EATING GLOBALLY
INTERACTION DESIGN / WEB DEVELOPMENT
PROJECT OVERVIEW
The Chinese Restaurant Database was created from immigration files of Chinese immigrants. Its original version contains granular data on the formation and operation of Chinese restaurants, in combination with the immigration patterns of people involved. It helps us understand responses of immigrants to legal adversity. This historical data-gathering project was launched by Professor Heather Ruth Lee in 2011 to provide a publicly accessible data source on immigrant business formation.
I worked with Professor Lee to synthesize the Chinese Restaurant Database into an interactive story about a "typical" Chinese immigrant navigating the business formation process. This project was built using JavaScript, Scrollmagic.js, and WordPress.
You can view the full story here: The Chinese Restaurant Boom: A Data Driven Story of America's First Ethnic Restaurant Industry
IMPACT / REFLECTION
This project helped me improve my frontend development, data visualization, and graphic design skills. I was also able to leveraged UX research to streamline the interactivity. Furthermore, I worked in collaboration with international teams across various time zones.