Chinatown is a Chinese typographic translation of the trademarks in a graphical way. It’s a carefully arranged series of artworks showcasing 20 well-known western brand logos with maintained visual and narrative continuity. Sooner or later, most major global brands will obviously need to adjust their meaning based on a translation to demonstrate alignment with local Chinese culture and tastes. And most certainly they will collapse when the time comes, due to their existing brand structure that is built on western culture and Latin words. Chinatown reflects our branded world of the near future through Chinese letters with the classical neon sign style of China. It uses basic words for translation, such as “Caramel Macchiato” for “Starbucks” in order to maintain visual continuity. By arranging the words this way, Chinatown pushes viewers to ask themselves what it means to see, hear, and become fully aware. Chinatown also demonstrates our strangeness to 1,35 billion people in the world, when you can’t read Chinese. All of the brand logos are converted to neon style spot colors and line-based variations. Indeed, neon lights are not used as a medium but as a cultural symbol, which represents the aesthetic codes of China.
Chinatown, Chinese Translation of Trademarks
