Enunciation of culture through graphic design practice: Developing a visual language using the Chinese peony flower for narratives of Chinese-Canadian identity

Through visual and textual research, this thesis project investigates the relationship between graphic design and cultural identity through graphic design practice---the act of image and meaning making. The goal is to use the Chinese peony flower in the process of developing a visual language that reflects and refracts the nuanced nature of the text of Chinese-Canadian identity. Rather than using reproductions of images, the process of developing a localized visual language allows for critical discourse on issues of cultural identity. The process challenges stagnant views of contemporary cultural production and offers insight on cultural identity as a constructed and fluid process that is open to influences. Moreover, the research is culminated in the final artifact, Of Peonies and Hybrid Histories, a collection of stories, written by second generation Chinese-Canadians, which are transformed using the language developed from the peony.