Zihan Li From Translation to Interpretation

Can we create a new contemporary graphic design style based on traditional Chinese elements in written language and typography?

How does culture affect its writing system, in both typography and visual communication?

How do the forms of letters and characters affect the function of languages?

In what ways do certain calligraphic strokes indicate the nationality of a typeface?

How can graphic design benefit from this hidden language, aside from written text that’s been typeset?

Languages can be seen as communication tools that have been sedimented through centuries. A written language, on the other hand, is a symbolic representation of communication. As someone who speaks both English and Chinese, I am capable of understanding their meanings without the need to translate from one to another. With this ability, I have explored questions relating to the relationship between language and culture, within the aspect of graphic design.

My research focuses on finding the deeper meanings behind the designed facade of written language, in practical methods that often experiment with legibility. How do the forms of letters and characters affect the function of languages? In what ways do certain calligraphic strokes indicate the nationality of a typeface? How can graphic design benefit from this hidden language, aside from written text that’s been typeset? With these questions in mind, I aim to uncover a new style of expression for contemporary design practice.

Toothbird is an experimental communication practice. The visual appearance resembles Fulu, a talisman about incarnations and symbols in Taoism, yet the symbolic and unreadable pictographs encourage an intuitive, open interpretation.

Kenneo: A type design using the Latin alphabet. Dots, lines, and tails are combined, on a pixel grid, to generate glyphs with a coherent graphic style. This produces a completely illegible, decorative typeface. With strong style and the resemblance of strokes, it creates a nonexistent language.