PROJECT
NORTHEAST: A DIGITAL GUIDE TO CHINESE-CANADIAN HISTORY
NORTHEAST is the result of a semester-long project to research, design, and develop a comprehensive interactive design solution for a new or existing community program, non-profit, environmental or social cause. The objective was to create a solution that solves a meaningful problem while showcasing design, interactivity, and craft.
Between 1885 and 1923, Chinese immigrants had to pay the Head Tax: a racist immigration policy to exclude immigrants based on their ethnic background. From 2020 to 2021, Vancouver experienced a 717% increase in anti-Asian hate crime. Chinatown seniors, especially, were the victims of hate crimes and assault. This project aims to break the generational cycle of anti-Chinese sentiment and racism in this country through education and meaningful representation within the Canadian school curriculum.
CONTEXT
SOLUTION
NORTHEAST is an educational website and resource for Chinese-Canadian history. This website is designed for young (Grade 5-7) classrooms. Through accessible lesson plans and interactive content, NORTHEAST helps teachers create an engaging classroom experience on the hardships and contributions of Chinese-Canadians in Canadian culture and society.
INDUSTRY RECOGNITION
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Issued by Design Professionals of Canada (DesCan) · Nov 2022
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Issued by The Association of Registered Graphic Designers (RGD) · Sep 2022
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Issued by PS&Co Brand Studio · April 2023
NORTHEAST: A Digital Guide to Chinese-Canadian History has two interfaces which cater to different audiences: the instructors and the students.
For the instructors, the website is laid out with free lesson plans and information about the site. For students, they gain access to all the learning materials needed to complete the lesson plans. These learning materials include personal stories, anecdotes and quizzes from notable Chinese-Canadian historical figures and age-appropriate reading materials (with different grade levels and a “read aloud” feature).
The goal of the two-in-one website model is to simplify the process of data-collection and information-tracking for instructors.
INTERFACE DESIGN
The interface is fully digital and it can be experienced without any other materials. This was an intentional decision to ensure the information will be available to everyone.
However, instructors are given the option to support the digital learning experience with classroom print materials such as work-books and posters.
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
Since the students will be spending the longest amount of time on the site, the design choices were made with this specific target audience in mind. Chinese culture and identity was also a key factor in design decision making, as the students may be of this ethnic background (approximately 1.8 million Canadians are of Chinese descent.)
The website was designed to communicate Chinese-Canadian culture and history as not only a source of learning but something that can be shaped today — empowering Chinese youth who interact with the site’s representation of historical figures and its other content.
The colour palette and iconography is inspired by Hong Kong neon signage.
ART DIRECTION
