The Infinite Charm of Chinese Ancient Logo Design

Executive summary

The Chinese ancestors replaced the actual writing of the image with rich implied power and symbolic power, blending the dreamlike realm with the imaginary yet irreducible void, and being detached and honest. From the ancient totems to the auspicious symbols of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, this unique cosmology and life sentiment is reflected, and has a high value for reference and appreciation in the aesthetic field of art design. How to use Chinese precious cultural heritage to serve modern design is worth exploring...

The Chinese have worshipped nature since ancient times and believed that the universe is infinite, but they do not stand in opposition to nature, but instead dedicate themselves to nature and become one with nature, the so-called 'combination of nature and human'. No country in the world can take natural status as important as China did. This is because at that time the Northern China (the birthplace of the Chinese civilization) was rich and open, and there were running rhinos and elephants everywhere. People live in the wilderness of Yamazawa and are in contact with the lively lives of the universe, the natural world, exotic animals and animals. They feel the inexhaustible power and magic. They use rich hinting power and symbolic power to replace the actual writing of the image. Really dreamlike realm is integrated with invisible but unavoidable void. It is detached and honest.

Throughout China's paintings, we have always immersed ourselves in artistic conception and imagery, coordinated with flowing, regular line patterns and the atmospheric movement between heaven and earth, and brought the painting art into an inspiring spiritual realm. Ma Yuan and Xia Gui, painters of the Southern Song Dynasty, commonly known as 'Ma Yi Jiao and Xia Banbian,' capture the most beautiful parts of the natural world from the perspective of the corners. They are 'small, big, and partial, with virtual reality, meaning. The effect of 'landscape' is to gain the interest of 'Pen is endless and endless'. In fact, not only painting, from the ancient totem to the Ming and Qing auspicious symbols, this unique cosmology and life sentiments are embodied, and has a high reference for modern logo design.

The totem is a symbol of strict ethnicity. When primitive people settled down in one place, something of a close relationship with their lives in the area may be worshipped because it is beneficial or harmful. Is the original totem. The natural totem worship at this time is a sign of distinguishing different human groups. In the process of coexistence with them, the primitive people treat them as protectors. At the end of the primitive society, the tribal chiefs and the nobles of the slave society used the totem God's lofty status among the people and described himself as the representative of the ancestors in the world. Therefore, the ancestral symbol appeared, that is, a large number of people were united with animals and plants. Art image.

Many of these mysterious and exquisite totem logos reflect the success of modern design. For example, in the Neolithic era, the fish-faced pattern in the pottery art, the clan living in Xi'an Banpo used fishing and hunting as the main source of life. Over time, the human-faced fish pattern became the main totem of the Banpo Clan, and it was compounded by the sun and fish. Facial ancestry, with Pisces as both ears, with the fish's tail as the human facial lip and head emblem, complement each other, at the same time with 'black and white' pun. Another example is the Shuangfeng Chaoyang pattern on the ivory carving of the Hemudu culture in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The sun and birds are ancestors of Hemudu ancestors. They share two birds and a Japanese shape to form a symmetrical symmetry emblem. Stable visual effects. The most ingenious item is the 'Divine Emblem' on the Liangzhu Cultural Jade Skull, which is the animal image of God and human beings. Its top end is a bow-shaped crown. The crown is an inverted trapezoidal face, and the crown is decorated with radial feather patterns. The ridge of the eyebrow and the nose are bloody, the human's legs are crouched and placed under the mouth of the beast, the animal ear is the human arm, the human foot is the beast, the human face and the animal face are the match of the human body and the beast head. Being integrated and inseparable, it is a wonderful example of ancient imagery.

Another example is that in the Shang and Zhou dynasty, when bronze art reached its golden age, the 'skull' representing slavery's monarchy became the intimidating symbol of the ruled and the protector of the ruler. It was solemn, mysterious, ferocious, and terrible. Most of them are carved in bronze ritual vessels. In the Shang Dynasty's "Ghosts and Fang Ding", the look of a pair of stand-ups and shoulders is a horrible animal face. Look again, it is the opposite of the two dragons. The dragon's horn and the animal brow are shared. It is shared with the animal ears, separated by raised nose ridges. It uses both the common shape and the earliest combination of the ancient and the plane.

In ancient living galleries, there are countless graphic emblems such as this artistic conception. From these beautifully designed and deeply connoted 'symbols', we seem to experience the infinite wisdom of ancient ancestors. With the leap of the times, the emblem representing power, philosophy, embodying the people's style and avoiding evil and seeking fortunes has been unique. For example, in the Han Dynasty, according to the four gods Vadang, in accordance with the yin and yang of the Han dynasty and the taboo superstition, the 'four gods' can keep the Quartet and provide ominous terms. They are said to be the four-way gods, the east is the dragon, the west is the tiger, the south is the suzaku, and the north is the basalt. The four elongated animals are arranged in round circles three or four inches in diameter, and they also have a broad border and body curling, but they do not hinder their fierce tempo and do not have a momentary quiet character. Tai Chi pattern is the most primitive and basic figure in Chinese auspicious symbols. It is composed of two black and white fish shapes, commonly known as yin and yang fish. It vividly expresses the yin and yang rotation. On the contrary, it is the philosophy of the origin of the changes in all things. Regardless of its profound meaning, it is only successful in the subtlety of graphic design. The use of map-bottom reversal makes the contrast more intense but also integrates. For example, in the Dunhuang Flying Vine Pattern Design Center, “Three Rabbits and Ears”, the three chasing rabbits should have six ears. The artist uses the common shape to make only three ears. The rabbit runs and leaps around and fits around the space. Another example is the “Four Pleasant Patterns”, which means that the four-way boy comes together and symbolizes generations descending from generation to generation. The two dolls are skillfully connected by their heads, bodies, hands and feet. Four babies can be seen on the upper and lower sides, and one is a graphic. Share clever examples.

Throughout these beautiful map emblems, we have to admire the wisdom of our predecessors. Those animals and plants that are common in the natural world and are closely related to their lives are beautified, deified, and integrated into their own emotions and sustenance. They are designed into a variety of symbolic emblems full of meaning and interest. For example, the most common graphic in nature is abstractly transformed so that it can be interpreted as a symbol of other meanings while acting like a non-image. Sharing a form means embodying the meanings expressed in the simplest manner and using the phrase “a matter of ten”. 'The beauty of the form; interactive shapes and suitable graphics, so that the abstract shape and the surrounding 'environment' complement each other, resulting in a sense of ambivalence reciprocating ... In fact, these highly creative design methods, we can not only from Picasso's modern three-dimensional The painting "Yawei Nong Maid" uses two-dimensional graphics to embody the feelings in the three-dimensional space, and can also appreciate the appreciation of Dutch graphic design master Escher's graphic sharing, bottom-reversal, and contradictory space masterpieces. . It can be said that as early as in ancient China, China has unknowingly used many basic methods of modern design, not just mechanically imitating nature, copying and copying nature.

China is one of the ancient countries of the world civilization. Her unique geographical environment, humanities and historical factors have created distinctive cultural connotations. It is even more unique in art creation. Chinese art thought originated from the flying patterns of dragon snakes and tigers in the mountains of nature, and symbolized the rhythm of life in the universe. Its realm is a full-scale heaven and earth, not a single person; its strokes are flowing, regular lines, not static, three-dimensional images. Integrate with nature, follow the laws of nature, appreciate the nature with the spirit of “pitching and self-satisfaction”, and jump into the rhythm of nature to “be happy with the heart” and enjoy the relaxed and happy atmosphere. This is the unique aesthetic of the Chinese people. Concept. In terms of artistic expression, the rhythm of life in the universe is represented by flying lines, the broad space of the universe is represented by the realm of "emptiness is, and there is void," and harmony and simplicity are used to convey the meaning of the imaginary movement. The Western aesthetic concept mainly derives from Greek art. The Greeks live in a civilized and clean city. The Mediterranean Sea is bright and sunny. Everything is clearly outlined. The mind also swims in the logic and geometry of the Ching Ming. Mysterious illusions have gradually disappeared, and even God has lost a deep mystery. It is only a life in a bright and happy world. They use order, harmony, proportion, and balance as the highest standards and ideals of beauty. The common artistic theory of Greek artists and philosophers is "imitation on nature." Although China has the saying “people and law, heaven and earth, heaven and law, and the Tao of nature”, it is above the artistic method of “simulating nature alone” in artistic expression. It is this unusual spirit. Experience only makes Chinese art uniquely different.

The aesthetic value of ancient Chinese emblems made it useful for modern logo design. For example, the Hong Kong graphic designer reluctantly designed the 'Bank of China' logo, combining ancient bronze coins with the word 'zhong', and conveyed with common graphics. Allegorical meaning; 'Zheng Mingming cosmetics' sign to reflect the 'Moon closed shy flower' artistic conception of crescent moon and flowers; 'Chen Youjian's sign' shows the cooperative spirit of the auspicious pattern 'Siamese doll' (Figure 8)... How to use It is worth exploring that China’s precious cultural heritage serves modern design. However, research on ancient Chinese design still remains at the initial stage. This is what we should continue to explore. (Text / Zhang Jun)