PROJECT UPDATE: RESEARCH PROPOSAL
“Gateway:Multilingual Systems and Visualization in China”
May 22, 2020
Language: English
Language: English
COLLEEN CONNOLLY
Research Plan for Proposed Fulbright Project at Tsinghua University
Gateway: Multilingual Systems and Visualization in China
I will research and document bilingual (Chinese/English) signage and exhibitions in Chinese museums and tourist sites, in order to show how design can create more accessible spaces for people of different cultural and language backgrounds. Museums can educate and serve more diverse audiences by providing multilingual exhibits, signage, and resources. I will document the abundant multilingual design in the People’s Republic of China, a tool that is less common in museums in the United States. Through my collaboration with the Visual Communications Department at Tsinghua University, I am eager to learn contemporary Chinese design practices and consider how Western designers can serve more diverse audiences by providing multilingual exhibits, signage, and resources.
At the beginning of my Fulbright year, I will audit classes at Tsinghua's renowned design program and learn about Chinese design processes and methodology. I will rely on my own Chinese language abilities and close relationship to Professor Zhao Jian to plan short trips to China’s museums and cultural centers throughout the year. I aim to travel around Hangzhou, Xi’an, Beijing, and Shenzhen to interview Chinese designers and document multilingual typography. My final goal is to produce a print publication that will be published by the Society for Experiential Graphic Design. This bilingual publication will include interviews with Chinese designers, examples of successful multilingual systems, and my own essays that emphasis the need for multilingual design in the United States.
Faculty advisor at Tsinghua University 赵建 ZHAO Jian, Ph.D
I will research and document bilingual (Chinese/English) signage and exhibitions in Chinese museums and tourist sites, in order to show how design can create more accessible spaces for people of different cultural and language backgrounds. Museums can educate and serve more diverse audiences by providing multilingual exhibits, signage, and resources. I will document the abundant multilingual design in the People’s Republic of China, a tool that is less common in museums in the United States. Through my collaboration with the Visual Communications Department at Tsinghua University, I am eager to learn contemporary Chinese design practices and consider how Western designers can serve more diverse audiences by providing multilingual exhibits, signage, and resources.
At the beginning of my Fulbright year, I will audit classes at Tsinghua's renowned design program and learn about Chinese design processes and methodology. I will rely on my own Chinese language abilities and close relationship to Professor Zhao Jian to plan short trips to China’s museums and cultural centers throughout the year. I aim to travel around Hangzhou, Xi’an, Beijing, and Shenzhen to interview Chinese designers and document multilingual typography. My final goal is to produce a print publication that will be published by the Society for Experiential Graphic Design. This bilingual publication will include interviews with Chinese designers, examples of successful multilingual systems, and my own essays that emphasis the need for multilingual design in the United States.
Faculty advisor at Tsinghua University 赵建 ZHAO Jian, Ph.D