JiuFen Project (Part One)
Brief
In-depth research on the culture of JiuFen, and design a representative wordmark and poster that properly tells its story, without being touristy.
Tools Used
Experimentation with chalk, acrylic, Chinese calligraphy, photo manipulation, and vectors for the optimal colours and textures.
Design Problems
Choose the most appropriate patterns, textures, and colours that compliment the depth of culture while bringing to light the less understood history.
Design Solutions
Mountainous mood, layered over misty effects and cultural textile patterns, as well as architectural textures and typography.
Why JiuFen?
I travelled to JiuFen as a side trip when I went to Taipei, It was a small town a couple hours away from the main city, and initially I had gone for the tourist attraction of the "old town" that is said to have inspired the Studio Ghibli, "Spirited Away" set. While waiting for my train, I ended up travelling around the rural areas, and found that it was even more enticing than what I found in the more "tourist trap" area. The locals were much more welcoming and friendly, and though they were shy at first, I was very lucky to learn more and more about the local beauty.
I feel that when people think of Taiwan, they think of the Taipei Tower, and when people think about the town of JiufFen, they always think about the Ghibli animation, "Spirited Away". But a lesser known film that was based in JiuFen is called "The City of Sadness", the film is a delicate view of the Taiwan reform that happened after the Japanese had lost the war.
JiuFen, to me, is a beautiful city in the midst of mountains and fog, and I wanted to capture and emphasize that beauty and communicate it to the world over the gimmicky "tourist trap" so to say; the real JiuFen~
Research and Experimentation
Translations
Textiles and Patterns
Colours and patterns, as well as textures were pulled from cultural fashion, practices, architecture, furniture, and celebrations. Forming unique forms that embody the culture of JiuFen.
Wordmark/fonts
Experimenting with typefaces that accurately describe the culture of JiuFen, while finding the proper typographic adjustments for that typeface, and integrating the cultural patterns and textures to form a wordmark for JiuFen.
