A picture speaks a thousand (Chinese) words

As they say, a picture speaks a thousand words. For web designers, we draw from design inspirations across the board – from user interface design to typography combinations. 

In Chinese culture, images often carry layers of symbolism that words alone can’t capture. A simple painting of bamboo, for example, represents resilience and moral integrity — qualities deeply admired in Chinese philosophy. A red lantern instantly evokes feelings of celebration and luck, while a dragon swirling through clouds can symbolize power and prosperity. These visual elements communicate values, history, and emotion far more directly than lengthy descriptions ever could.

Similarly, in modern communication, Chinese design and advertising rely heavily on visual storytelling. A single photo of a steaming bowl of noodles under warm light can express comfort, family, and nostalgia all at once – without a word of text. From calligraphy strokes that reflect the artist’s spirit to minimalist product packaging that conveys trust and quality, the Chinese visual language shows how images transcend linguistic barriers and speak to shared human experience.

As a creative challenge internally, our latest inspiration piece – Chinese Character Illustrations, came about after learning that certain English words are sometimes made up of two or three Chinese characters combined. This discovery gave us the thought “what would these characters/words broken down look like literally”. 

Our favourites are the Bag Rat and Three Running Dogs + Wind. Which ones are yours?