FRANCES S. LEE

PARISOL (Pacific Rim Solidarity Network) is a Chinese and Chinese American anti-capitalist, Chinese/Chinese-diaspora organization for revolutionary international solidarity movement building based in Seattle.

For the shirt design, I created two graphics based on the Chinese slogan 同一片海洋, which loosely translates in English to the hashtag #allonthesameocean. Using a parasol (or umbrella) as an icon was an easy design decision because of the group’s acronym and the perpetual rain in the Pacific Northwest. The members suggested that the designs include protest slogans to show solidarity with other, connected liberation movements in the US and abroad. I wanted to visually signal that PARISOL is a distinctly Chinese organization based in a majority-English speaking region, so I imposed a Chinese directional reading pattern (left to right, top to bottom) on the English phrases.

PARISOL needed to raise travel funds to send members to Hong Kong and China to build relationships and organize for workers’ rights internationally.

Project Date: June 2018

Client: Pacific Rim Solidarity Network (PARISOL)

My Role: Shirt Designer