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Research: Swapping Perspective

Why is using Chop Suey for Japanese culture considered as a stereotype? 

This Japanese Hiragana typeface is made based on the Chop Suey font features:


Visual Analysis 1:
How is American culture portrayed in Japan through typography and images?
It seems that uses of casual script, bold typefaces and red are common to represent “American” culture in Japan.
Is this stereotype?


Visual Analysis 2:
This is a “Brooklyn Parlor” cafe in Japan, which mimics Brooklyn culture so that people can experience the “Brooklyn life”.
Is this stereotype?

How is Japanese culture represented visually in Japan? They don’t use “Asian type” such as Chop Suey font to represent Asian element.

This Shogun Burger branding does not use the “Asian aesthetic” that is often used in the U.S. It is rather represented with modern and simple aesthetic.


How is Japanese aesthetic represented through Japanese typography?

There are Japanese typefaces such as Hannari, that are inspired by a historical typeface, Tsukiji. The letters feature sumi ink spots from Japanese calligraphy.



Both Hannari and Chop Suey are inspired by calligraphy. However, their results are very different.