MDes Communication Design School of Design

Yilin Chen

As a graphic designer, I am heavily influenced by my cultural background and fascinated by Oriental history. I enjoy playing with Oriental elements and typography to create engaging work and I believe that growth and exploration are essential to the creative process. Image making has been something I have focused on exploring in my first year at The Glasgow School of Art, however through my second year, I have been challenging myself to step outside of my familiar territory and explore some other new mediums and techniques. By doing so, I have discovered new sources of inspiration and expanded my artistic horizons.

Contact
yilinchen1999@163.com
y.chen16@student.gsa.ac.uk
behance.net/yilinchen1999
@yilin.ch
Works
Nüshu

Nüshu

In the last stage of my study in GSA, I worked on a project named Nüshu, which means women script in English. In the olden days, in Jiang Yong County, Hunan Province, China, there was a group of girls who could not read but were so desperate to communicate and talk that they created a writing system just for themselves: Nüshu. It is the only writing system in the world created and used exclusively by women. The girls used Nüshu to form a sisterhood, came together to express themselves in words that only they understood, and slowly became enlightened.

Through in-depth research of the context of Nüshu and experimentation with different approaches to presenting Nüshu and the stories behind it, such as wood laser cutting, raster engraving, fabric digital printing, screen printing, and so on, I ended up combining all mediums and techniques that I had tried to present my project through folding screens and fabric screens, because folding screen and fabric screen gave a sense of privacy for women in ancient times, echoing the secret script of Nüshu. I hope to guide the audience to explore the story of Nüshu and experience the emotions behind it with me through this project.

Material: 6mm MDF Technique: Laser cutting, raster engraving, screen printing

Folding Screen

Material: 6mm MDF; Technique: Laser cutting, raster engraving, screen printing
Material: 6mm MDF Technique: Laser cutting, raster engraving, screen printing

Folding Screen

Material: 6mm MDF; Technique: Laser cutting, raster engraving, screen printing
Material: 6mm MDF Technique: Laser cutting, raster engraving, screen printing

Details of the Folding Screen

Material: 6mm MDF; Technique: Laser cutting, raster engraving, screen printing
Material: 6mm MDF Technique: Laser cutting

Decorative Pattern on the Folding Screen

Material: 6mm MDF; Technique: Laser cutting
Material: 6mm MDF Technique: Laser cutting

Decorative Pattern on the Folding Screen

Material: 6mm MDF; Technique: Laser cutting
Material: Cotton fabric Technique: Fabric digital printing

Fabric Screen

Material: Cotton fabric; Technique: Fabric digital printing
Material: Cotton fabric Technique: Fabric digital printing

Fabric Screen

Material: Cotton fabric; Technique: Fabric digital printing
Material: Cotton fabric Technique: Fabric digital printing

Fabric Screen

Material: Cotton fabric; Technique: Fabric digital printing
Material: Cotton fabric Technique: Fabric digital printing

Fabric Screen

Material: Cotton fabric; Technique: Fabric digital printing
Material: 3mm MDF Technique: Laser cutting, raster engraving

Covers of the Concertina Books

Material: 3mm MDF; Technique: Laser cutting, raster engraving
Material: Cotton paper Technique: Digital printing

Inner Pages of the Concertina Book

Material: Cotton paper; Technique: Digital printing
Material: Cotton paper Technique: Digital printing

Concertina Book

Material: Cotton paper; Technique: Digital printing