In its long history of five thousand years, China has gradually formed a profound and long-standing traditional Chinese culture. On this point, there is no doubt. However, some people say that Chinese traditional culture has become a "sunset culture" and can only be treasured as antiques or cultural relics. This view is not worth refuting.
The connotation of Chinese traditional culture It is very rich and covers a wide range. Traditional patterns are just a trickle in its vast ocean. And it is this inexhaustible trickle that still waters and penetrates into many fields of modern art, logo design is one of them.
I believe everyone is familiar with logos. In today's society with the rapid development of economy, information and culture, whether it is a public logo used for public and social activities, a commercial trademark or a patent-related trademark, Signs are everywhere. From a design perspective, a logo is a type of graphic design, an artistic form with considerable visual beauty, but it is also a practical art, and its role in the commodity economy and the value it creates are becoming more and more important. People attach great importance to it, so in recent years the logo has become the main content of CI planning. It is not only a symbol, the name of a product, but also the spokesperson of the product manufacturer and the symbol of the corporate image. In this sense, in modern times In the commodity society, logos belong to the category of modern design.
But does modern design mean abandoning, eliminating or even isolating tradition, or shelving it, otherwise it will become outdated and fail to reflect the sense of creativity and the times? Of course not. From some of the most popular and deeply rooted logo design works in recent years, it is not difficult to see how designers combine traditional patterns with modern designs and integrate them into one.
Bank of China is a representative of China’s financial and business community and is required to reflect Chinese characteristics. The designer used ancient Chinese coins and the word "中" as the basic shape. The ancient coin graphics are a circle and shape frame design, with a square hole in the middle and vertical lines above and below to form the shape of the word "中", which means that the sky is square and the earth is round, and the economy is This book gives people the feeling of being simple, steady, easy to identify, profound in meaning and quite Chinese style. The reason why the Bank of China logo can leave such a deep impression on people, I think, is mainly due to people’s deep-rooted understanding of the image of ancient copper coins that symbolize wealth.
The logo of China Telecom is a three-dimensional space pattern developed and transformed based on the character "中" and the palindrome of traditional Chinese patterns. It symbolizes the communication network extending in all directions and symbolizes the smooth operation of China Telecom at all times. , everywhere, vividly expresses the characteristics of China Telecom: technology, modernity, delivery, speed, development. This pattern has a strong decorative effect, and has Chinese characteristics and a sense of the times. It can be said that the traditional culture is used in a very modern way. A sensual classic.
The logo of Beijing Wangfu Hotel is also a leader in this type of design. Wangfu Hotel is a five-star hotel located in Wangfujing, Beijing. This place was originally the residence of the royal officials of the Qing Dynasty. The hotel's architectural shape has a traditional Chinese classical style, so the logo is composed of geometric figures, with the Chinese "Fang wins over Pan Long" "The auspicious pattern is the basic shape, which is transformed into vertical and horizontal straight lines to form a symmetrical square up and down, with orderly interspersed longitude and latitude, showing the meaning of standardized management and excellent service of Wangfu Hotel. In terms of detail processing, the author deliberately broke the lines at the four corners, which is intended to depict the word "well" and imply the location of the hotel. At the same time, the word "well" means "inexhaustible and inexhaustible". The "king" in the middle of the graphic is not only the first character of Wufu Hotel, but also represents the hotel's king status among its peers.
Integrating traditional culture into logo design not only perpetuates local culture, but also plays a great role in promoting world information exchange. It also has positive significance in establishing our country's international image.
Chinese tradition has always respected the philosophy of life in which harmony is the most precious, harmony brings wealth, and family harmony brings prosperity. The most vivid expression of this philosophy is the "Tai Chi Diagram" - Yin and Yang Fish. Holding each other in each other's arms, the inner edges of the two fishes fit together perfectly, and the outer edges of the two fishes are perfectly round.
Through this "Tai Chi Diagram", the ancestors and sages told us the following truth: in a unity, whatever is beneficial to the other party will be beneficial to the harmonious unity of the whole, and will in turn be beneficial to itself. This The "Tai Chi Harmony Principle" is widely applicable and applicable no matter between individuals, families, ethnic groups, countries, or even between humans and nature. In the concept of design, we call this form "give and take." It is precisely because of the profound meaning contained in this Tai Chi diagram that the United Nations selected the traditional Chinese Tai Chi pattern as the emblem of the World Conference against Racial Discrimination held in South Africa in August and September 2001. The designer artistically processed the Tai Chi pattern, adding different levels of gray as a transition between the black and white yin and yang poles, symbolizing that although people of various countries are different in race, culture and region, they can learn from each other's strengths and live in harmony in this world. . This symbol not only promotes Chinese culture to the world, but more importantly, spreads China's principles of peaceful coexistence and national spirit of unity and friendship to the world.
The most representative one today is the logo of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. From the bid emblem designed in the bid to host the Olympic Games to the official Olympic Games emblem, they fully demonstrate China's characteristics and have been unanimously praised by the world. The emblem of the bid consists of the five Olympic ring colors, looks like the "Chinese knot" of traditional Chinese folk crafts, and also looks like a human figure doing Tai Chi. The "Chinese knot" symbolizes good luck and good luck, and also embodies the spirit of heart-to-heart connection and unity among every Chinese people; Tai Chi is the quintessence of China. The entire pattern is like flowing clouds and flowing water, harmonious and vivid, full of movement, symbolizing the unity and cooperation of people around the world. , exchange, development, and work together to realize the profound meaning of the innovation century.
The formal logo is even more outstanding. This logo is called "Chinese Seal·Dancing Beijing". It combines traditional Chinese art forms such as seals and calligraphy with movement characteristics to convey and represent the three levels of Meaning: First, the traditional Chinese culture Chinese character seal is used as the main pattern expression of the logo, and the traditional Chinese color red is selected as the base color of the theme pattern, which reflects the characteristics of Chinese culture, represents the nation and country, and represents celebration and peace. Second, the main part of the work resembles the character "京" and a dancing "person" with open arms, which fully reflects the ancient yet modern China and conveys friendship, sincerity and enthusiasm. Third, the work cleverly transforms into a human figure running forward to welcome victory, which fully embodies the Olympic purpose of faster, higher and stronger, emphasizing the athletes as the main body and the healthy and upward spirit, full of dynamic and vitality. This logo vividly expresses Chinese culture and the spirit of the Olympic Games. International Olympic Committee President Rogge was also full of praise, saying that it "not only showcases China's historical and cultural heritage, but also conveys the youthful and energetic spirit of a great country with a bright future."
In fact, there are many such designs, such as the ancient Chinese knife-shaped coins used in the logo of the People's Bank of China; the dragon shape pattern that symbolizes vitality and prosperity in the logo of Dragonair, etc. , are well known and loved by people. Just in the small space of logo design, we can all realize how much creative power traditional culture has brought us, not to mention that there are countless such examples in various other modern cultural and artistic fields. of. Therefore, tradition does not mean that it is outdated, and traditional culture will not fade away like the sun sets over the mountains. The key lies in how we bring out the old and bring out the new, so that the past can be used for the present and carried forward. We can’t just “protect” Chinese traditional culture as historical relics, let alone treat them like worn-out shoes, fearing they will be thrown away. What we need is to promote Chinese traditional culture. In order to achieve this goal, I want to serve as every artist engaged in art. Design workers should do our best to shoulder this responsibility.