In Australia in 2020, one in five Chinese Australians reported being victims of anti-Asian abuse (Lowy Institute). Following a long history of biased media coverage, negative immigration policies and, more recently, blame for Covid being directed at China, this community was under unprecedented pressure.

The Museum of Chinese in Australia (MOCA) hopes to combat this by giving a platform to the stories and contributions of Chinese Australians, as well as acting as “a bridge for cultural exchange and connection”. Having found an enviable spot in Sydney’s Chinatown, the founders of MOCA wanted branding that could reflect their ambitions for the museum – an identity that symbolised the merging of languages and cultures that would take place within.

In response, R/GA assembled a diverse, global crew of creatives that had empathy for and first-hand knowledge of the Asian Australian experience. They came equipped with insights from conversations they had had with Asian communities around Australia and set to work implementing them into a system that would do justice to MOCA’s mission.

“These conversations were extremely insightful, highlighting the immense pride and resilience they have for their heritage but also surfacing the negatives of growing up in a society that’s been designed to make you feel different through – perhaps unintentional – microaggressions, such as the sharp question, ‘Where are you from?’,” explains R/GA’s Ben Miles, VP, executive creative director, brand design and consulting, APAC.

Key parts of the new branding include an adaptable framing device that houses various bits of content under a ‘roof radical’ (宀). This character – one of 47,035 that make up the Kangxi dictionary of Chinese characters – is used in the words for ‘home’, ‘safe’, ‘ancestor’ and ‘treasure’, among others, and symbolises, in MOCA’s identity, its commitment to being “an ever-evolving home for Chinese Australian stories”.

A simple yet eye-catching colour palette of blue and pink signals a departure from the typically red palettes of organisations linked to China, and speaks to the multi-generational demographic that MOCA both hosts and reaches out to. Its bold appearance references the merging of the past, present and future, and of the traditional and the contemporary, that the museum embodies.

Typographically there is a similar approach, with a simple combination of typefaces that accommodates the multiple languages in use and allows the graphic nature of the logo to shine. “The message and construction of sentences was the most important factor for us, and we aimed to simplify this as much as possible,” Miles tells CR. “For that reason, we chose Helvetica as our key typeface and complemented this with Pingfang HK – a decision made in collaboration with Chinese American designers.”

Reflecting on the impact of the new identity, Miles says: “This is a project that uses the power of design to help reframe a narrative and show its pivotal role in Australia’s cultural fabric. More than a brand refresh, our hope is that MOCA becomes a place to influence and reimagine our collective stories, and shape what comes next. To do this, we needed a dynamic brand that seamlessly brings together multiple languages through a simple and bold design system; a brand that is open and accessible to everyone; a brand that is grounded in a celebration of diversity.”

rga.com