AI Tools to Enhance Cultural Identity in Traditional Visual Communication: A Case Study of Milan Chinatown

At present, Milan’s Chinatown is becoming “featureless” - a zone filled with “European-style” buildings and urban storefronts with a lack of Chinese character. The current language of visual media does not express the local cultural identity properly. Our approach is to understand the reasons for the blurring of cultural identity. The research methodology relies on field research, questionnaires, and secondary research. We also talk about the value of AI-generated tool-based language to extract the expression of cultural identity. It also generates reflections for potential future educational transformations. As an output, we generated a theoretical framework that combines both visual communication elements and cultural identity. The framework consists of a knowledge system that allows designers to develop communication design based on this approach and combined with AI tools, which can help Chinese styles to be better integrated into Western aesthetics and re-invent centuries-old concepts into modern visual directions.