark carried that sense of culmination while aligning with the established WoW brand system, and seeing it roll out across marketing and in-game assets made the project both creatively rewarding and personally meaningful.

During my time at Blizzard, I’ve designed a wide range of digital banner campaigns for World of Warcraft, translating the game’s epic worlds, expansions, and seasonal moments into bold,, visually attractive creative. I’ve produced a high volume of polished banner ads across multiple formats and platforms, balancing strong typography, striking composition, and brand consistency. My focus is simple: deliver clear, engaging visuals that capture attention fast and bring the energy of Azeroth to every placement.