ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Han Gao Designs Empathy Museum Branding Around Chinese Character 同

architecture-design · 2026-05-13

Han Gao created the visual identity for the Empathy Museum, centering on the Chinese character 同 (tóng), which means 'same' or 'together.' The logo consists of five white rectangles, with two tall ones flanking a central group, all set against a cool grey backdrop. When seen at full size, it looks like a striking geometric shape, and at 80mm on a dark glass entrance, it’s just as eye-catching in white silk-screening. This design is also flipped in white on the museum's corrugated silver-grey metal facade, echoing the logo's rectangular theme. Gao’s wayfinding uses modular white acrylic panels and bold geometric sans-serif for directional signs, while the bilingual wordmark blends Chinese characters and Latin letters in varying sizes. The entire project is featured on Behance.

Key facts

  • Han Gao designed the Empathy Museum branding.
  • The logomark derives from the Chinese character 同.
  • The mark consists of five white rectangles on a cool grey field.
  • The logo appears silk-screened white on a dark glass entry door at 80mm.
  • The same structure is reversed white on the corrugated silver-grey metal facade.
  • The identity system uses three scales and one reference sheet with no decoration.
  • Wayfinding uses modular white acrylic panels and a black inversion panel for the ground gallery.
  • The bilingual wordmark pairs Chinese characters and Latin caps at two distinct sizes.

Entities

Artists

  • Han Gao

Institutions

  • Empathy Museum
  • Behance

Sources