TOPIC RESEARCH 02 DEVELOP U SING FOOD TO SPARK DIALOUGE ABOUT ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES INTRODUCTION FOOD CONNECTS PEOPLE Chef Jenny Dorsey is an Asian American woman Food is associated with memories, people, who creates works of art through food to also cultures, and meaning. I think food brings people spread awareness of Asian American issues. She together, whether through good or bad times, it's interprets food as being more than something something every culture has in common. Within that is just supposed to taste and look good, Chinese cuisine specifically, the dishes are considering it's something so integral to our lives commonly served alongside bowls of rice and and how we understand our own communities you are supposed to grab food directly from the and upbringing. main dishes with your chopsticks, rather than each person getting a plate of a certain food, which is common in more Western cultures. 46
TOPIC RESEARCH 02 DEVELOP TOOD FOR THOUGHT MORE IN DEPTH ISSUES TO CONSIDER ARE THE STEREOTYPES/ INSULTS PERCEPTIONS THAT ASIAN CHINESE AS A WHOLE DEAL WITH WHY ARE THESTEREOTYPES OUR FOOD IS CHINESE ABOUT HOW ASIAN GROSS, STINKY RESTRAUNTS PEOPLE EAT CATS WEIRD & UNCLEAN CONSIDERED & DOGS WHY DO PEOPLE CHEAP TAKEOUT FOOD IS INITIMATE EAT CHINESE WHEREAS & PERSONAL, FOOD BUT HATE EUROPEAN FOOD CULTURALLY & THE PEOPLE IS CONSIDERED PHYSIOLOGICALLY. BEHIND IT? FINE DINING? PHYSIOLOGICALLY. 47
TOPIC RESEARCH CCOONNCCLULUSISOIONN 0T2HDOEUVGEHLOTSP I think a similar experience that many Asian Americans faced growing up in America was the ridicule of these cultural foods and traditions by non- Asian Americans. Asian Americans sharing their experiences with racism and microaggressions, at a young age they would bring food to school and get bullied or mocked for having “stinky” food or just bringing any cultural food that others were unfamiliar with. While there are many other Asian American issues, I think this is one distinct experience that commonly starts in early childhood and becomes the first of several experiences that Asian Americans commonly face. Other issues include the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes, cultural appropriation, fetishization, mocking of Asian features, the infantilization of Asian women, the model minority myth, and more. More and more nowadays, we see trends and areas of interest arise that have origins within Asian cultures such as boba, anime, and Asian style makeup, among others, but this doesn’t mean there has been a decrease in racism or discrimination. Asians still face harmful stereotypes and discrimination which is evident every day. We see in mainstream media and Hollywood how roles meant for Asian people often go to white people, how it can often be seen as offensive and appropriative, and the lack of representation has only slightly improved in thepast years. 48
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DESIGN CASE STUDIES 02 DEVELOP EXPLORING DESIGN CASE STUDIES 02: VISUALS LET’S TALK VABisOuUalTs. HOW CAN I DELIVER MY COLLATERALS COLOR,TYPOGRAPHY & VISUAL ASSETS 51
DESIGN CASE STUDIES 02 DEVELOP MY CHAOTIC Miro board 52
CASE STUDIES 02 DEVELOP S UBTLE As a result there have been creations of new or “unaffiliated spin-off groups such as Subtle ASIAN Curry Traits or Subtle Filipino Traits where underrepresented communities can find more TRAITS relatable content. It has inspired countless spin-off groups like subtle Asian eats, a plat- ABOUT SAT form to share mouthwatering photos of food and swap restaurant recommendations, and Subtle Asian Traits is a Facebook group that has subtle Asian dating, a matchmaking group so 1.8 million members. It is a platform that unites your mother will get off your back about finding Asian diasporas and shares common expe- a significant other. riences. The group, is flush with memes about boba tea, clever linguistic puns, “not being A common source of humor is “Asian parents” - Asian enough” and a joint sense of otherness. who are stereotypically portrayed as cautious, strict and overbearing. The members of SAT The geographic spread of subtle asian traits turn to dark humor to discuss serious topics, like is striking - it is made up of young people from the pressure to be successful and the pressure Australia, the United States, Canada, the United to love dairy products despite the genetic pre- Kingdom, and a variety of other countries. disposition to lactose intolerance. MEANING BEHIND THE MEMES The posts open up conversations about more complex topics, such as parental abuse and Memes allow individuals to accept or reject the mental health issues, among second genera- attributes of a group, and validate or shape tion kids. the identity of the community in which they’re involved. Subtle Asian Traits embraces this Casually discussing trauma has its benefits. In challenge as the basis of its own distinct iden- Considering how stigmatized(Opens in a new tity. window) therapy is in the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, any encourage- For many migrants, there can be a consider- ment to seek help — even if through memes — is able complexity and difficulty in reconciling an improvement. There is a sense of traumatic the identities of where they live and where they enjoyment in digesting memes that reflect come from. SAT embraces this challenge as the your experience growing up. SAT has offered basis of its own distinct identity. a platform that allows Asian Americans to feel less lonely Memes are particularly important for the iden- tity formation of minority groups, and SAT is a A good meme confirms the existence of the forum where Asian-Westerns are no longer the audience it’s trying to reach. At its best, a funny ‘other’. meme can be a powerful expression of solidarity in the hands of people who have been histori- Some of the funniest and most relatable memes cally oppressed, in SAT play with the expectations of the model minority narrative and then subvert them SAT denizens bond over being shuttled between piano lessons and test prep academies while their white friends attended slumber parties. They joke about Western teachers’ inability to pronounce their names, and about being embarrassed when they brought pungent homemade lunches to school. 53
CASE STUDIES 02 DEVELOP ISSUES WITH SAT BOBA LIBERISM Despite its formative influence over identities “Boba liberalism,” a term sometimes used to and communities, It has drawn criticism for deride upper- or middle-class Asian Americans its shallowness and lack of inclusion. SAT over who focus solely on pop cultural representa- focus on East Asian experiences alienating tion and shared love of Asian food delicacies other Asian diasporas and creates a sense of as points of identification at the exclusion of all othering for those that are not included. SAT has else. Boba liberalism is reliant on capitalism It’s been criticised for being too East Asian centric, viewing Asian-American identity in the exact and may continue the othering of non-East way that SAT portrays it: merchandise to buy, Asians diaspora and the skin color hierarchy content to consume, and food to eat. that exists within many Asian cultures. MY THOUGHTS SAT seems to “perpetuate the idea of a singular Asian culture that doesn’t exist” as there are I agree how SAT seems to “perpetuate the idea plenty of Asian Americans that do not relate to of a singular Asian culture that doesn’t exist” much of the SAT content. While it has brought a as there are plenty of Asian Americans that semblance of belonging to some Asians, it has do not relate to much of the SAT content. My excluded many others that don’t relate to jokes understanding is that this group was targeted about private piano lessons, tiger parents, and to Asians that were either born or grew up in going to medical school. Western countries. Negative stereotypes towards Asian diasporas My hesitation about “subtle asian traits” isn’t in western countries continue to plague the only that some of the memes rely on dated ste- SAT’s Facebook page. Stereotypes such as reotypes to get their point across; it’s that the high-expectation Asian fathers and the ‘nerdy’ ostensible Asianness of these stereotypes, like and ‘high achieving’ Asian students tend to the ferocity and frugality of Asian mothers. generalize and in fact exaggerate stereotypes and reinforce the perception of model minority The memes are over-reliant on generalized in western countries respectively. tropes that whitewash the complex histories of the ethnically-diverse Asian community. It The model minority fallacy is a dangerous con- was acknowledged that some of the humour cept that inhibits the breaking down of stereo- plays off stereotypes, but was argued that most types and the provision of equal opportunities post-makers “have generally come to terms for minority groups. Perceptions of asians as with their cultural identity”. ‘model minorities’ degradates the achieve- ments of individuals, and does assist in the There are many criticism towards SAT’s attempt alleviation of discrimination and institutional to help Asian American relate to one another. racism. Other critics have said that memes However , I feel that the memes brought a sem- about “tiger” parents or bad driving serve to blance of belonging to some Asians. The memes reinforce negative stereotypes. can help others to experience potentially nega- tive experiences in childhood in a more humor- “I T KIND OF GAVE A ous and positive light. Through healing through humour, there is a sense of traumatic enjoyment LOT OF ASIANS A WAY in digesting memes that reflect your experience growing up. TO BE ‘SUBTLY RACIST Facebook groups mostly consist of “creating UNDER THE GUISE relatable memes”, SAT create memes about our upbringing. I think if people relying on social OF MAKING JOKES media to bring them a sense of belonging, they might want to educate them on their culture and ABOUT POLITICS OR home country, or reading up on Asian diasporic history to reclaim their own Asian identity. ASIAN IDENTITY” To conclude, SAT definitely has room for improvement and should try to move out from Boba liberalism and be more inclusive and not alienate non east-Asians. 54
DESIGN CASE STUDIES 02 DEVELOP CHINESE PROTEST RECIPES ABOUT Chinese Protest Recipes is written from the perspective of a Chinese-Canadian person working at a New York-based, Black-led social impact agency, and cooking part-time in a Chinese BBQ restaurant during a Sinophobic pandemic, in the middle of the biggest racial uprising in modern history. Chinese Protest Recipes is a project of resis- tance. It is a very personal project that protests against racial inequality in the food world. In this moment, as we struggle to get through a racial pandemic, this project acts as a form of culinary and literary protest, through the lens of Chinese food. Calling for a decolonized approach to cuisine, Chinese Protest Recipes urges us all to look beyond what has been validated by Eurocentric culinary accolades or institutions – and toward an exchange of cultural knowledge produced and perfected with patience, practice, and love. The project uses a stripped back visual language inspired by the raw emotion of protest graphics. THOUGHTS The discussions about food justice are just beginning, as people are starting to understand the concept of food insecurity. Racism in food requires a deeper level of seeing, as certain forces uphold and keep the status quo going. The recipes he included in the zine carry leg- acies of protest within Chinese history. I think eating food from your heritage, boldly and unapologetically, is a form of protest that you can participate in three times a day. 55
DESIGN CASE STUDIES 02 DEVELOP Tshab Her, a THOUGHTS Hmong American America has since undergone a cultural sea change. The artist whose work past decade alone has seen surging demand for greater pays homage to her diversity, inclusion and representation. And as the national heritage and family. conversation shifts, many Asian Americans, including high-profile creatives and celebrities, are facing similar ABOUT personal reckonings with their names. Tshab Her is a great example of reclaiming her own iden- Like many Asian Americans, the 29-year-old tity. She sets an example to other Asians in the community Hmong American artist was always switching of the empowerment that one is able to feel. An affirmation between two names: an Asian name and her of heritage, the Hmong language, and her parents’ journey “American” name. to the United States in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Jennifer, her legal first name, was what teachers HER ART and employers called her, and what she used in “White spaces,” she said. But her middle name An artist, she also incorporates the journey from one name Tshab, which means “new” in the Hmong lan- to another in her work, which celebrates Hmong history guage, was what her family and close friends and iconography. One embroidery piece reads “It’s pro- called her within their small community in nounced Cha,” while another reads “My name is Tshab, but Aurora, Illinois. the check is payable to Jennifer Her.” The Hmong ethnic group is spread across China and Southeast Asia, but most Hmong Ameri- cans -- like Her’s parents -- are refugees from Laos who fled during the Vietnam War. There’s a long history of Asian Americans using Anglo or anglicized names -- whether they adopted new White-sounding names like John or Jennifer, or changed the pronunciation or spelling of their original name to better suit English speakers. The practice was popularized in the 19th century due, in part, to fear in the face of intense racism and xenophobia. 56
DESIGN CASE STUDIES-ZINES 02 DEVELOP Sarula Bao’s Real Chinese Food is a zine about take,out, shame and diaspora identity ABOUT Sarula Bao’s zine Real Fast Food is an autobiographical explo- ration of diaspora identity and its connection to food. It follows a young Chinese-American woman who has a complicated relation- ship to ordering Chinese take-out with her white friends. Sarula hardly ever ate Chinese-American food until she went to college, when she started ordering it as fuel for an all-nighter in the studio or TV marathon. Real Chinese Food presents overt, indirect and internalised racism, where the protagonist is othered both by her friends and her Chinese family. The comic expresses shame born out of being a second-generation American, othered by white society and desperately wishing to be fully accepted by Chinese people. Sarula found acceptance as part of the Chinese diaspora and pride in her Chinese cultural background and upbringing. She created a comic to express her love for Chinese cuisine. WHAT I LIKE ABOUT IT I feel that the storyline behind the zi ne is very real, and many Asian Americans are able to relate to it one way or another. The zine cleverly presents overt, indirect and internalised racism, where the protagonist is othered both by her friends and her Chinese family. It shows whatit feels like being born out of being a second-gen- eration American, othered by white society, but also desperately wishing to be fully accepted by Chinese people as one of them, to belong with people who I may not be visibly othered by at first glance, but would be as soon as I opened my mouth to speak in accented Mandarin 57
DESIGN CASE STUDIES-ZINES 02 DEVELOP A SIAN FOOD DESIGN For Takako Masuki, her zine-making moniker ASIAN_FOOD_ DESIGN is nothing more than a combination of the things she loves. Restaurants and shops usually specialize in one country or one area but it was difficult for her to pick only one country in Asia. She explains, “Japanese cultural anthropologist Tadao Umesawa once said that mutual understanding between countries is a step for peace. I love this phrase. In my mind, different countries are like prefectures within one country – the world. I always wish peace for Asia and the world.” Masuki is a graphic designer who lives in Osaka, Japan with her two children and her husband, who is from Hong Kong. Most days, she makes zines concurrently as she works – spending half the day working and the other half of the day making zines. I like her zine as it relates to the Asian Food culture and how she tries to reclaim the Asian identity through food & culture. Further- more, her illustrations are pleasing to the eyes & innovative too. “I love Asian food very much but I don’t have a talent for cooking. I’ve always enjoyed drawing and I realized it makes me happy to draw Asian food.” 58
DESIGN CASE STUDIES 02 DEVELOP Y es & NO I Came across these few posters as I was on pintrest scrolling. This inspired me to do something similar to the copy writing & keep it simple and minimalistic, which is something I like doing. I had designed some posters that have a similar look to these posters, however my feedback from the lecturer was that it does not have a call for change. It just relates & thats all it does. I wanted to explore more on my copywriing & how I can unify my posters with just words. The monochromatic colour scheme is also eye-catching to me as it is easy on the eyes with only 3 colours 59
DESIGN CASE STUDIES 02 DEVELOP L ITTLE MOUNTAIN PRINCESS Little Mountain Press is an independent Risograph press based between the southeastern Chinese city of Shenzhen and New York. They publish an array of vivid Risograph love- liness from zines, prints and posters, and love to transform boredom into joy. The creative duo behind Little Mountain Press pour their ideas of Asian identity into their works, which include Weibo trends and colloquial slang. They also create narrative images so those who don’t read or speak Chinese can also understand the gist of the illustrations without feeling left out. Xiao and Mountain Dog collaborate on zines, and their most recent venture, We Don’t See Each Other Anymore, is a visual diary documenting their life as a long distance couple running an independent press. 60
DESIGN CASE STUDIES 02 DEVELOP C HOP SUAY FONT Type designers in the West have since cooked up many of their own versions of chop suey. Variations on the font are commercially distributed as Wonton, Peking, Buddha, Ginko, Jing Jing, Kanban, Shanghai, China Doll, Fantan, Martial Arts, Rice Bowl, Sunamy, Karate, Chow Fun, Chu Ching San JNL, Ching Chang and Chang Chang. It’s hard not to cringe at the Chinese stereotypes bundled up with each font pack- age -- especially when seen through the lens of today’s heightened vigilance toward discrimination and systemic racism. Critics believe that using chop suey typefaces is downright racist, particularly when deployed by non-Asian creators. White politicians, meanwhile, have been using chop suey fonts to stoke xenopho- bia for over a century. In her book, “This is What Democracy Looked Like: A Visual History of the Printed Ballot,” Cooper Union professor Alicia Cheng draws attention to the “chopsticks font,” as she calls it, used by San Francisco politician Dr. C. C. O’Donnell on a 1876 ballot, as he vowed to deport all Chinese immigrants if he was elected into office. 61
MOOD BOARD 03 DEVELOP 62
POSTER DEVELOPMENT 03 DESIGN 63
POSTER DEVELOPMENT 03 DESIGN 64
WORK CHECK-IN 03 DESIGN FEEDBACK REFLECTION Considering how long the duration of the feed- I was quite satisfied with the constructive crit- backs given to my other classmates, I was sur- icism i had receievd. I agreed with my lecturers prised my feedback lasted only 10 min. The feedback & how I should refine a few things before lecturers didn’t have much to comment about submission. I was mostly just dissapointed in my work. They collectively thought my posters myself, as I was not able to showcase any Digi- were fine, & just needed a few refinements to the tal (sociak media Instagram posts) or gureilla posters & I will be good to go. In comparison to my marketing or a non traditional touchpoint previous posters, they felt the colors were more which for both I had not thought about it yet. Its contained & eye-catching. In my presentation nerve-wrecking as its already week 6 and I was i did show them a variation, one being the two merely a couple of days away from my submis- contrasting colors of the red asset & yellow back- sion. I felt very stressed after the consult as I was ground. It was mostly for the sake of experimenta- once again reminded on the numerous amount tion, after seeking the opinions on that variation of collaterals we had to submit for on saturday. poster, they all felt that it would be more suitable to keep to the monochrome color scheme. I was really at my wits end as I felt that depsite my intensive research done (as reflected on my miro In my model minority poster, I was given the feed- board), I was still not able to produce more that i back that the guy in my illustration, he looked should’ve for the consult to get more feedback . too hipster and was suggested i add some black I hope that that can change in the future other- glasses frames to make him appear more nerdy. wise, I would be submitting deliverables without getting proper feedback from my lecturers. I was I was also reminded by one of my lecturers to be definetly too stuck on the posters to the point intentional of where i put my mock up of my post- i neglected my other collaterals. Its a mistake I ers as where i put it makes a strong statement, hope I can reflect and improve on for upcoming and changes the context of it. submissions. such as outside a restaurant or a highly popu- lated male area (for the yellow fever poster) However moving forward, I will have to complete Regardless of where its at, it should make sense. 6 posters, a website maybe? & gureilla marketing 65
DEVELOPMENT 02 DESIGN 66
TITLE DESIGN 03 DESIGN EXPLANATION My title design Is a play on words like Made in China, because everything is made in China. There’s that sense of cheap quality from being made in China. It also addresses the difference between a Chinese person from China and a Chinese person from Amer- ica, because we don’t really identify with each other. 67
GOOGLE FONTS USED 03 DESIGN LIBRE LEAGUE GOTHIC CASLON TEXT INTER BOLD MEDIUM LIBRE MONTSERRAT CASLON MEDIUM TEXT REGULAR 68
POSTERS MOCK UP 04 DEVELOP 69
FINAL POSTERS 04 DEVELOP POSTER 1 POSTER 2 POSTER 3 POSTER 4 POSTER 5 POSTER 6 70
INSTAGRAM POST MOCK UP 05 DEVELOP REFLECTION For digital, I wanted to advocate my camapign through social media, as I am able to reach out to a larger audience. As young adults are own social media, I want to continue educating my campaign 71
INSTAGRAM POSTS 04 DEVELOP 72
NON-TRADITIONAL TOUCH POINT 03 DEVELOP ADD MY NAME REFLECTION This website answers my non-traditional touch I was worried i would not have been able to point. I was quite stuck on this deliverable & iI submit my touchpoint however after doing more couldn’t quite understand it. I only manage to research, I was able to execute the website . I did execute this idea a day before submission and not have the opportunity to show my lectureres it wasnt going well. I wanted the Non-traditional for their feedback as there wasnt time. For this touchpoint to be an extention of one of my post- deliverable, I did a Web demo, Animation & Gue- ers on Asian people having “difficult” names that rilla marketing setting poster. I wanted to do a are “hard” to pronounce, pressuring some Asians guerilla video as well but i ran out of time. to anglicize their names. So this website Is a custom dictionary extension that normalize thousands of Asian names in popular word processing software such as Mic- rosoft & Adobe, where non-English identities are subjected to spelling errors. Users can add their names through the website to have their names featured in future updates or simply download the plug-in suitable for Adobe and Microsoft softwares to use. 73
WEBSITE 03 DEVELOP 74
P BOARD 1 05 DELIVER REFLECTION This is the first draft of my Pboard 1 and honestly im quite satisfied with it. I definetly could have improved if I had the time but im not mad about it. The presentation board displays all my collaterals quite clearly. I struggled with finding a appropriate colour scheme, so i decided to use the colours from my website, in order to make it look cohesive. 75
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