AWAsia 2022: Multidimensional Asian Communities Inclusive Visual Storytelling

This presentation offers guidelines for visual storytelling about Asian people and culture across various aspects of their identities, passions, and lived experiences. The data used reflects a detailed look at visuals featuring people of Asian ethnicities in the most popular visuals at Getty Images and iStock in the Asia Pacific regions.

On the worldwide scale, the Asia Pacific region represents over half of the global population but more importantly, its internal diversity is the host of a multitude of diverse cultures and populations. It also has some of the larges and most populated megacities, such as Guangzhou, Tokyo, and Shanghai. With such a wide array of origins and cultures, the Asia-Pacific region sees a vast variety of demographics that vary greatly from country to country.

However, whether by misrepresentation or underrepresentation, the everyday images that capture Asian experiences are falling short of communicating these rich and diverse stories – How we see our surroundings can easily be influenced by the stories on screens and advertising we consume, reshaping how we perceive reality. Authentic visual storytelling not only helps you connect with your audiences, but also changes the way Asian people are seen. Brands need to understand this in order to select authentic visuals.