As a Chinese American, I have always been sensitive to how Chinese culture is represented in the United States. When I joined the design community, one of the things that I became very aware of was the importance of typeface and branding. With this new lens of design, I began to explore how Chinese culture is portrayed in typography and iconography in the United States.

For most Americans, the typeface above is considered “Chinese”. Found in front of Chinese restaurants all over the United States, it is an attempt to emulate the strokes of Chinese calligraphy. …