❶ MáLà Project: A glittering spectacle of 90’s nostalgia reimagined for a Chinese restaurant brand in New York.

MáLà Project is a restaurant brand founded with a mission to serve joy through neo-Sichuanese cuisine. Known for its Dry Pot dish—made from a complex blend of 24 herbs and spices, and wok fried in its signature Má (numbing) Là (spicy) sauce—it’s a fiery medley of mouthwatering ingredients that first snuck onto mainstream menus in 1990’s China, just as the country opened its doors to the rest of the world. Eastern tradition and western novelty coexisted for the very first time; the bilingual communications that followed were often a haphazard patchwork of elements that felt refreshingly new and rule-bending. This unique cultural duality, in turn, became the springboard for MáLà Project’s identity.  What precedes is a glittering spectacle of 90’s nostalgia, reimagined for the New York restaurant scene. It’s bold and vibrant like the flavors on offer, modern yet timeless to reflect the legacy of traditions while embodying the lighthearted and joyful spirit of the restaurant itself.

The brand’s mascot, BènBèn also lives in this visual universe. He is based on the Guardian Lion, a noble protector, and inspired by the youthful and rebellious spirit of the teenage deity, NéZhā, in Chinese folklore. He roams the MáLà Project spice garden and lends his helping hand at every step of the guest dining experience.

On a personal level, this project is secretly my love letter to home. Having been designing for most of my adult life, I delved into the rich visual landscape of 90’s China for the very first time. It undoubtedly broadened my horizons in ways I didn't know it could. This work was about seeing the past anew—where every ending had a new beginning and every return paved a path towards another surprisingly beautiful discovery.

Full-service design, 2023

Branding, Art Direction, Set Design, Styling & Web: Jingqi Fan
Chinese Calligraphy: Guo Ming
Illustration: Lauren Doughty
Motion: Toby Mortimer 
Brand Animation: Alexis Jamet
Sound Design: Matías Enaut
Lettering: Jingqi Fan, TienMin Liao (refinement)
Food Photography: Guang Xu, Zach Smith (lighting assist)
Case Study Photography: Jingqi Fan
Website Build: Jonas Luebbers

Interior Design: Studio LOVEISENOUGH
Interior photography courtesy of William Jess Laird

MáLà Project: Amelie Kang, Christian Castillo

Recognition:
⇢ ADC Gold Cube in Brand / Communication Design
⇢ ADC Gold Cube in Typography
⇢ TDC 70 Certificate of Typographic Excellence
⇢ Red Dot
⇢ Interior Design Magazine’s Best of Year

Speaking:
⇢ Typogaphics 2024: East Meets West: My Love Letter to Home

Press:
⇢ It’s Nice That: Jingqi Fan’s chilli red and peony pink restaurant identity is a 90s-inspired palate cleanser
⇢ It’s Nice That: Can you taste Design?
⇢ The Brand Identity
⇢ Design Everywhere
⇢ Hoverstates

❷ Institute of Design: Six modules. Infinite possibilities.

In 1937, Bauhausler László Moholy-Nagy founded the New Bauhaus in Chicago, which later became the Institute of Design (ID) at Illinois Tech.

The new identity system is based on the idea of “The Evolutionary” which led us to imagine a new voice and visual language that could itself evolve. Inspired by Moholy-Nagy’s artistic experiments with geometry and ID’s legendary director Jay Doblin’s genius with complex systems, we crafted six foundational structures able to transform from abstract shapes into words and images. They, like design itself, move seamlessly from chaos to clarity. The dynamism of this system is ID’s story, providing a voice and a canvas to show students, businesses—everyone—the extraordinary power of design to create possibilities that are both positive and impactful. An idea even more urgent today than it was in 1937.

Project done at COLLINS, 2022

COLLINS: Joseph Han, Sanuk Kim, Jingqi Fan, Eric Park, Tom Elia, Janet Ginsburg, Alex Blumfelder, Alex Athanasiou
Typeface Design: Joseph Han, Sanuk Kim, Jingqi Fan, Ryan Bugden
Nucleus: Chelsea Carlson, Gena Cuba, Elizabeth Talerman
Microsite Development: Raphaël Améaume
Website: Self Aware
Photography: Mari Juliano, Celso Assunção

Institute of Design: Anijo Mathew, Kristin Gecan, Denis Weil, Ruth Schmidt, Judd Morgenstern, Matt Mayfield, Brandon Kinports, Arnold Fishman

Recognition:
⇢ D&AD Graphite Pencil
⇢ TDC 69 Certificate of Typographic Excellence
⇢ 365: AIGA Year in Design
⇢ Design Week Magazine Rebrand of the Year
⇢ Communication Arts Design Annual 63
⇢ Creative Review Annual Award

Press:
⇢ It’s Nice That: A new identity for Chicago’s Institute of Design by Collins shifts between chaos and clarity