I teach design in Vietnam. This is a great asset that we are familiar with. Vietnamese art and design has been greatly influenced by French and Russian influence and also Vietnamese folk paintings, the colors of which are distinct. Unfortunately, the output of many young Vietnamese designers is increasingly ‘international’, with little to distinguish it from what is being done elsewhere in SE Asia. Maybe Vietnamese typography is another matter… and Vietnamese illustration is certainly world-class kick ass and distinctly Vietnamese. Check out the work of Kaa: https://www.kaaillustration.com/, Mr Phan: https://www.facebook.com/hi.mrphan/ and Tin Tran: https://www.tinsideout.xyz/personal
I live in Vienna, Austria, and I have a fascination with the typography of the signage all over the city.
There are very distinct examples of different era, with 19th-century, 20th-century, and 21st-century periods in full splendour. This can be seen in various Instagram groups, which alas are not as open/public as I would prefer. [1]
Do you see much older signage and typography in Vietnam? In the villages versus cities?
It always impresses on me that a city, itself, is an open book for typography.
I wonder if you would be aware of any similar projects to "Fonts of Vienna", but for your region of the world?
I want to learn font design so i can try and make nice Vietnamese fonts. (I know, "i want to learn to code so i can make a dragon mmo" etc)
Using western style accents for the tone marks just doesn't look right. The difference is clear when looking at hand-designed typography and signage.
Semantically, the tone covers the entire syllable. In handwriting this is clear - note the elongated dâu huyền in the first image's "Còn".
The western fonts used in modern digital typography make it look like it's just a property of the vowel instead, which just doesn't look as nice. (And further, gets messy with the actual vowel marks, ă â ê etc)
(It also doesnt help that 70% of vietnamese signs are written in Impact.. anyone know why this is?)
One of the things my wife had when we met was a large collection of Vietnamese posters like these, which she framed and hung around the perimeter of our powder room. It’s so cool to see more of it.
I love some of the colour palettes. In particular, the green/orange or green/pink ones. They aren’t entirely unique on their own, but combined with the art style it feels very distinct.
My favourite is one of a woman with a basket of watermelons on her back. The colours are like an intense fiery orange with deep greens and almost blue tones on the melons. I really need to translate the messages on them.
Hah! But then you get a comment thread like this[1] from people breaking down the etymology of words and why you, as a non-native speaker, should stick to English.
Hi there! Thank you for expressing your concerns, I will make it more clear when people visit the site to be cautious about the translations, next time I am able to update the website.
Wow, this is terrific. I love it. Lots of art online is curated with "traditional" art. This takes cultural movements and finds art associated with those moments. So fascinating!
A word of caution. Before 1975, there were two states of Vietnam and they had total different political and social systems. I see very few examples from the time of the Republic of Vietnam, so the styles you find are not representative for the Republic.
I love these types of posters. A couple months ago someone posted prints from Canada's Department of Agriculture. Lots of fun ones there too. Anyone have other examples?
Hi everyone! Thank you for posting this site. I started this project while I was (and still am) a full-time student.
As another user mentioned, please be take EXTRA CAUTION when it comes to the translations! The "translations" typically come from the website where I found the artwork from, since I do not speak Vietnamese (am of Vietnamese heritage). The source of each image can be found with the source button. I try my best to fact-check, but since there aren't as many resources for Vietnamese design, I may unknowingly post inaccurate information. I will be more cautious in the future and next time I can update the website. I will double check the translations as well, if possible. I am really sorry in advance for spreading any misinformation.
I hope to dedicate more time to this project in the future. Currently, I am a full-time student and work part-time outside of school as well, so it's become challenging to keep it updated and do thorough research.
The anti-Nixon one, where his face is plastered on a falling bombshell and he's shooting lightning bolts out of his eyes at women and children, I think that's my favorite.
For some of the 'undated' book covers it is possible to at least assert the year of print because they seem to be limited prints certified with a handwritten note in French.
Fore example on the Khôn Sống Dại Chết book cover it is handwritten "tirage 1000 Saigon le 27/1/34". So it is a 1,000 copy print certified as such on the 27th January 1934.
Such a wild take after looking at, for example, a propaganda poster captioned “Work together to develop pig breeding and new varieties of rice” where the artist has decided to make the pigs in question bright purple with yin-yang signs on their backs.
That caption is a state mandated edict. It is compulsory and at the service of government goals. Making the pigs purple is not exactly a strong manifestation of individuality.
I find it quite expressive to be honest.
But I get your point about the absence of creative freedom.
Most art, anywhere, always, had to comply with some power. I don't believe it's very different today in the west, although it manifests diferently.
The most stringent exemple of this may be rennaissance painters who've spent a great part of their talent painting portraits for aristocrats. Yet, even in that case of very narrow use case and vital necessity to please the power, the art can be creative, can't it? Once you manage to set aside that violent scrumbag looking down at you.
I wouldn't say it like that, but it represents basic communist-style propaganda until the 80s where they replaced everything with half-naked ladies. It's still interesting from a historical point of view.
What a ridiculously narrow perspective. Of course the art is massively influenced by a) Soviet propaganda, and b) communist hegemony, but at the same time every stroke of the pen is a decision by a conscious, thinking individual.
And several of the items—"Love Poems of Hue"—aren't overly propagandistic. So really, you're just dehumanizing an entire people, which is disgusting.
Also a lot of these are stamps and explicit propaganda posters, right? Like what do people expect. Stamps are… I mean, it is cool when a nice picture is used but it isn’t high art right? Some flora or fauna is pretty standard postage stamp fare. And they are well drawn.
Propaganda posters, of course, lean into propagandistic tropes as a language. For propaganda posters they are pretty creative and well drawn. Better than a dozen pictures of Uncle Sam rolling up his sleeves.
This collection is dehumanizing, not my comment. There is much much more to Vietnamese design and art than what is shown here. There is also a modern design culture from the diaspora that is not reflected here. This is an overwhelmingly political body of work, dominated by state control. By definition it is not from individual creative expression. I completely stand by my original statement.
Yes it does cover more time, but did you look at what's available in non-communist time periods? Did you click through the site? Not much else is there.
I teach design in Vietnam. This is a great asset that we are familiar with. Vietnamese art and design has been greatly influenced by French and Russian influence and also Vietnamese folk paintings, the colors of which are distinct. Unfortunately, the output of many young Vietnamese designers is increasingly ‘international’, with little to distinguish it from what is being done elsewhere in SE Asia. Maybe Vietnamese typography is another matter… and Vietnamese illustration is certainly world-class kick ass and distinctly Vietnamese. Check out the work of Kaa: https://www.kaaillustration.com/, Mr Phan: https://www.facebook.com/hi.mrphan/ and Tin Tran: https://www.tinsideout.xyz/personal
I live in Vienna, Austria, and I have a fascination with the typography of the signage all over the city.
There are very distinct examples of different era, with 19th-century, 20th-century, and 21st-century periods in full splendour. This can be seen in various Instagram groups, which alas are not as open/public as I would prefer. [1]
Do you see much older signage and typography in Vietnam? In the villages versus cities?
It always impresses on me that a city, itself, is an open book for typography.
I wonder if you would be aware of any similar projects to "Fonts of Vienna", but for your region of the world?
[1] - e.g. https://www.instagram.com/fontsofvienna/
I want to learn font design so i can try and make nice Vietnamese fonts. (I know, "i want to learn to code so i can make a dragon mmo" etc)
Using western style accents for the tone marks just doesn't look right. The difference is clear when looking at hand-designed typography and signage.
Semantically, the tone covers the entire syllable. In handwriting this is clear - note the elongated dâu huyền in the first image's "Còn".
The western fonts used in modern digital typography make it look like it's just a property of the vowel instead, which just doesn't look as nice. (And further, gets messy with the actual vowel marks, ă â ê etc)
(It also doesnt help that 70% of vietnamese signs are written in Impact.. anyone know why this is?)
> it also doesnt help that 70% of vietnamese signs are written in Impact.. anyone know why this is?
Likely because fonts that fully support Vietnamese diacritics are super rare.
One of the things my wife had when we met was a large collection of Vietnamese posters like these, which she framed and hung around the perimeter of our powder room. It’s so cool to see more of it.
I love some of the colour palettes. In particular, the green/orange or green/pink ones. They aren’t entirely unique on their own, but combined with the art style it feels very distinct.
My favourite is one of a woman with a basket of watermelons on her back. The colours are like an intense fiery orange with deep greens and almost blue tones on the melons. I really need to translate the messages on them.
I'm Vietnamese, I can help translate the messages on them
So can google translate app or apple’s equivalent
Hah! But then you get a comment thread like this[1] from people breaking down the etymology of words and why you, as a non-native speaker, should stick to English.
—-
[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43073231
Yes. I detest orientalism and the fetishisation of Japan in software development space. Thinly veiled racism.
And yet you are saying it's better to google translate than having a fun chat with the local.
I agree from a retoucher's perspective I love the visual harmony
I couldn't find much context on the website but the name is very broad yet the content focuses on a specific aesthetic.
Personally, I am constantly amused in 2025 how much Vietnam loves asthetics like Frutiger Aero[1]. For example [2].
I only see the style from OP sold to tourists or on government billboards, and even then I see vector waves sneaking in too.
1: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frutiger_Aero 2: https://appro.com.vn/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/bang-quang-c...
This is such a great collection!
However, many of the translations are incorrect. For example:
This text:
> Dưới ngọn cờ quang vinh của đảng, nhân dân Nghệ-An Xô Viết anh hùng
Is incorrectly translated as:
> Under the glorious flag of the Vietnamese Communist Party, the people of Nghe An will crush their American enemies.
But it should be:
> Under the glorious flag of the [Vietnamese Communist] Party, the people of Nghe An are Soviet heroes.
There was no mention of "crush their American enemies" at all.
I would exercise caution and encourage the readers to double check the translation.
Edit: after reading more of the page, I changed my post from "some incorrect" to "many incorrect"
Hi there! Thank you for expressing your concerns, I will make it more clear when people visit the site to be cautious about the translations, next time I am able to update the website.
I unfortunately do not speak Vietnamese (am of Viet heritage) so the "translations" usually come from the articles where I found the poster since I am not able to translate it myself: https://saigoneer.com/saigon-music-art/4360-vietnamese-women...
No worries at all! If the site is open sourced, I can help update the translation text.
Thanks for the site, and keep up the great work!
[dead]
The translation should be "Under the glorious flag of the Party, the people of Nghệ An Soviet are heros/will heroically do something..."
Soviet refers to this one https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_(council)
Wow, this is terrific. I love it. Lots of art online is curated with "traditional" art. This takes cultural movements and finds art associated with those moments. So fascinating!
A word of caution. Before 1975, there were two states of Vietnam and they had total different political and social systems. I see very few examples from the time of the Republic of Vietnam, so the styles you find are not representative for the Republic.
I love these types of posters. A couple months ago someone posted prints from Canada's Department of Agriculture. Lots of fun ones there too. Anyone have other examples?
https://www.fifteen.ca/collections/agricultural-arts
All of https://www.reddit.com/r/propagandaposters/ ; I love to see the modern-day ones on there too.
Three collections of propaganda posters:
Soviet posters: https://www.sovietposters.com/
Chinese posters: https://chineseposters.net/
Vietnamese posters: https://vietnampropaganda.com/
A lot of vibrant color, which is a nice change from muted and flat pastels.
Hi everyone! Thank you for posting this site. I started this project while I was (and still am) a full-time student.
As another user mentioned, please be take EXTRA CAUTION when it comes to the translations! The "translations" typically come from the website where I found the artwork from, since I do not speak Vietnamese (am of Vietnamese heritage). The source of each image can be found with the source button. I try my best to fact-check, but since there aren't as many resources for Vietnamese design, I may unknowingly post inaccurate information. I will be more cautious in the future and next time I can update the website. I will double check the translations as well, if possible. I am really sorry in advance for spreading any misinformation.
I hope to dedicate more time to this project in the future. Currently, I am a full-time student and work part-time outside of school as well, so it's become challenging to keep it updated and do thorough research.
If you opensource, I can help to check the translation as well.
Great work OP, love this site
I'm glad more aspects of Vietnamese culture/history is being looked at and showcased, being a vietnamese-american myself.
Can you help verify some of the translations? I’m getting different results using GTranslate.
I'd advise to use Chatgpt instead of Google Translate, they are in different leagues when it comes to the translation level.
Google translate is closer to a B1 level sometimes...
The anti-Nixon one, where his face is plastered on a falling bombshell and he's shooting lightning bolts out of his eyes at women and children, I think that's my favorite.
Reminds me of the various "be the American that Chinese propaganda thinks you are" memes
Cool assets! Feedback: the “about” text explaining the site doesn’t show up for me on mobile. This may get shared around more if that gets supported.
I’m a fan of the usage of pinks and greens
You can really see the early 20th c French influence here
For some of the 'undated' book covers it is possible to at least assert the year of print because they seem to be limited prints certified with a handwritten note in French.
Fore example on the Khôn Sống Dại Chết book cover it is handwritten "tirage 1000 Saigon le 27/1/34". So it is a 1,000 copy print certified as such on the 27th January 1934.
I think you are right! I am realizing that many of the other book covers can be dated as well
See also, India hand painted movie posters.
An interesting showcase of a complete absence of individual expression or creative freedom. A pure collection of state managed culture.
Such a wild take after looking at, for example, a propaganda poster captioned “Work together to develop pig breeding and new varieties of rice” where the artist has decided to make the pigs in question bright purple with yin-yang signs on their backs.
That caption is a state mandated edict. It is compulsory and at the service of government goals. Making the pigs purple is not exactly a strong manifestation of individuality.
I find it quite expressive to be honest. But I get your point about the absence of creative freedom.
Most art, anywhere, always, had to comply with some power. I don't believe it's very different today in the west, although it manifests diferently.
The most stringent exemple of this may be rennaissance painters who've spent a great part of their talent painting portraits for aristocrats. Yet, even in that case of very narrow use case and vital necessity to please the power, the art can be creative, can't it? Once you manage to set aside that violent scrumbag looking down at you.
Rude.
almost made me wonder if url changed to something completely different between the time this was posted and now
The link hasn’t changed since I submitted it.
makes me wanna find pre ww2 visual art from there
Same here. I looked it up after I saw this. This collection is only from approved art by the communist regime formed after WW II.
some starters here https://www.nguyenartgallery.com/history-of-vietnamese-fine-...
I wouldn't say it like that, but it represents basic communist-style propaganda until the 80s where they replaced everything with half-naked ladies. It's still interesting from a historical point of view.
the irony is that such a style itself contributes to the diversity of art, by its mere existence
What a ridiculously narrow perspective. Of course the art is massively influenced by a) Soviet propaganda, and b) communist hegemony, but at the same time every stroke of the pen is a decision by a conscious, thinking individual.
And several of the items—"Love Poems of Hue"—aren't overly propagandistic. So really, you're just dehumanizing an entire people, which is disgusting.
Also a lot of these are stamps and explicit propaganda posters, right? Like what do people expect. Stamps are… I mean, it is cool when a nice picture is used but it isn’t high art right? Some flora or fauna is pretty standard postage stamp fare. And they are well drawn.
Propaganda posters, of course, lean into propagandistic tropes as a language. For propaganda posters they are pretty creative and well drawn. Better than a dozen pictures of Uncle Sam rolling up his sleeves.
This collection is dehumanizing, not my comment. There is much much more to Vietnamese design and art than what is shown here. There is also a modern design culture from the diaspora that is not reflected here. This is an overwhelmingly political body of work, dominated by state control. By definition it is not from individual creative expression. I completely stand by my original statement.
> This collection is dehumanizing, not my comment.
Put up or shut up.
+1
Also, this collection spans much more time than communist Vietnam? 1900-2020s? Weird take.
Yes it does cover more time, but did you look at what's available in non-communist time periods? Did you click through the site? Not much else is there.
It's not like communist art is so abundant in the word that it's so boring to have another collection of them.