Wenzhou, in Words
An exploration of Wenzhou dialect, everyday signs and the cultural memory held in city streets.
- Context
- Independent design projects
- My contribution
- Field observation, visual research & design
Language as a record of place.
Starting with dialect and written language in the city, I documented the ways local words appear in everyday space. Field observation, images and collected material became a visual record of language in use.
This body of work includes Observations on the Wenzhou Dialect, a finalist in the Multimedia and Interaction category of the 21st Platinum Originality Competition, and Dialect Reborn, a Packaging Design finalist at the Macau Design Award 2021.
The city as a language archive
Street visits, photography and collected material record how local language lives in real spaces. Shop signs, street names and everyday expressions become evidence of the city’s cultural memory.
From observation to visual language
Collected words, places and local knowledge were reorganized into graphic narratives and cultural products. Dialect becomes an entry point for understanding Wenzhou.
A moving record
