Gallery: Can These Cute Flashcards Make Learning Chinese a Snap?
01shaolan-hsueh-studio-wired-design
*Chineasy* teaches the rich and complex Chinese language through cleverly designed images that illustrate the meaning of each character. The project was developed by ShaoLan Hsueh and is currently raising funds on [Kickstarter](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shaolanchineasy/chineasy-begins-0). *Image: ShaoLan Hsueh*
02roof-home-prison-chineasy-wired-design
The Chinese language relies heavily on idioms that wouldn't be immediately obvious to Western learners. The symbol for "roof" is straightforward, but what about a "roof" over a "pig?" It means home, of course. Historically, the Chinese would raise pigs in their homes to protect them, making the idea of a pig under the roof a symbol of prosperous home. A roof over a cow on the other hand? Prison. *Image: ShaoLan Hsueh*
03chineasy-big-fire-angry-wired-design
The illustrations help with the building blocks, but students must remember the importance of order. Depending on their sequence the same two characters can mean "anger" or "large fire." *Image: ShaoLan Hsueh*
04chineasy-multiple-women-wired-design
Hseuh hopes that by understanding the Chinese language, Westerners will better understand the Chinese culture. However, the current examples only confuse the gender dynamics of the society. The character for woman, when repeated, means "conflict" and adding a third means adultery, but repeating the symbol for "great" means "wife." *Image: ShaoLan Hsueh*
05changing-symbols-wired-design
As the project expanded in scope, some of the earliest characters needed to be reconsidered. The image on the left clearly depicts a woman, but was hard to incorporate into combinations of symbols so a more abstract, but flexible version was created. *Image: ShaoLan Hsueh*
06chineasy-temporary-tattoo-wired-design
*Chineasy* is meant for students of all ages, but these temporary tattoos will make the prospect of extra homework a winner on the playground. *Image: ShaoLan Hsueh*
07chineasy-mouth-wired-design
After making more progress on the visual aspects of *Chineasy* Hseuh hopes to tackle the challenges of speaking the tonally complex language. *Image: ShaoLan Hsueh*
08saliva-chineasy-wired-design
In addition to teaching the language, Hsueh also helps share information about the culture—its rich history and some of its idiosyncrasies. This illustration was created to accompany a blog post about the Chinese habit of spitting in public. *Image: ShaoLan Hsueh*
09chineasy-fire-wired-design
The glyph for "fire" is intended to evoke the simple structure of a campfire. *Image: ShaoLan Hsueh*
10chineasy-posters-wired-design
Even if you aren't interested in learning the language, the graphics make for great decorations. Created by Israeli illustrator Noma Bar, who has previously designed covers for *The Economist*, each one is elegantly crafted and perfectly encapsulates the character. *Image: ShaoLan Hsueh*
11tiger-woods-chineasy
As a perk for backing her [Kickstarter](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shaolanchineasy/chineasy-begins-0) campaign ShaoLan Hsueh will create a poster depicting your name. This one was made in honor of a famous American golfer—can you guess who? *Image: ShaoLan Hsueh*
12chineasy-software-map
In order to pull off a project like *Chineasy*, Hsueh had to pair the free flowing creativity of the illustrations with a rigorous understanding of how the characters connected, requiring the development of custom software. *Image: ShaoLan Hsueh*
