jenwei huang modernizes the ideography of chinese characters 

 

integrating modern aesthetics with technology and cultural heritage, designer jenwei huang reimagines the unique expression of chinese characters through black-and-white posters. this project also spotlights how ‘chinese characters are ideographic and one of the world’s four most ancient forms of indigenous written language systems. in fact, it is the only such system that has been in continuous use till today,’ explains the designer. 

 

based on the kangxi dictionary – the most comprehensive dictionary of chinese characters published in 1716 – the designer created a series of 51 artworks with thousands of glyphs inspired by the 214 chinese radicals and formed from the 18,046 characters selected by computer learning. 

jenwei huang
heart #208 xin (s)

 

 

articulating the emotional layer of chinese writing

 

jenwei huang’s ‘heart’ motifs, particularly, combine 525 characters layered on top of one another, with each character visibly containing either of the two ‘xin’ radicals. ‘xin means ‘heart’ in chinese and, in the series, it represents the emotional aspect of writing, since even individual ideographic chinese characters can express moods, traits and aspirations. although a common human experience, this form of expression is uniquely chinese,’ reveals the designer

 

the project is the recipient of 5 awards, and appeared in two biennales and one triennial. it was also featured in the asia-pacific design (APD) no. 13 book. 

 

jenwei huang
gate #153 men

jenwei huang
heart #528 xin (n)

the beauty of chinese characters chinese characters are ideographical in nature 4
walk #126 zou

the beauty of chinese characters chinese characters are ideographical in nature 5
roof #159 mian

 

 

 

 

project info:

 

name: hanzi gong
designer: jenwei huang (behance

client: the beauty of chinese characters, beijing, china 

printing: colonel printing co., ltd. 

 

 

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

 

 

edited by: lea zeitoun | designboom