East-West/West-East is an MFA graphic design thesis project. After knowing the situation that there is a lack of accessibility and clarity on East-Asian typography knowledge for a broader range of audience, the thesis project aims to research and design a series of references on how to use East-Asian typography and Latin typography.
While at a macro level, notions of globalization and nationalism are shifting between the two over time. Cross-culture communications in our daily life scenario are still unstoppable. Among those communications, the dialogue between East-Asia and the west is one of the driven forces. To raise the accessibility, clarity, and appropriate uses of East-Asian typography and Latin typography is needed. The resources and references shall be decentralized. It should not only limit to certain practitioners and scholars but also open to a broader and even younger audiences.
The results are executed through items that can often be seen daily. Those deliverables include a book, a series of informational posters, a teaser motion, a typographical ruler, an online reference website, a series of conceptual packaging designs.
Within “East-West/West-East” project, the conceptual packaging could be seen as a derivative of the MFA thesis. It is proving that East-Asian typography and Latin typography can live harmoniously through packaging. It also reveals my understanding of the East and the West. Cultures from the East and the West distinguishes from each other in the core. Otherness and difference can lead to conflicts and cultural collisions. But differences could also form variety and diversity.
More importantly, this conceptual packaging criticizes the role of packaging and typography in this highly-globalized world we live in. Can packaging evolution change the way we consume goods in daily life? Can we live a life with brandless packagings? Can customers trust the quality of products without knowing the brands? As a freshly graduating student, I cannot foresee the future. But I believe that packaging, being a connection between people and goods, would positively impact society, such as educating people about environmental issues and fundamentally change the way we consume daily-life products.
