Mahjong Reimagined: Student Design Project Inspired by Taiwan’s Street Signs

Original Source: https://abduzeedo.com/mahjong-reimagined-student-design-project-inspired-taiwans-street-signs

Mahjong Reimagined: Student Design Project Inspired by Taiwan’s Street Signs

ibby
09/16 — 2025

Discover a student-designed mahjong set inspired by Taiwan’s street signs, where tiles tell cultural stories and the game’s global popularity rises. 

Mahjong is more than a game,  it’s a sound, a rhythm, a cultural glue. The shuffle of tiles, the clack of a winning hand, these are part of everyday life across Asia. But what if those tiles could tell a bigger story? A group of student designers in Taiwan asked that very question, and their answer is as bold and layered as the streets that inspired them. Designed by Yun Xun Dai, Hori Imari, Ruei Ting Chang, and Guan Ting Lee, this student work is a reminder that even familiar things, a mahjong set, can carry new stories.

A Game of Signs

Anyone who’s walked down a Taiwanese street knows the visual orchestra of signage. Fonts clash, colors pop, shapes bend, each sign a small story of identity, commerce, and culture. This project takes those typographic quirks and graphic details and brings them into a mahjong set, turning the game into a microcosm of Taiwan’s street life. The result? A design that’s at once playful, nostalgic, and distinctly local.

Mahjong × Signboards

Winds tiles embed Taiwan’s geographic coordinates, nodding to school memories of maps and place.
 
Flower tiles transform into icons of Taiwan’s four major convenience stores, a wink at daily rituals.
 
Dots and Bamboo suits borrow pattern inspiration from vintage iron window grilles, echoing local architecture.
 

Typography channels the spirit of storefront signs, embracing that mix-and-match energy while keeping each tile readable and full of character.

Packaging the Story

Beyond the tiles, the packaging is designed with intention: clean lines, strong symbols, and enough flair to make you pause before the game even begins. It’s a reminder: how something is boxed can matter just as much as what’s inside.

The Mahjong Magic: Why It’s Having a Moment

Mahjong, a centuries-old tile game, is popping up in clubs, hotels and parties as a way for Gen Zers and millennials to connect.

In San Francisco alone, pop-ups and social Mahjong nights have become a trend among young people looking to unplug and gather in real life.

It’s not just nostalgia. It’s the physicality of mahjong, the texture, the sound, the strategy, combined with social energy. Players today want something tactile and communal, something that can rival a night out with friends, but around a table with tiles instead of screens.

Why It Matters

Because games, like good design, are about connection. This project shows how tradition and place can coexist in design. It reminds us that when you take something familiar, a mahjong set, really seriously, you can reveal layers of culture, memory, and identity. View the project on Behance HERE.