Chinatown is a carefully arranged series of artworks showcasing 20 well-known western brand logos with a maintained visual and narrative continuity.

The mastermind behind this project is Mehmet Gözetlik. He is a multidisciplinary designer, independent artist and the executive art director and Co-Founder of Antrepo. He is also a typography instructor at the Bilgi University and a creative consultant in ID Istanbul.

“For his Chinatown series, Mehmet Gözetlik recreates well-known Western logos with the view to reflect our branded world through Chinese letters, while using a classical “neon sign” style he associates with China. By using basic words for translation, such as “Caramel Macchiato” for “Starbucks” and “Car” for “Ford” in order to maintain a visual continuity, he replaces the English words we’re used to seeing with the Chinese translation of the products being sold. The result is a carefully arranged series of works with a clear visual narrative.
With China’s economy now the biggest in the world, Gözetlik believes that to approach the market, there is a balancing act that global brands in China must achieve to be both successful worldwide but also show commitment and desire to be part of the local culture. By arranging the words this way, the Chinatown works push viewers to ask themselves what it means to see, hear, and become fully aware, not only of a brand, but of how we interpret visual messages.” source material

Conception: Mehmet Gözetlik
Producer: Handan Akbudak
Neon Sign Maker: Asım Doğan
Director of Photography: Emre Başak
Assistant Camera: Doğukan Hendem
Editor: Süleyman Yılmaz
Music: “Les Métamorphoses du Vide” by Chapelier Fou.

“Chinatown pushes viewers to ask themselves what it means to see, hear, and become fully aware. Chinatown also demonstrates our strangeness to 1.35 billion people in the world, when you can’t read Chinese.” explains Mehmet on his website.