Gold Interior Space and Exhibition Design · 2020
From East Show Window
by Uplan Design
- A' Design Award 2020 Gold Winner in Interior Space and Exhibition Design
- Awarded April 15, 2020
- CLIENT: Uplan Design
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 15,469
- Verification code 72488DB810 · Verify this award
About From East Show Window
From East is a set of show window displays created for a commercial building in Shanghai. The main display surface and the side surfaces of the passageway each follow a different idea, arranged as inclusiveness, origin, promotion and collection along the customer walking route. The themes present Chinese culture through ancient auspicious figures such as the dragon, the phoenix and the crane. EVA material is used for shaping, filling and coloring. The displays cover forty square meters and apply strong traditional colors.
This extraordinary retail installation, which may be considered under the evocative designation *Celestial Guardians at the Threshold*, represents a remarkable synthesis of traditional decorative arts vocabulary with contemporary spatial design practice, positioning the work firmly within an emerging tradition of culturally resonant visual merchandising that transcends mere commercial function. The paired window displays engage deeply with the iconographic heritage of auspicious mythological creatures—the dragon embodying yang energy, celestial power, and benevolent protection, while the phoenix represents yin complementarity, renewal, and harmonious prosperity—presenting these venerable symbols through a fresh dimensional language that honors tradition while embracing contemporary sculptural sensibilities. The technical achievement evident in the installation's execution rewards sustained attention: the creatures appear constructed through layered dimensional elements suggesting sophisticated fabrication techniques, with each scale, feather, and cloud scroll contributing to an overall effect of sumptuous material richness. The chromatic program demonstrates sophisticated understanding of color psychology and cultural resonance, deploying the auspicious pairing of red and blue-green that carries deep significance across many traditions while achieving visual dialogue through temperature contrast. The spatial orchestration reveals careful consideration of viewing hierarchy, with the mythological figures commanding primary attention while mannequins below invite recognition of the retail context without competing for visual dominance. One might observe how the cloud motifs serve multiple compositional functions—establishing rhythmic intervals, suggesting celestial atmosphere, and creating visual bridges between the paired panels that encourage the eye to traverse the full installation width. The work invites contemplation of how contemporary design practice might honor heritage vocabularies while creating fresh experiences that speak to present audiences seeking meaningful cultural connection.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The whole project is respectively placed in the main display surface and side display surface of the passageway, commercial building. Therefore, the different position of the window design, the designers give different ideas. "Inclusiveness", "origin", "promotion" and "collection", these themes not only have a logical relationship based on customers' moving lines, but also fully express the important theme of Chinese culture.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- The project covers a total of 40 square meters. The overall color is so obvious and not low. This is the characteristic of Chinese traditional art's application of color, and it is more in line with the charm of Chinese culture.
- Tags
- Window Design, Commercial, Flagship Store, Exhibition, Chinese Style, National Tide
- Production Technology
- In order to more fully present the advantages of these images, EVA materials is used as the main material in the creation process. No matter in the plasticity, filling and coloring of the shape, it is one of the best choices for the design of modern window design. Uplan Design also specially invite partners to improve the material technology.
- Design Challenge
- The complexity of the work lies in the complexity of the details. Dragon scales, Phoenix wings, crane feathers, almost every shape, has countless details. Each scale is almost different. Their size, bending angle and radian, positions and distances between them, and the logic of overlapping all need to be completed step by step according to the details.
- Project Duration
- The project started in June 2019 in Shanghai and finished in July 2019 in Shanghai.
- Operation Flow
- The designer is required to first refine the drawings of the graphic design, refine the process, decompose the research composition and the split structure, and even carefully detail the angle of each feather before starting to implement grouping, collage, coloring and many more.
- Research
- The East is an ancient civilization that has gathered for thousands of years. The mythological fables, classics of ancient books, inventions and creations, as well as technological innovations from time to time, all present the influence of this land on the world. Nowadays, more and more young people are beginning to be keen on the national tide. This is not only a breakthrough in the field of fashion innovation, but also a sense of pride and belonging in the return of culture.
- Inspiration
- In the image of concrete performance, designers have chosen the unique characteristics of Chinese culture, and are the most easily noticed dragons, phoenixes, cymbals, cranes. They are all ancient gods or auspicious symbol, and designers refine the exquisiteness of these cultures through creative methods, and make a perfect graft with the window design and fashion culture.
- Image Credits
- Image #1: Photographer Tian Ye and Mr. Ainiu, From East, 2019.
Image #2: Photographer Tian Ye and Mr. Ainiu, From East, 2019.
Image #3: Photographer Tian Ye and Mr. Ainiu, From East, 2019.
Image #4: Photographer Tian Ye and Mr. Ainiu, From East, 2019.
Image #5: Photographer Tian Ye and Mr. Ainiu, From East, 2019. - Patents
- Copyrights belong to Uplan Design, 2019.
Colors of From East Show Window
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