Particularly worth mentioning is the emblem of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The design was carefully selected from 1985 Chinese and foreign emblem candidate works and approved by the International Olympic Committee. It is called "China Seal·Dancing Beijing"
The Olympic Games are the most solemn and influential in the world. The most profound and extensive sports event. Its emblem should not only be recognized by the people of the host country, but also be accepted by the world. "China Seal·Dancing Beijing" achieves this. International Olympic Committee President Rogge once highly praised: "The Beijing Olympic Games emblem will become one of the most eye-catching and familiar symbols in the world, and will become one of the best and most meaningful symbols in the history of the Olympic movement." She uses seals as the main form of expression and uses traditional Chinese calligraphy to express them. It is simple and elegant, reflecting the long and profound cultural charm of China for thousands of years. Because the theme is the sports meeting, it is also smart and enthusiastic. The artistic word "京" naturally represents Beijing, the venue for the Olympic Games. At the same time, it cleverly transforms into a human figure, running forward and dancing enthusiastically. This not only embodies the Olympic spirit, but also expresses the beautiful longing of the 1.3 billion Chinese people for the Olympic movement and the enthusiasm and sincerity of welcoming guests from all over the world. It cleverly combines Chinese characteristics with elements of the Olympic movement, and it can be regarded as a model of using China for foreign purposes.
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Application of traditional Chinese cultural elements in modern logo design
In the field of art and design, due to the influence of various new trends in foreign countries The influx and penetration are shaking our inherent values ??and aesthetics. This makes our works become more and more distant from national personality and loses its own right to speak; similarly, the depiction of tradition without abandonment also leads to the stagnation of the development of national crafts. Therefore, how to understand the relationship between traditional plastic arts and modern design, make its application in modern design more extensive and in-depth, and create diversified design trends after the "international design style" trend is what the new generation of designers want to do. issues faced.
1. Traditional Chinese visual elements and modern logo design
As an important part of the modern visual communication system, logo design is a combination of specific things, events, scenes and abstractions. The spirit and ideas are expressed through special graphics. When people see the logo, they will naturally associate it with it, thus creating a sense of identification with the brand. In the entire corporate image transmission process, because of its high frequency of appearance and wide application, it is easy to be recognized and remembered by people. Throughout the history of modern design, many famous and creative logo designs all contain the national cultural heritage and the spirit of the times of an enterprise or group in their simple and clear formal beauty. It has an important role for an enterprise and group that cannot be underestimated.
In modern logo design, Chinese plastic arts inherit the traditional Chinese art concept. It is different from the Western aesthetic taste that emphasizes image and vividness. Most of them place less emphasis on "realism" and more on "expressiveness", and pursue the romantic and elegant realm of "exquisiteness and clumsiness" in artistic conception. It is both concrete and abstract; it is pictorial and ecstatic; it is determined and yet undecided. The interest of the work has the aesthetic effect of ambiguity and ambiguity. In recent years, integrating traditional Chinese cultural elements into modern logo design has been favored by designers.
The success of the Olympic bid logo is the best example: five stars, five rings, the pictographic Chinese knot, and the combination with Tai Chi, the essence of Chinese traditional culture, make the logo as vivid and harmonious as flowing clouds and flowing water. While embodying modern design concepts, the works also reflect the nation's aesthetic value orientation and historical and cultural characteristics. It fully demonstrates the artistic charm of the close combination of traditional cultural concepts and modern logo design.
1. The application of Chinese characters in modern logos:
The ancient Chinese characters span thousands of years and are still full of vitality and unique artistic charm. Chinese characters are square characters that evolved over a long period of time based on pictographs. Specific expressiveness is conveyed through six means of composition such as pictography and understanding. Coupled with the expressive characteristics of "graphical" and "symbolic", it can be said to be the most primitive form of logo.
At the same time, the different representations of various calligraphy styles such as oracle bone inscriptions, seal script, official script, and regular script also provide rich visual elements for modern logos.
The emblem of the 2010 World Expo was designed based on the Chinese character "世". It implies a figure of three people embracing each other, symbolizing "you, me, him" and all mankind, expressing the "World Expo" The concept of "understanding, communication, gathering, and cooperation" is permeated with the Chinese national spirit that advocates harmony and unity. The character "世" in this Chinese calligraphy and the character "京" in seal cutting, the emblem of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, can be said to have the same purpose but complement each other. The logo of Heilongjiang TV Station uses the Chinese character "dragon" written in cursive. The dancing and joyful dragon body has a masculine beauty, and also demonstrates the brilliance of the descendants of the dragon from "leaping in the abyss" to "flying dragon in the sky" . It can be said that Chinese characters as a very effective design element are in the same line as logos that win by shape and connotation.
2. Seal cutting has gradually become a design element of modern logos
Seal cutting is an art category unique to China. Its different external forms such as inscriptions and sealing clay, as well as the rich and varied styles of seal artists of the past dynasties, make the art of seal cutting create a myriad of atmospheres in every inch. Seal is both a power and a responsibility, a solemn agreement and a commitment to integrity. Therefore, the emblem of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games chose the Chinese traditional cultural symbol - the seal (Xiao-shaped seal) as the main pattern of the logo. This is a major breakthrough and innovation in the entire history of Olympic emblem design. The ancient seal symbolizes the solemn promise of the ancient Chinese country with thousands of years of integrity tradition: "The world gives me trust, and I give the world glory!"
The seal character "京" in the emblem seal represents the youthful spirit. Beijing, the ancient capital, is welcoming people of all nationalities from all over the world with its open mind and cultural cohesion that absorbs all directions and integrates ancient and modern times. The inscription in the seal transforms the glyph into an image of an athlete running across the line and dancing to victory. The entire shape embodies a high degree of combination of strength and beauty. The spirit is outside the image, the image is outside the words, and the words are unexpected. Conveying the dual beauty of human body and spirit in sports is a perfect interpretation of sportsmanship.
3. Traditional graphics and modern logo design
From the "Human Face Painted Pottery Fish Pattern Basin" in Banpo, Xi'an in the Neolithic Age to the lifelike stone portrait "Jing Ke Assassins the King of Qin" in the Han Dynasty, from From the Taotie patterns on bronze vessels to the simple Qin and Han dynasty tiles, these graphics come in various shapes and are simple and simple. It is an image interpretation of the social life of the Chinese nation in different periods, and it also faithfully reflects people's aesthetic tastes in different periods. Many works that are recognized by the world and have distinctive national characteristics and cultural connotations are inspired by traditional graphics.
The logo of Hong Kong Phoenix TV successfully draws on the traditional Chinese phoenix pattern and adopts the unique Chinese structure of "happy encounter". One phoenix and one phoenix fly high and sing in harmony. The characteristics of the media, the brand's lofty intentions, and the kingly spirit of leading the peers are vividly expressed. The image of two flying and circling phoenixes represents the complementarity and integration of the two different cultures of China and the United States, embodying the integration of the East and the West, and the gathering of the North and the South. Cultural concepts have obvious imprints of Chinese civilization.
China Unicom's logo is a modern interpretation of the ancient Chinese auspicious graphic "panchang". "Pan Chang" originates from the "Eight Auspiciousnesses" of Buddhism, which originally means "enduring and lasting". The logo uses circuitous lines to symbolize the highly developed modern communication network in the information age. The entire logo is easy to remember and is filled with strong national sentiments. The high recognition brought by the distinctive image has played a positive role in the expansion of China Unicom's users and business promotion.
4. The influence of traditional Chinese philosophical thoughts on logo design
As early as the ancient times when cave dwellings, fishing and hunting made a living, our ancestors "looked up to see the astronomy, looked down to see the astronomy, and looked down to see the astronomy." "Observe geography", "observe things from a distance, and take in things up close", and pondered deeply about the universe and life consciousness. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, various schools such as Confucianism and Taoism all explained their views on the world, life, and ethics. After the filtration and accumulation of time, they formed the cornerstone of Chinese philosophical thought.
The most representative "Tai Chi Diagram", its form and concept are often used for reference by designers. For example, the logo of Shenzhen's main park "Water Park" is designed based on the "Tai Chi Diagram", and the "Tai Chi Diagram" is used for reference. An up-and-down, endless water pattern is added to the frame, reflecting the ever-changing shape of the theme "water" in the "water park". While emphasizing the dynamic and harmonious formal beauty, it also contains the philosophical concepts of unity of change and freedom of movement, conveying the "view of movement, stillness" and "view of time and space" of Taoism.
The logo of the Bank of China is simple in shape but profound in meaning. It integrates the cosmology of "the sky is round and the earth is round" in the traditional Chinese philosophical system, and the shape borrows the composition techniques of the evolution of Chinese characters and the shape of ancient coins. The square hole in the center, with the center line running through it, symbolizes circulation and connection, while the outer circle represents Bank of China’s internationalization trend facing the world. It embodies the industry characteristics and profound cultural complex of the bank.
The application of the above traditional cultural elements in logo design is often diverse. For example, the logos of the Bank of China, the 2008 Olympic Games, and China Post are all organic combinations of calligraphy and seal cutting, figuration and imagery, form and concept. This diverse and complementary design concept not only enhances the cultural richness, but also helps to extend the design concept and enhance the visual appeal.
2. The importance of integrating Chinese culture into modern logo design
Logo is a symbol of brand image, which condenses the characteristics, reputation and culture of enterprises and groups. Represents the value of the brand. An excellent logo is not only an intangible asset of a company, but also has a high value due to its irreplaceable status in the minds of consumers.
For example, the Phoenix TV logo has been valued at 22.832 billion yuan by professional institutions. Nike, most of its products are OEM produced by other manufacturers, but it can earn several times the money of the manufacturer. To be precise, it sells Nike trademarks. Not all logos can be worth tens of thousands of dollars. After all, the value of a logo is closely related to many factors in a company's decision-making and operations. It will be an inevitable fate for signs without personality, creativity and deep cultural connotation to be ignored and obliterated. Therefore, the competition for economic strength worldwide is actually a competition between brands.
A new round of economic rise and cultural renaissance will be in the East, many insightful thinkers and design masters have said so. With 5,000 years of cultural heritage, the big brand "China" has eternity, wisdom, mystery, exquisite craftsmanship and unparalleled creativity. This series of attractive values ??has a tendency to gradually disappear in the development of "modern" China. This is enough to alert us who talk about internationalization to re-examine our own cultural heritage.
How to re-examine traditional culture from a new perspective of modern aesthetics, as Mr. Jin Daiqiang said, "We don't necessarily have to put on Peking Opera masks or wear dragon robes to be recognized as Chinese." People." We must extend its "meaning" and convey its "spirit" on the basis of a full understanding of traditional culture, so that traditional culture can be updated and expanded in modern logo design. We can also use the unique persistence and wide influence of the logo itself to promote dialogue and interaction between Eastern and Western cultures.