Authentic Chinese Food is a cookbook that explores the Chinese American diaspora through the fast food they have become notorious for. This “American Chinese food”, such as General Tso's chicken, crab rangoons, and chow mein, has often been dismissed "inauthentic" by the general American public, as well as by Chinese people themselves. However, this book further examines the nuance of the word "authentic" and what this American Chinese fast food really means for Chinese immigrants.

The origin of each dish is distilled into a brief essay at the start of each recipe. Together, the histories of these dishes explore the political and social xenophobia that Chinese immigrants have faced and continue to face in America and how Chinese immigrants cooked and sold these dishes out of necessity to survive in a country that wanted them gone. As a whole, this book asks: is authenticity a quality defined by strict tradition, or is authenticity a living word that describes lived experience, regardless of class or nationality?

From editorial design, to art direction onsite at the photoshoot with Rachel Kim, to copywriting, I had the joy and privilege of leaving my mark on each element of the project. For this project, I was also responsible for production coordination and communication with an independent printer and local Bay Area business, Ken The Book Printer, who helped me bring my vision to life.

Take-a-Ticket
Series branding

4″ wide x 3.5″ tall x 1.5” deep

Hexagonal box containing a roll of 200 perforated tickets
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Role: branding, packaging, & editorial design, illustration
Typeface(s): Rammus Display, Hatfield Park Pro, Category

Take-a-Ticket is a gift format series from Chronicle Books that offers 200 tickets inside a hexagonal box. Each title in the series offers a quick infusion of positivity into your day. Each heagonal box contains a roll of 200 perforated tickets with affirmations, tear-able puns, or prompts for creative inspiration.

Want more info? Interested to see my process of developing this brand? Read the case study

As the lead designer on this project, I was responsible for setting the tone and aesthetic for the series. After extensive collaboration with the editorial team, marketing & sales executives, and the design directors, I settled on an approach that combined playful color and with a retro-inspired visual vernacular.

As part of my process, I explored 3 alternative directions for the brand before ultimately deciding that the chosen direction best suited the impulse-buy, gifty nature of the series.

Here are the three other visual directions I explored:

Sincerely,
Art installation branding

Brannding for an art exhibition
Poster, postcards, digital & social media assets
Client: UCLA Design|Media Arts
Roles: brand design, art direction
Typeface: Tiltortion, Helvetica Neue

I was commissioned to create identity branding, signage, and promotional materials for “Sincerely,” an senior art showcase and gallery exhibition for undergraduates of UCLA’s department of Design|Media Arts (DMA).

The name “Sincerely,” comes from the letter valediction, and it was chosen to honor the bittersweetness college students feel as they graduate. “Sincerely,” aims to communicate that yes, these students were here, left their mark on UCLA, and are ready for what’s next. As such, I chose to combine familiar mail motifs, such as stamps, with pixelation to refernece the digital nature of Design | Media Arts.

Rye + Rhythm
A live music bar serving well drinks and specialty cocktails

Logo, storefront, merch, menu, coasters
Concept
Roles: Brand design, illustration, custom typography
Typeface(s): Instrument Serif, Authentic Sans

Rye + Rhythm is a bar that celebrates live music and good drinks. They emphasize that everyone—and every genre—is welcome. As the name implies, their specialty is rye whiskey and bourbon cocktails, but they don’t discriminate; their menu features a wide range of cocktails, wines, beers and even non-alcoholic beverages.

The keywords for this brand were welcoming, sophisticated-yet-approachable, and nostalgic. In order to embrace these characteristics while honoring their love of all music genres, I created a sophisticated custom type logo based on the humble music note (). I added some reverse contrast to the cursive type to reference the profile of eighth notes.

I created a custom checkerboard pattern that incorporates the roundness of musical notes with the classic nostalgia of diners and bars. For the color palette, I chose a mix of comforting jewel tones (wine red and moss) and refreshing light colors (jasmine, sky blue, and citrus). It should feel nostalgic yet elevated.

Primary logomark and pattern

Color palette

Instrument Serif is used for headers, and Authentic Sans is used for bodycopy.

I chose a narrow serif for the headers and a condensed sans serif body typeface for a serious typographic spirit that nicely contrasted the playfulness of the checkerboard pattern.
The illustration serves to combine the two main purposes of the bar: live music and drinks. With that in mind, I created a playful illustration library that complements the more severe logo and typography. Try and spot all the drinks that the musicians are drinking!

Candy Wands/糖棒
Brand design & packaging design

Candy brand & product design

Gummy lollipops in a sliding tray box

Concept
Role: Branding & packaging design, 3D modeling, copywriting
Typeface(s): Providence Pro，字由点字手写童真体

Candy Wands is a candy brand celebrating the Chinese street food tánghúlú (糖葫芦), which are skewers of fruit dipped in hardened sugar. In this mass-produced version, the skewer of fruit becomes a gummy lollipop coated in a hard candy shell. I decided to offer the candy in two flavors: strawberry and hawthorne (in my opnion, the best flavors of tánghúlú).

For this brand, I used handwritten, textured typefaces that reference the street food origins of tánghúlú (糖葫芦). This, combined with the street cart motif gives the brand personality while also making it accessible to young and old audiences alike.

My goal was to make the brand feel playful, nostalgic, and inviting across all product uses. It should feel modern, yet still pay homage to the street food that inspired it.

Interactive 3D model of candy

Chop Suey
A Book About That Chinese Restuarant Font

4.5″ wide x 12″ tall

64 pages perfect bound
Publisher: self-published
Role: editorial design, illustraiton, production
Typeface(s): Chop Suey, Alegreya

Chop Suey is a book about that Chinese restaurant font. You know, the one with blocky strokes that feels vaguely racist but also is used widely by Chinese business owners. In this book, I explore the visual landscape of the Chinese American experience through the aesthetics of China in America – such as this typeface, the architecture of Chinatowns, and Chinese entertainers in Hollywood.

To mimic the feel of a restaurant menu, I chose a drastically vertical trim size.

I included annotations on the images and the articles editorializing on the content with my personal thoughts and experiences as a Chinese American who grew up in a place where my family and I were almost the only Asian people around. Additionally, the book features some of my own writings where I deemed it necessary. Source material is printed in red ink, while my writings and annotations are printed in black ink, representing my personal voice.

Mirror to Mirror
A Solo Tattoo Performance & Installation

5″ wide x 7″ tall

140 pages coptic stitch bound by hand
Freelance for Jeanette Fantone
Role: editorial design, production
Typeface(s): Avenir

Mirror to Mirror is a documentation book that I created for Jeanette Fantone’s 2022 tattoo installation of the same name. Using Fantone’s research on Filipino and Japanese tattoos, her writings, and installation photography, I crafted a book that captures the intimacy of her installation and performance.

Japanese kozo (mulberry) paper envelops each signature and serves as chapter headers. The translucent nature of this paper not only allows Fantone’s art to shine through, but also mimics the feel of tattoo transfer paper.

The book follows the structure of the installation, starting with the artist statement, followed by Fantone’s research on her cultural tattoos, her art for the installation, and finally the documentation of the performance where Fantone tattooed herself.

Forage
A Selection of Poetry by Rita Wong

5.25″ wide x 5.25″ tall

20 pages saddle bound
Self-published
Role: editorial design, production
Typeface(s): Avara, Barlow, Redaction

Forage is a zine that contains a selection of poems by Chinese Canadian writer, Rita Wong, that were sent to me by a friend. I love how Wong uses her writing to understand her identity as an immigrant while simultaneously using her voice to support indigenous people. Her writing sits at the intersection of new and old, land and water, climate and technology and has been a great influence of mine. I find it serendipitous how I stumbled across her writing by chance, so with this project, I aim to honor her.

To honor the rich symbolism and imagery wong uses in her writing, I paired her poems with photos of objects reference either explicitly in her writing or through theme. I chose to riso print this zine, as the texture and ephemerality of the medium pairs with the themes of natural decay and technology that Wong writes about.

Cellophane
Typography inspired by FKA Twigs

10″ wide x 8″ tall

54 pages perfect bound
Self-published
Role: editorial design
Typeface(s): Baskerville URW

Celophane is a book of typographic compositions inspired by the song Cellophane by FKA Twigs. In order to challenge myself, I chose to only use the family of Baskerville URW and instead use color, weight, and size create hierarchy and contrast.

This book documents the progression of typographic explorations, from only using black and white, to adding color. This progression is executed backwards, such that each chapter peels back a layer of design—much like the song Cellophane reveals the heart and emotions of FKA Twigs.

My goal was the use negative space to reflect the vulnerability of the song. Back and white is used in contrast to grey tones to exhibit the complexities and nuance that is often lost when viewing people and their relationships. I used art and photography from FKA Twig’s album and music videos to accompany the typography. Additionally, a brief musical analysis of the song is included in the foreword.

A music visualizer I created for Cellophane by FKA Twigs

WKW: The Artistry of Wong Kar Wai
A book celebrating the auteurship of Wong Kar Wai

5.5″ wide x 8.5″ tall

Digital mockups

CMYK+W printed on black paper

Concept
Role: editorial design
Copy: Li Cheuk-to
Typeface(s): Lucette, League Mono

WKW: The Artistry of Wong Kar Wai is a concept book I made to celebrate the work of my favorite director: Wong Kai Wai. In order to highlight the themes of light versus shadow in Wong’s work, I chose to use toned black paper and print CMYK+W. This dark paper also mimics the darkness of a theater, which allows the fim tills to shine even brighter on the page.

For the cover design, I chose thin lines and geometry inspired by classic Chinese patterns. These rules are continued in the interior spreads where they become threads that draw connections and lead the reader from one element to another. The title of each film is featured as a running header along the bottom of the pages. It is cut in half to reference the themes of what is seen versus hidden in Wong’s films.

In addition to stills from the film, this book also features movie posters designed by me—featured in images 2 and 7 below. As the primary audience for this reading book would be film buffs, I chose a monospaced typeface that is not only legible, but enhances the film analyses and references the “undesigned” UI of film production technology. This stiffness is contrasted by the serif typeface Lucette for the headers and title, as it reflects the wistful, romantice mood of Wong’s films. It should capture the grace and subtlety of Wong’s filmography through editorial design.

So far, only In The Mood For Love is completed. Text by Li Cheuk-to for The Criterion Collection