Translating urban systems
into
visual language
Book Design
A City as Linguistic Shape: New York is an editorial design project that examines how a city can be understood as a language, consisting of structures, directions, fragments, and rhythms. Using typography, grid systems, and visual sequencing, this project turns New York’s urban logic into a clear and unified visual story.
It poses questions about naming and the cityscape's appearance that seem familiar, but we don’t truly grasp them.
Why is time referred to as a “square”? Is Columbus Circle really a circle? Have we been conditioned to accept certain visual forms and numbers that perpetuate social bias or misunderstanding?
As we explore these ideas, we start to wonder: What do citizens need? This work reminds people to take control of their urban experience, rather than just following the systems imposed on them. People should have the power to shape the city’s reality, rather than just living with the surface appearance created by planners and designers.