Brutalism, Maximalism and Amateurism of The New Ugly in Chinese Graphic Design

Full Dissertation Here

In 2022, I wrote my MA dissertation on the New Ugly [ζ–°δΈ‘ι£Ž], a graphic design style populated by Chinese and East Asian designers since the late 2010s, and argued for its historical and cultural significance.Many works that fall into this style challenge both Western and Chinese design principles while criticising the rapid capitalistic development and its effect on Chinese people.
A Brief History of Chinese Graphic Design

Full Article Here

To contextualise the revolutionary potential of the New Ugly, I wrote this brief overview of Chinese graphic design history, with an emphasis on how Chinese designers incorporate traditional Chinese and imported Western values.
I would like to thank Laura Gordon for giving me the space to publish this on the RCA Visual Communication programme website.
β€œVernacular Design”
Western design disciplines have upheld simplicity and minimalism as the pinnacle of design. However, recent resurgences of ugly and dissonant aesthetics suggest that there is no single design solution, and sometimes, a solution is found in the minds and hands of non-academic and β€œamateur” designers.
Here, I curate graphics inspired by the ordinary, the ugly and the vernacular: hand-written signs in wet markets, gaudy colours and stretched texts on supermarket flyers, ageing and cracking vinyl street signs, or dot-matrix displays at the local bodega. These seemingly mundane items contain a nostalgic yet refreshing charm that no corporate aesthetic could replace.