Dr. Gan Lee Ping
Book

A Signature Framework

Asian Facial Architecture™

Asian Facial Architecture™ is Dr. Gan Lee Ping's framework for understanding the face as an interconnected three-dimensional structure, in which skeletal framework, soft tissue, proportion, movement, expression and ageing influence one another. Rather than assessing features in isolation, it considers how each feature contributes to the harmony of the face as a whole.

Asian Facial Architecture™ is not an attempt to define an ideal Asian face, and it does not reduce to a ratio, a set of measurements, or a template to move a face toward.

Explore the Framework

Explore Asian Facial Architecture™

Asian woman seen face-on through three stacked glass panels, beside stone vessels, a stone sphere and an olive branch in warm, dappled light.

Why Does My Face Look Long? Understanding Asian Facial Length and Proportion

Facial length is never read on its own. It is read against the width of the face and against how its height is shared between the upper, middle and lower face, and with age those relationships can change.

· 13 min

Asian woman in profile facing a classical travertine bust, separated by a slender stone column, in warm, dappled light with olive leaves.

Short Chin vs Recessed Chin: What Is the Difference in Asian Faces?

A chin can look small because it is short, because it sits back, or because of what surrounds it. These are different anatomical questions, and they can look remarkably alike.

· 12 min

Asian woman in profile facing a travertine-framed mirror that reflects her face from the front, beside an olive branch in warm, dappled light.

Why Does My Midface Look Flat? Understanding Midface Projection in Asian Faces

A midface can look flat without lacking volume, and added volume does not always read as projection. What the eye calls flat is usually a relationship between several structures, and it depends on the angle the face is seen from.

· 17 min

Two portrait studies illustrating facial width and cheekbone projection, arranged on travertine with olive branches and a brass caliper.

High Cheekbones vs Wide Cheekbones: Why They Don't Look the Same

A cheekbone can look prominent without making the face look wide, and a face can look wide when the front of the cheekbone is not especially prominent. The difference lies in where the cheekbone projects, and in the face around it.

· 10 min

Two side-profile photographs of an Asian woman, one overlaid with facial analysis lines, arranged on travertine beside measuring calipers.

What Makes an Asian Face Look Balanced From the Side?

From the side, no feature is seen alone. A nose is read against the chin, the lips against both, and the feature that bothers you may not be the one creating the imbalance.

· 15 min

Asian woman in three-quarter profile between angled travertine blocks, beside an olive branch and a bronze sphere in warm, dappled light.

V-Shaped Face: What Actually Makes an Asian Face Look Slimmer?

A face can look slimmer without becoming narrower. How slim it looks depends on its outline: where it is wide, how it narrows towards the chin, how long it is, and how clearly the jawline is drawn.

· 11 min

Asian woman examining her jawline in a curved mirror beside travertine and olive branches.

Square Jaw in Asian Faces: Is It Bone, Masseter Muscle or Soft Tissue?

A square jaw is a shape, not a diagnosis. Bone, muscle, soft tissue and proportion can each create it, and the reason matters more than the shape.

· 10 min

A woman's reflection in a round mirror, her face marked with dashed lines measuring its width, photographed among stone vessels and an olive branch.

Why Does My Face Look Wide? Understanding Facial Width

A face can look wide for more than one reason. The sources reviewed here measure width in more than one way, and they do not agree on where "wide" begins.

· 11 min

A sepia-toned portrait marked with golden ratio circles and a grid, resting on stone beside a brass compass, an olive branch and a pale plaster bust fragment.

Does the Golden Ratio Apply to Asian Faces?

The golden ratio may describe some faces. The evidence does not support using it to define beauty, or to decide what a face should become.

· 9 min