YiQi Hanzi: A New Approach to Learning Chinese

Mengyu Cao's Innovative Teaching Cards Win Silver A' Design Award

Mengyu Cao was inspired by the perception of Chinese characters as complex drawings among those unfamiliar with the language. The designer sought to use design thinking and drawings to make these 'character drawings' more comprehensible, thereby promoting Chinese culture and the beauty of its characters. The learning method employed in YiQi Hanzi allows learners to visualize the meaning of the characters, facilitating better understanding and memorization.

What sets YiQi Hanzi apart is its creative approach to learning Chinese. The flashcards make the learning process fun and engaging, using visuals to enhance memory. Each card tells a story and presents cultural insights through characters, with word explanations to aid understanding. Furthermore, the cards highlight the role of radicals and components in learning characters, using clear visual elements.

The YiQi Hanzi flashcards are physical paper cards, measuring 9cm by 12cm, with a packaging size of 10.3cm by 9.7cm by 12.5cm. The set includes 140 cards printed on both sides, offering a total of 280 characters. Each card also features a QR code that links to the YiQi Hanzi Online Learning Center, providing additional learning resources such as words, sentences, videos, writing strokes, and more.

The project, which started in April 2020 and was completed in January 2021 in San Francisco, was based on extensive research into the history of each character. This included understanding the character's creation, its evolution, the changes brought about by Simplified Chinese, and any stories associated with the character. Overcoming the challenge of lost history and development, Mengyu Cao used creativity to visually form the characters in a way that made the most sense.

The YiQi Hanzi flashcards demonstrate that learning Chinese can be a visual experience. The design not only makes Chinese characters more understandable but also incorporates technology to expand learning resources. The Silver A' Design Award is a testament to the design's creativity, professional excellence, and innovation, marking it as a top-of-the-line design that introduces positive feelings, amazement, and wonder.