Utopian City Poster by QiuYu Li is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 Bronze A' Design Award in Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design Competition Category.
BronzeGraphic· 2022
Utopian City Poster
by QiuYu Li
Client: QiuYu Li
Bronze A' Design Award Winner in Graphic Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #133174The Design
About Utopian City Poster
With the spread of digital information, the opportunities for writing and reading have become much less than before, instead visuals are important. Utopian City Planning is rethinks about modern typography, the motifs and letters found in architecture are fused to create a new order of typography and explores new visual possibilities for typography. At the same time, also emphasizes the relationship with the "clarity" of typography.
The Recognition
About the Bronze A' Design Award
Utopian City Poster is a Bronze A' Design Award winner, a highly prestigious recognition granted to outstanding designs distinguished by creativity, ingenuity, and astuteness. Bronze winners are amply skillful and strikingly creative artifacts that authenticate the vast experience, imagination, and resourcefulness of their designers. Utopian City Poster is expected to be a highly regarded, admired, and cherished object that is notably professional and innovative. This Bronze A' Design Award-winning design incorporates best practices in art, science, design, and technology, and is excellent for its attention to detail. Utopian City Poster splendidly satisfies needs, touches desires, charms feelings, and appeals to curiosity.
Interviews
Design Interview
What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
The inspiration for this design is 1920s modern typography. The purpose is to study the future development and possibilities of modern typography based on the modeling philosophy that was sought at that time. Rather than mechanical and groundbreaking, this design seeks freedom of modeling. Strictly speaking, we are pursuing a good balance between mechanical and free.
What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
The array of letters is the focus. Achieve visual stimulation without traditional modern typography through random size and arrangement.
What are your future plans for this award winning design?
We will do our best to further develop this series and find many possibilities. We also believe that this means of design expression is applicable to other designs. I would like to experiment a lot on this.
Grand Interview
Your innovative fusion of architectural motifs and typography in Utopian City Poster challenges traditional boundaries - could you elaborate on how Soviet Modernist architecture specifically influenced your typographic decisions?
Soviet modernist architecture is known for its bold, exaggerated forms combined with distinct geometric shapes. This visual style immediately captivated me because it balances order with exaggeration, creating a unique visual impact. I wanted to apply this sense of structure and boldness to typography, as modern typography no longer focuses solely on readability but also needs to serve a visual expressive function. Soviet modernist architecture provided the perfect inspiration, allowing me to create a type design that combines both structural integrity and strong visual expression.
The Utopian City Poster beautifully balances functionality with artistic expression - how did you navigate the tension between maintaining typographic clarity while creating this new visual language?
Firstly, the form of Soviet modernist architecture inherently carries a strong sense of order, which greatly facilitated maintaining basic readability during the typesetting process. Its geometric structure helped ensure that the clarity of the text was not compromised. At the same time, the bold and exaggerated forms of Soviet modernist architecture provided guidance for the artistic expression of the typesetting, encouraging me to push the boundaries and create visually impactful effects. In this way, I was able to find a balance between functionality and artistic expression, ensuring that the poster not only communicated the information clearly but also showcased a strong artistic presence.
In developing Utopian City Poster, you mentioned the challenge of breaking free from Constructivism, Bauhaus, and Swiss style influences - what specific techniques or mindsets helped you discover your unique artistic voice?
Constructivism, Bauhaus, and Swiss style all inevitably pursue the creation of an order to maximize the functionality of design. They have had a profound influence on me, and I have always held them in high regard. However, as times change, I believe it is essential to challenge the existing order. The main method I used was to break the text down into countless elements. Only by deconstructing the traditional form of the text can new possibilities arise in design. This approach helped me break free from conventional frameworks and discover my own unique artistic voice.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- This poster is created while exploring a new order of typography, fusing architectural motifs and letters. The Modern typography has a result of its extreme pursuit of functionality. As the sensibilities disappear, the design becomes the same without individuality. This is the opposite of the modern values that aim for diversity, and based on this problem, visual expression that allows sensibilities and reason to coexist is the goal.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Width 515mm Height 728mm etc for physical products, matte paper.
The poster is best reproduced as printed matter. You can create a special atmosphere by the texture of the paper. - Tags
- Graphic Design, Typography, Bauhaus, Modern Typography
- Production Technology
- The poster is best reproduced as printed matter. You can create a special atmosphere by the texture of the paper. I always make designs with Adobe Illustrator. For me, Adobe Illustrator is the best software for designs that do not use photo materials than Adobe Photoshop.
- Design Challenge
- The influence of Constructivism, Bauhaus and Swiss style is too strong. At the beginning, it is hard to jump out of it. When disassembling and transforming letters, I must refrain from reading the letters.
- Research
- Influenced by Constructivism, Bauhaus, and the Swiss international style, and Aiming for a Post Modern typography that coexists with reason without losing sensibilities .
- Inspiration
- Soviet Modernist architecture is steadily disappearing with the dismantling of the Soviet Union. Aside from politics, it has a meaning to be recorded as a symbol of an era. while this poster is a visual experiment, it also aims to record the culture of an era. Rethink the past for the future and discover some new possibilities.
- Project Duration
- The project started in September 2021 in Osaka Japan, exhibited in Osaka University of Arts Graduate Student Exhibition in November 2021.
- Operation Flow
- This poster will be used as an experimental poster for typography and as an exhibit for design exhibitions. Typography posters have the same function as works of art.
- Patents
- Copyrights belong to QiuYu Li, 2021.
- Team Members
- QiuYu Li
- Image Credits
- Image #1: Creator QiuYuLi, Independent production, 2021.
Image #2: Creator QiuYuLi, Independent production, 2021.
Image #3: Creator QiuYuLi, Independent production, 2021.
Image #4: Creator QiuYuLi, Independent production, 2021.
Image #5: Creator QiuYuLi, Independent production, 2021.
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