Interviews mit Ma Lan

The entire design of Zhanlu Tea adheres to the core concepts of "classical literature conveying charm, ancient forms narrating stories, and gentle nourishment for the heart," following three design principles: cultural origin, scene adaptability, and contemporary aesthetics. The design inspiration comes from the classical literary tradition of the *Classic of Poetry*, the profound ancestral culture of the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum, and the natural beauty of ancient cypress trees. It also relies on the traditional Chinese medicine wisdom of "sour and sweet transforming into yin" to build the product's cultural foundation. The visual creation uses Han Dynasty portrait stone art as the core narrative carrier, extracting the simple, solemn, and elegant visual language of the Han style. I hope to create a cultural tourism tea brand design that combines ancient poetic charm, cultural heritage, and a modern, gentle lifestyle by connecting literary classics, traditional health culture, and ancestral worship scenes.

In this design, I focused on the seamless integration of cultural imagery, product attributes, and cultural tourism scenarios, balancing classical atmosphere with modern aesthetics, and health-preserving connotations with visual expression. I emphasized the accurate reproduction of the visual essence of Han Dynasty stone carvings, the subtle expression of the poetic atmosphere of the *Classic of Poetry*, and the gentle, soothing character of the lightly nourishing tea beverage. The core design objective is to break away from the industry problems of homogenization, superficiality, and lack of cultural depth in traditional cultural tourism tea beverage packaging. The goal is to transform packaging from a simple product container into a vehicle for disseminating the ancestral culture of the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum, the literary culture of the *Classic of Poetry*, and traditional health-preserving culture, allowing tourists to engage in a gentle dialogue with traditional Chinese culture through their drinking experience, enriching their journey with a warm and culturally enriching experience.

In the future, I will continue to improve the complete visual system of the "Zhanlu" brand, extending the series of tea beverage packaging, cultural and creative products, offline brand visual displays, and cultural tourism derivative designs to build a systematic and unified ancient-style cultural tourism brand IP. Simultaneously, leveraging the cultural tourism resources of the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum Scenic Area, I will promote the implementation of designs in diverse scenarios such as public displays within the scenic area, sales of cultural tourism souvenirs, and cultural theme activities, continuously amplifying the brand's cultural influence. I will also iterate on packaging details and visual presentation based on market feedback, deepening the brand label of "Poetry Classic Lineage + Han Dynasty Aesthetics + Light Health Concept," making Zhanlu a highly representative cultural tourism tea beverage benchmark for the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum.

The entire creative cycle for the Zhanlu brand and packaging design took about a month. In the initial stage, I spent a week conducting specialized cultural research, sorting out the textual connotations of Zhanlu in the Book of Songs, the humanistic artistic conception of the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum, the artistic characteristics of Han Dynasty portrait stones, and the traditional theory of nourishing yin with sour and sweet flavors, thus solidifying the cultural foundation of the design. In the middle stage, I spent two weeks completing the brand concept refinement, extraction and reconstruction of Han Dynasty portrait graphics, layout iteration, color atmosphere adjustment, and polishing of multiple packaging schemes. In the final week, I focused on implementation adaptation, detail optimization, process testing, and scene simulation to ensure a high degree of unity between cultural expression, visual aesthetics, and product experience.

This design is a commissioned cultural tourism creation specifically tailored for the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum Scenic Area. I established the core concept of "poetic essence, Han Dynasty aesthetics, and gentle nourishment" because the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum, as a landmark of Chinese ancestral culture, urgently needs a cultural tourism tea product that embodies a solemn, elegant, and tranquil atmosphere. Currently, most traditional-style tea designs are overly commercialized and focused on trendy trends, lacking the subtle beauty and humanistic depth of traditional culture, and failing to match the cultural tourism atmosphere of ancestral worship and spiritual cultivation. Therefore, I combined classic poetry, Han Dynasty art, and traditional health wisdom to create a differentiated cultural tourism design exclusively for the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum, filling the gap in high-end, lightly nourishing cultural tea design within the scenic area.

Currently, the Zhanlu Tea brand and packaging design are exclusively licensed to the Huangdi Mausoleum Scenic Area for use in cultural tourism projects. This license serves only the official production and sales of cultural tourism products and the promotion of the scenic area's culture, and has not been authorized for reuse by any other company. I have no plans to sell or lease the design copyright or visual IP at this time. The core value of this design lies in empowering the dissemination of ancestral culture and upgrading the scenic area's cultural tourism, carrying the attributes of public cultural dissemination rather than being a purely commercial monetization tool. In the future, I will continue to cooperate with the scenic area's official team to optimize the design's implementation and expand its application in a series of products, upholding the design's cultural value and exclusive regional character, and ensuring the purity and unity of the brand's cultural tone.

The core driving force behind this design is my sense of responsibility to modernize traditional culture and empower cultural tourism scenarios with humanistic elements. The Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor carries the profound cultural roots of China and possesses the serene atmosphere of ancient cypress trees, yet it lacks a light and healthy cultural tourism tea IP to match its character. At the same time, much of the rich traditional culture, such as traditional health wisdom, classical literature from the Book of Songs, and Han Dynasty stone carving art, is largely hidden in books and far removed from everyday life. I hope to use tea packaging as a lightweight medium for dissemination, integrating classical literature, Han Dynasty aesthetics, and traditional health concepts into the travel experience, allowing tourists to perceive the gentle power of traditional culture in a relaxing way, and inheriting the Chinese cultural heritage through a gentle and light design language.

This design was deeply influenced by the design philosophy of Pan Hu, a top domestic packaging designer. Pan Hu advocates abandoning the superficial piling up of Chinese trend symbols, adhering to the core design philosophy of "deconstructing tradition, reshaping the contemporary, and balancing art and practicality." He rejects the rigid replication of ancient patterns and styles, and excels at extracting the underlying spirit and aesthetic logic of traditional culture, using modern minimalist visual language to achieve a modern rebirth of traditional culture. His creative thinking of simplifying complexity, conveying meaning through form, and narrating scenes has greatly inspired the design of this Zhanlu tea beverage. I borrowed his cultural deconstruction techniques, avoiding the rigid stacking of Han Dynasty portrait stone patterns, but rather extracting the simple order and oriental charm of Han paintings, combining the poetic imagery of the Book of Songs with the tone of a light and nourishing product. While preserving the authentic cultural heritage, it adapts to contemporary cultural tourism aesthetics and market demands, achieving a perfect balance between ancient charm and modern minimalist design.

The core target audience of this design is domestic and international tourists visiting the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum to pay homage to their ancestors and for cultural tourism. It also encompasses young consumers who appreciate a light and nourishing lifestyle, enjoy modern Chinese aesthetics, and prefer traditional cultural tea drinks. Tourists, during their solemn ancestral worship journey and immersive cultural tours, need a gentle, soothing, and calming beverage to relieve fatigue; while those who appreciate traditional Chinese aesthetics prefer creative tea drinks that combine cultural depth, visual appeal, and a healthy concept. The design caters to diverse scenarios, including mass travel consumption, cultural souvenirs, gifts for friends and family, and everyday light and nourishing drinks, appealing to the aesthetics and needs of cultural consumers of all ages.

Unlike ordinary traditional Chinese style tea drinks and cultural tourism tea drinks on the market, the biggest difference of this work is the **deep integration and evocative expression of a triple cultural system**, rejecting the superficial piling up of traditional Chinese symbols. Most similar designs simply apply ancient patterns and retro colors, resulting in a culturally empty and highly homogenized design. Zhanlu Design, however, takes the literature of the *Classic of Poetry* as its foundation, Han Dynasty portrait stones as its visual core, and the traditional health wisdom of "sour and sweet transforming into yin" as its product core, creating a complete and progressively layered cultural logic. At the same time, it abandons the ostentatious trendy style, matching the cultural tone of the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum with a warm, elegant, and dignified visual quality, combining literary imagery, artistic depth, and health value to form a unique and differentiated traditional Chinese style cultural tourism design.

The brand name "Zhanlu" is derived from the classic imagery of the Book of Songs, meaning the pure morning dew, symbolizing a beautiful and nourishing natural state of mind, imbued with a thousand years of Eastern poetic charm and elegance. The name perfectly aligns with the serene and solemn natural and cultural atmosphere of the ancient cypress trees at the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum, perfectly matching the cultural tone of the scenic area. Meanwhile, "Zhanlu Ganrun" accurately reflects the tea's sweet, refreshing, and nourishing taste and gentle effects, achieving unity between name, imagery, and function. The name is simple yet profound, carrying the essence of classical Chinese literature while conveying a gentle, soothing, and subtly nourishing experience, making it highly memorable and culturally distinctive.

This project employs a creative model that combines traditional cultural research with digital professional design. In the initial phase, authentic classical cultural materials and visual elements were accumulated through manual methods such as literature review, collection of Han Dynasty portrait stone patterns, and cultural field research. In the mid-term, Adobe's full suite of design software was used to complete pattern deconstruction and reconstruction, brand visual design, packaging layout creation, color scheme adjustment, and detailed rendering of the final images. In the final phase, professional visual optimization tools were used to adapt to packaging printing processes and materials. Manual research ensures the authentic cultural foundation, while digital tools enable a refined and modern visual presentation, allowing the ancient aesthetics to be accurately realized.

The most unique core highlight of this design is its **three-dimensional cultural system: Han Dynasty stone carvings as the visual core, the Book of Songs literature as the spiritual core, and traditional health preservation as the functional core**. Unlike the singular visual decoration of ordinary ancient-style tea drinks, this design possesses a complete cultural narrative logic: externally, it uses the simple and profound language of Han Dynasty stone carvings to create exclusive visual symbols, exuding a dignified and elegant temperament; internally, it relies on the poetic beauty of the Book of Songs to construct the brand's artistic conception, and on the ancient method of "sour and sweet transforming yin" to create the core of its light and nourishing products. The overall visual style is refined and restrained, with a profound artistic conception, which not only aligns with the solemn heritage of the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum ancestral culture but also caters to the modern consumer demand for light and nourishing products, achieving a four-dimensional unity of literature, art, health preservation, and cultural tourism.

I led the overall creative process for this project, collaborating with team members to establish the positioning and complete visual design system, while also engaging in multi-dimensional professional collaboration. During the creative process, I communicated with traditional culture scholars to accurately analyze the textual connotations of the Book of Songs and the artistic characteristics of Han Dynasty portrait stones, ensuring rigorous and authentic cultural expression; I also connected with professionals in traditional Chinese medicine and health preservation to thoroughly understand the "sour and sweet transforming yin" formula concept, ensuring the design aligns with the product's health-preserving attributes; and I collaborated with packaging designers and scenic area cultural tourism project leaders to address professional issues such as material selection, printing implementation, and scene adaptation, achieving a comprehensive implementation of culture, product, craftsmanship, and scene through cross-disciplinary collaboration.

In this design of traditional Chinese-style cultural tourism tea drinks, technology has always been an auxiliary tool to empower cultural expression and optimize its presentation, rather than the core of the creation. Digital design technology helped me deconstruct, simplify, and reconstruct the ancient and heavy patterns of Han Dynasty portrait stones, solving the problem that traditional stone carving patterns are complex and heavy and unsuitable for modern packaging. Precise color calibration and layout optimization technologies allow the classical artistic conception to adapt to contemporary aesthetics. Printing and material processing technologies ensure that the ancient texture and delicate layers are fully realized. Technology allows traditional classical art to break free from the limitations of being old and rigid, integrating into contemporary cultural tourism and daily life with a light, elegant, and modern attitude.

This design is built upon a solid foundation of cultural research and market surveys. In the preliminary stages, I systematically conducted three types of specialized research: first, literary and cultural tourism research on the imagery of the *Classic of Poetry* and the humanistic and natural atmosphere of the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum; second, artistic research on the stylistic language, compositional features, and aesthetic system of Han Dynasty portrait stones; and third, market research on traditional-style cultural tourism tea drinks and light, nourishing beverages, analyzing current consumer preferences for traditional Chinese aesthetics, healthy tea drinks, and cultural tourism souvenirs. By combining cultural tourism consumption trends with popular aesthetic characteristics, and avoiding issues such as homogenization, cultural emptiness, and mismatched styles in traditional-style designs, a unique design positioning of elegance, warmth, and solemnity was established.

The biggest challenge of the project was balancing the profound and ancient charm of Han Dynasty stone carvings with the gentle and light character of the tea products. The solemnity, strong lines, and heavy texture of Han Dynasty stone carvings would make the tea packaging feel heavy and oppressive, inconsistent with the refreshing and gentle nature of light and nourishing teas. However, oversimplification would lose the depth and orthodoxy of Han culture. At the same time, a key challenge was how to naturally integrate the literary imagery of the Book of Songs, ancient health preservation concepts, and the visual appeal of Han Dynasty paintings, avoiding a cluttered collection of cultural elements and a chaotic narrative. Through repeated refinement of lines, softening of heaviness, optimization of elegant colors, and reconstruction of narrative logic, I ultimately achieved a perfect balance between the solemnity of antiquity and the gentle warmth of lightness.

I submitted my work to an international design competition with the aim of bringing classical Chinese literature, traditional Han Dynasty art, and ancestral cultural roots to the international stage. The culture of the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum, the Book of Songs, and Han Dynasty stone carvings are all core treasures of outstanding traditional Chinese culture, yet they have limited exposure in the international design arena. I hope that through this authoritative international competition, using tea packaging—a lightweight and everyday medium—I can showcase the elegant aesthetics of China and the wisdom of traditional health preservation to the world, break down stereotypes about traditional Chinese design overseas, prove that local designs rooted in classic Chinese culture possess international and modern aesthetic value, and gain global recognition for the charm of Eastern design.

This project significantly enhanced my comprehensive abilities in **modernizing classical cultural heritage, reshaping the tone of traditional art, and refining the design of cultural tourism scenarios**. I gained a deep understanding of the aesthetic system of Han Dynasty portrait stone art and the expressive techniques of the Book of Songs, learning to soften the classical artistic temperament and adapt it to modern products and consumption scenarios while preserving the orthodoxy of traditional culture. At the same time, I deeply understood the core value of cultural tourism design: "using objects to carry culture and using experiences to convey charm," realizing that lightweight everyday cultural and creative designs can also carry profound national cultural connotations. This further solidified my design creation system of "culture as the core, aesthetics as the wings, and scenarios as the foundation."

I would like to add that Zhanlu Ganrun Shengjin Tea is not only a cultural and creative tea packaging design for a scenic area, but also an innovative practice of bringing classical literature, traditional art, and ancient health preservation methods into everyday life. Compared to traditional, heavy cultural and creative products, this design, with its light, gentle, and everyday approach, brings sophisticated classical culture into the lives of the general public, allowing traditional culture to transcend the confines of exhibition halls and classic texts. In the future, I will continue to delve into cultural tourism design creation related to ancestral culture, pre-Qin and Han dynasty aesthetics, and classical literature, continuously exploring modern and everyday expressions of Chinese cultural heritage, and using gentle yet powerful original designs to continuously spread the elegant aesthetics of the East and the wisdom of traditional humanism.

The core design concept of this "Yinyihu" brand and packaging design is "intangible cultural heritage revitalization, regional empowerment, and cultural tourism preservation," consistently adhering to three design principles: cultural authenticity, local innovation, and scenario practicality. The design inspiration is entirely derived from the dual intangible cultural heritage of Yichuan, deeply drawing upon the brewing techniques of Yichuan thick rice wine and the traditional art of Yichuan paper-cutting, while also incorporating the unique Yellow River regional cultural charm of Hukou Waterfall. I uphold the creative philosophy of "letting intangible cultural heritage step out of the countryside and letting the scenery carry away the culture," rejecting the empty piling up of traditional Chinese symbols. Rooted in local folk customs and the atmosphere of daily life, I integrate Yellow River culture, paper-cutting aesthetics, and the folk customs of thick rice wine, creating a regional cultural tourism brand design that combines local warmth with modern aesthetics.

During the design process, I focused on balancing **cultural fidelity, visual recognizability, and cultural tourism suitability**. On the one hand, I accurately reproduced the original artistic texture of Yichuan paper-cutting and the folk attributes of Hukou wine, preserving the purity of local culture; on the other hand, I optimized visual expression to suit the aesthetic preferences and cultural tourism consumption scenarios of contemporary tourists. My core design objective was to break away from the outdated and homogenized packaging of local specialties, allowing traditional intangible cultural heritage to enter the public eye in a simple and modern way. At the same time, I aimed to make the packaging not just a product shell, but a portable and communicable carrier of Yichuan culture, so that tourists would take away not only Hukou wine products, but also cultural memories and best wishes unique to the Hukou region.

Based on the award-winning design, I will continue to improve the overall visual system of the Yinyihu brand, extending it to more product categories of packaging, related cultural and creative products, and offline brand visual applications, achieving a systematic and unified upgrade of the brand's visual identity. Simultaneously, I plan to integrate the design with the cultural tourism development of the Hukou Waterfall scenic area, promoting its implementation in more public spaces and cultural tourism exhibitions, thus broadening the reach of Yichuan's dual intangible cultural heritage. Furthermore, I will continuously iterate on design details, optimizing them to suit different consumption scenarios based on market feedback, ensuring this intangible cultural heritage tourism design effectively empowers the local cultural tourism industry and becomes a landmark visual IP for the external dissemination of Yichuan's regional culture.

The entire design and creation cycle for the Yinyihu brand and packaging took nearly a month. In the early stage, I spent a week conducting research on Yichuan intangible cultural heritage, collecting paper-cutting patterns, and sorting out regional cultural materials to solidify the cultural foundation of the design. In the middle stage, I spent two weeks completing the brand IP image conception, color system customization, pattern reconstruction, and multiple iterations and refinements of the packaging layout. In the final week, I focused on detail optimization, color calibration, adaptation to practical processes, and scene testing to ensure that the design takes into account cultural texture, visual aesthetics, and practicality, with every detail fitting the core of regional culture and cultural tourism usage scenarios.

This design was commissioned specifically to align with the cultural tourism development of Yichuan. I tailored this exclusive design concept by combining the unique characteristics of local intangible cultural heritage with the needs of the scenic area's cultural tourism market. The core concept of "integration of intangible cultural heritage and modernization of local culture" stems from the fact that current packaging for beverages and cultural tourism in many places suffers from cultural ambiguity, stylistic homogenization, and a lack of regional distinctiveness. Hukou Waterfall possesses unique Yellow River culture and Yichuan's intangible cultural heritage resources, yet it lacks a corresponding exclusive brand visual system. Therefore, I hope to delve into the highlights of local culture through design, transforming niche intangible cultural heritage into a cultural tourism visual language that is perceptible, consumable, and easily disseminated by the public, filling the gap in local characteristic brand design.

Currently, this "Yinyihu" brand and packaging design has been exclusively applied to the Yichuan Hukou Waterfall Scenic Area's corresponding thick liquor cultural tourism products, serving the official production and sales of the local brand. It is exclusively authorized for use by the local official brand and has not been authorized for reuse by other companies. I currently have no plans to sell or lease the design copyright. The core value of this design is to empower the development of local intangible cultural heritage and cultural tourism, rather than to monetize commercial copyright. In the future, I will continue to cooperate with the local brand to deeply refine the design implementation and system upgrade, uphold the public cultural value of the design, continuously empower Yichuan's cultural tourism and intangible cultural heritage dissemination, and ensure the design's exclusive regionality and cultural purity.

The core driving force behind this design is my sense of mission to revitalize local intangible cultural heritage and the social responsibility of cultural tourism design. Yichuan Thick Rice Wine and Yichuan Paper-cutting are both precious local intangible cultural heritages, but for a long time they have lacked modern visual packaging and dissemination platforms, remaining hidden in the countryside and little known, making them difficult to adapt to the contemporary cultural tourism market. At the same time, Hukou Waterfall, as a well-known cultural tourism scenic spot, lacks a landmark cultural and creative brand that can represent the unique characteristics of these two local intangible cultural heritages. I hope to use design as a bridge to break down the barriers between traditional intangible cultural heritage and modern cultural tourism, revitalizing local culture with youthful and modern visual language, allowing niche intangible cultural heritage to transcend regional limitations and be seen, recognized, and disseminated by more tourists and the general public.

The creation of this series was deeply influenced by my long-held belief in multicultural design thinking, while also drawing inspiration from Hugh Miller's humanistic narrative design and Temi Coker's fusion of diverse folk customs. Hugh Miller's approach of combining local culture, material textures, and modern minimalism inspired me to balance rustic textures with a modern minimalist visual style, avoiding designs that appear outdated or tacky. Temi Coker's method of integrating regional folk aesthetics with modern design taught me to deconstruct traditional paper-cutting patterns and reconstruct a visual language that fits contemporary aesthetics. I adopted their people-centered, locally rooted creative logic, combined with the essence of Eastern aesthetics, to create cultural tourism design works that possess both local characteristics and an international aesthetic vision.

The core target audience for this design is primarily domestic and international tourists visiting the Hukou Waterfall scenic area, as well as consumers of cultural and tourism souvenirs. It also caters to young consumers who appreciate intangible cultural heritage-themed creative products and regionally distinctive items. On one hand, it meets the souvenir needs of short-distance travelers, offering lightweight, aesthetically pleasing, and meaningful gifts suitable for travel mementos and gifts to friends and family. On the other hand, it aligns with the aesthetic preferences of contemporary young consumers, breaking away from the outdated visual appeal of traditional rural products and combining both aesthetic appeal and cultural connotation. Furthermore, its simple yet sophisticated visual style also caters to the aesthetic and collecting needs of tourists, cultural enthusiasts, and cultural researchers, covering both mass consumption and cultural dissemination scenarios.

Unlike most cultural tourism packaging designs on the market that simply pile up folk elements and follow the trend of traditional Chinese style templates, the biggest difference of this work is that it achieves a deep integration of two intangible cultural heritages and a precise expression of culture, rather than a superficial patchwork of symbols. Most rural cultural tourism designs are either too outdated and rustic or too modernized and lose their local heritage, while this design precisely balances the rural texture with modern aesthetics. It features an original paper-cutting old man IP image, with a regional color system exclusive to the Yellow River yellow, paper-cutting red, and soil black, accurately anchoring the unique cultural label of Yichuan, and possessing a strong sense of uniqueness and recognizability. At the same time, the design takes into account auspicious meaning, practical function, and cultural tourism communication attributes, truly achieving one culture per package, distinguishing it from homogenized general cultural tourism designs.

The brand name, "Yin Yi Hu," is a unique name crafted by combining regional characteristics and cultural charm. The homophone "Yin Yi Hu" (meaning "drink a pot") is colloquial, friendly, and easy to remember and spread among tourists. The name evokes a sense of place and everyday life, fitting the product's attribute of drinking thick liquor, while also incorporating the regional name "Yichuan" to strengthen its local identity. The name not only conveys the relaxed experience of "drinking a pot of local good liquor and experiencing the local customs," but also embodies the warm hospitality and simple folk customs of the people of Yichuan. This simple and unpretentious naming approach matches the brand's core values ​​of local flavor, sincerity, and warmth, giving the brand an inherent warmth and a strong sense of regional identity.

The entire project adopts a creative model that combines digital design with traditional cultural research. In the initial stage, relying on on-site research, hand-drawn pattern sketching, and the collection of intangible cultural heritage materials, original patterns and folk elements of Yichuan paper-cutting were gathered and organized. In the mid-stage, the core design work utilized Adobe's full suite of professional design software to complete brand IP creation, color system customization, layout design, packaging rendering, and visual refinement. In the later stage, visual design tools were used to optimize the overall visual proportions and adapt to the different packaging media and application processes. Digital tools ensured the standardized and refined implementation of the design, while hand-drawn research and polishing preserved the original warmth and unique texture of the intangible cultural heritage art.

The most unique core highlight of this design is the **original visual system that integrates two intangible cultural heritages with a balance between local and modern aesthetics**. First, the original paper-cutting style elderly IP image deeply recreates the essence of Yichuan paper-cutting art, serving as a unique visual symbol exclusive to Yichuan Thick Wine, distinguishing it from common traditional Chinese elements. Second, the exclusive three-color system—Yellow River yellow, paper-cutting red, and earth black—precisely echoes the Yellow River landscape, paper-cutting intangible cultural heritage, and the local landscape, resulting in strong regional recognition. Finally, the design achieves a high degree of unity between cultural connotation, visual aesthetics, and cultural tourism functions. Every paper-cutting pattern carries the beautiful blessing of happiness and prosperity, making the packaging not only a product carrier but also a disseminable and enduring intangible cultural heritage artwork.

I led this project, guiding the team to complete the core creative concept, cultural positioning, and overall design system, while also engaging in multi-faceted professional collaboration. During the creative process, I communicated extensively with local Yichuan intangible cultural heritage paper-cutting inheritors to ensure the cultural authenticity and folk accuracy of the paper-cutting patterns; I also interacted with local artisans specializing in Choujiu (a type of rice wine) to understand the product's attributes and the core of local culture; and I collaborated with local craft technicians and cultural tourism project leaders to address professional issues such as packaging materials, printing processes, and mass production. Through multi-faceted cross-disciplinary collaboration, we balanced the cultural professionalism, artistic innovation, and feasibility of the design, ensuring the complete successful implementation of the entire project.

In this intangible cultural heritage tourism design, technology serves as a core support for **empowering expression, ensuring implementation, and optimizing presentation**, rather than being the core of creation. Digital design technology helped me accurately reconstruct traditional paper-cutting patterns, optimize color matching and layout proportions, and solve the problems of traditional intangible cultural heritage patterns being rough and unsuitable for modern packaging. Printing and process implementation technologies allowed the original hand-painted textures of intangible cultural heritage to be presented in a standardized and refined manner, adapting to mass production needs. Technology effectively compensates for the shortcomings of traditional folk art in terms of modernization and large-scale dissemination, but it serves the expression of the cultural core throughout the process, without replacing humanistic creativity and cultural reflection, truly realizing the revitalization of intangible cultural heritage through technology.

This design was completed based entirely on solid field research and industry analysis, possessing strong practical basis. In the early stages, I conducted a special study on Yichuan's intangible cultural heritage, systematically sorting out the symbolic meanings, color systems, and artistic characteristics of Yichuan paper-cutting, as well as the folk cultural background of Yichuan rice wine. Simultaneously, I surveyed the Hukou Waterfall cultural tourism market, analyzing the design pain points and consumer aesthetic preferences of similar local specialty product packaging. Combining cultural tourism consumption data, tourist aesthetic trends, and the needs of local cultural dissemination, I avoided the problem of industry homogenization, establishing a design positioning of "rustic + modern," ensuring that the design is both rooted in local culture and aligns with market demands and public aesthetics, achieving a two-way fit between culture and the market.

The biggest challenge in creating this project was balancing the **original texture of traditional intangible cultural heritage with the minimalist aesthetics of modern cultural tourism.** Traditional Yichuan paper-cutting patterns are intricate and rustic; directly applying them would make the packaging look old-fashioned and heavy, not aligning with contemporary cultural tourism aesthetics. Oversimplification, on the other hand, would lose the core of intangible cultural heritage and damage the integrity of folk customs. Simultaneously, how to naturally integrate the folk customs of thick rice wine, Yellow River culture, and paper-cutting—two intangible cultural heritage elements—while avoiding element piling up and visual clutter, was also a core challenge. Through repeated deconstruction and reconstruction of intangible cultural heritage elements, multiple color iterations, and layout simplification and optimization, I ultimately found a balance between tradition and modernity, preserving the authentic essence of intangible cultural heritage while creating a simple, sophisticated, and new visual effect suitable for cultural tourism scenarios.

My core purpose in submitting my work to international design competitions is to bring the niche intangible cultural heritage and rural tourism designs of Yichuan to the world stage. Most regional intangible cultural heritage creative products remain confined to local dissemination, struggling to gain international recognition. I hope to use an authoritative international competition platform to examine the professional value of local rural designs, proving that intangible cultural heritage in eastern counties also possesses international aesthetic and innovative value. Simultaneously, leveraging the global reach of the competition, I aim to promote Yichuan paper-cutting, Yichuan thick rice wine (a type of rice wine), and Yellow River regional culture to the world, breaking down international stereotypes about Chinese rural design and showcasing the unique charm and innovative vitality of Chinese county-level intangible cultural heritage to the world.

This project allowed me to deeply refine my core competencies in the **modern translation of regional intangible cultural heritage and cross-border design for cultural tourism**. I became more proficient in deconstructing, reconstructing, and innovating traditional folk elements, learning to adapt them to modern aesthetics and commercial applications while upholding cultural orthodoxy. It also enhanced my comprehensive abilities in cultural research, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and market adaptation, and deepened my understanding of the core value of cultural tourism design: "serving industry, disseminating culture, and preserving memories." Furthermore, it strengthened my initial commitment to deeply cultivating rural intangible cultural heritage design, recognizing that high-quality regional design can truly empower local cultural dissemination and rural cultural tourism development.

I would like to add that Yinyi Teapot is not just a brand packaging design, but also a replicable solution for revitalizing county-level intangible cultural heritage and upgrading the visual appeal of cultural tourism. Compared to mere visual creation, the greatest value of this design lies in providing a modern and innovative path for niche regional intangible cultural heritage and local cultural tourism products, proving that local culture does not need to follow trends; it inherently possesses unique and sophisticated aesthetic and communicative value. In the future, I will continue to delve into county-level intangible cultural heritage and cultural tourism design, using more original, practical, and engaging works to revitalize local folk customs, empower the upgrading of the local cultural tourism industry, and allow more traditional culture hidden in the countryside to reach the public and the international community through design.

I have nearly twenty years of professional design creation and higher education teaching and research experience. My undergraduate major was animation design, and my master's degree focused on visual communication design, building a complete knowledge system encompassing artistic aesthetics, visual expression, and design implementation. Since 2008, I have been working at Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts, focusing on cultural innovation design, intangible cultural heritage revitalization, and digital creative research. Over the years, I have continuously participated in international design creation and art research projects, winning numerous international design awards. Simultaneously, I have deeply cultivated the innovative transformation of regional cultural contexts, forming a professional background integrating culture, teaching, and creation, possessing a solid theoretical foundation, first-hand creative experience, and a cutting-edge design vision.

My core motivation for delving into design stems from a sense of mission to preserve culture and the public social value of design. While fine art tends to focus on personal emotional expression, design can build bridges between traditional culture and contemporary public and international aesthetics. Having long been immersed in the rich cultural heritage of the East, I have witnessed the predicament of high-quality traditional culture struggling to adapt to modern dissemination. I have always hoped to use original design as a vehicle to revitalize dormant traditional aesthetics. This initial aspiration to empower cultural dissemination, support public aesthetic education, and create social value through design continues to inspire my long-term dedication to the field of cultural innovation design.

Becoming a designer was a completely autonomous and heartfelt choice for me. During my early years studying fine arts, I proactively explored the practical value of art, and through continuous professional practice, I independently discovered the unique charm and social significance of cultural design. Without external pressure or guidance, relying entirely on self-awareness and professional aspirations, I firmly chose design as my lifelong career. Compared to niche artistic expressions, I am more passionate about the public nature of design—serving the masses and empowering culture—and have proactively abandoned a singular path of artistic creation to delve into the field of cultural innovation design.

My core creative work focuses on innovative design of traditional culture, intangible cultural heritage creative design, cultural tourism visual IP design, and public cultural visual projects. It emphasizes the modern and international translation of Eastern cultural heritage, balancing classical minimalism with digital innovation. Currently, my work primarily focuses on visual communication, the implementation of cultural and creative products, and cultural exhibition design, balancing artistic aesthetics with practical communication value. In the future, I hope to delve deeper into large-scale public cultural design and the creation of comprehensive cultural IP systems, breaking through the limitations of single visual design to create systematic, communicable, sustainable, and society-empowering large-scale cultural design projects, enabling the wider international dissemination of Eastern aesthetics.

Young designers who wish to cultivate a deep understanding of the industry and achieve long-term development must first abandon a superficial and utilitarian mindset, rejecting template-based and homogenized fast-food creation, and solidify their core professional skills in aesthetics, composition, and color. Secondly, they must persist in delving into the essence of culture, accumulating unique original inspiration, and avoiding blindly following short-term trends. Simultaneously, they must maintain a lifelong learning habit, balancing traditional knowledge with cutting-edge technology, and honing their practical application and critical thinking skills through long-term practice. Most importantly, they must uphold their initial design aspirations, combining artistic pursuit with social responsibility, building their personal design system with a wealth of original works accumulated over time, and defining their own stature through cultural and social value.

Excellent designers skillfully implement commercial projects, meeting both aesthetic and functional needs. They possess solid professional skills and stable creative abilities, aligning with market and industry standards. Outstanding designers, however, go beyond technical proficiency and implementation; they possess independent design philosophies, profound cultural understanding, and a long-term industry perspective. Excellent designers follow trends and adapt to needs; outstanding designers lead aesthetics, create value, and empower culture and society. The core difference lies in this: while skills are fundamental, cultural critical thinking, a sense of human responsibility, and an original design system are the key differentiators between average excellence and industry excellence.

Truly high-quality design is achieved through four core elements: cultural authenticity, visual innovation, practicality, and humanistic warmth. My judgment of design quality never solely relies on visual aesthetics; rather, it involves a comprehensive, multi-dimensional examination: does it respect cultural origins and avoid superficial symbolic piling up? Does it possess a unique, contemporary, and innovative visual language? Does it adapt to the intended application and user needs? Does it have sustainable communicative value and humanistic warmth? Good design is far more than empty decoration; it is a perfect balance between tradition and modernity, art and practicality, aesthetics and social value—a systematic creation with substance, warmth, and vitality.

High-quality design possesses aesthetic, cultural, social, and long-term commercial value, far exceeding the significance of superficial visual aesthetics. On a personal level, good design enhances the quality of life and elevates public aesthetic literacy; on a cultural level, it revitalizes traditional cultural heritage, perpetuates national aesthetics, and facilitates cross-cultural communication; on a social level, it supports public aesthetic education and promotes aesthetic upgrades across industries. Investing in good design is essentially investing in aesthetic upgrading, cultural inheritance, and social progress. It avoids short-sighted, superficial aesthetic consumption, builds a sustainable aesthetic system and cultural ecosystem, and brings lasting positive value to individuals, industries, and society.

Given ample creative time, I will delve into the comprehensive IP design of large-scale Eastern traditional etiquette and culture, as well as the aesthetic design of public cultural spaces, to create a complete, systematic, and international Eastern cultural design system. I will not design for commercial traffic or short-term profits, but for traditional culture, for public aesthetic education, and for cross-cultural communication. My creations will always be geared towards a global audience that loves Eastern aesthetics and for public cultural communication scenarios, striving to bring the profound traditional cultural heritage into contemporary life and onto the international stage through modern design, allowing more people to understand the depth and warmth of Eastern design.

I have always cherished a dream project that has yet to be fully realized: to create a complete visual IP system for traditional Chinese etiquette and culture, encompassing visual graphics, cultural and creative products, public installations, exhibition spaces, and an international communication visual system. Due to limitations in time, project coordination, and implementation resources, this large-scale, systematic cultural design project has not yet been fully implemented. Unlike the design of individual cultural and creative products, this project aims to comprehensively reconstruct the contemporary visual language of traditional etiquette, establishing a standardized and internationalized aesthetic system of Eastern etiquette. In the future, I will dedicate myself to pushing the project to its realization, filling the industry gap in the systematic and innovative dissemination of traditional culture.

There are no shortcuts to my design success. The core secrets can be summarized as: upholding cultural principles, abandoning superficiality, maintaining an original mindset, and pursuing long-term goals. I consistently refuse to follow trends, use templates, or engage in shallow creation. I insist on taking cultural roots as my foundation, original innovation as my core, and practicality as my standard. At the same time, I maintain a state of long-term dedication, continuous review, and lifelong learning, balancing emotional aesthetic creation with rational logical thinking. I do not pursue short-term traffic and exposure, but focus on refining the core of my work and my personal design system. With a long-term, intensive, and continuously improving attitude, I achieve a steady increase in design capabilities and the value of my work.

The legendary design master who has influenced me most profoundly is Mr. I.M. Pei, whose design philosophy has permeated my entire creative career. At the same time, I continue to draw inspiration from the works of masters both domestically and internationally who have deeply cultivated humanistic design, minimalist aesthetics, and cross-cultural creation. These legendary creators share a common trait: they are not confined to a single form, always grounded in cultural origins, balancing an international perspective with humanistic concern, and adhering to the principles of simplicity, restraint, and respect for the site and its cultural context. Their design thinking—"integrating tradition into modernity, art into the public sphere, and aesthetics into society"—continues to inspire my creative path of deeply cultivating culturally innovative design.

Among the many outstanding designers worldwide, I greatly admire the works and creative philosophies of Hugh Miller and Temi Coker, whose design thinking continuously inspires me. Hugh Miller's work skillfully combines humanistic narratives, material textures, and modern minimalist visuals, restrained yet rich in detail, transcending purely decorative design, ensuring that every visual expression possesses a complete logic and humanistic support. Temi Coker's creations are highly inclusive of diverse cultures, adept at blending regional folk aesthetics with contemporary modern design language, featuring vibrant colors and dynamic compositions, breaking down the boundaries of singular design. I favor their work because both reject template-based creation, insisting on empowering modern design with a cultural foundation, balancing innovation, uniqueness, and public aesthetic value. This diverse, inclusive, and people-oriented creative thinking has consistently inspired my cultural innovation design practice.

I believe my most valuable work is my series of innovative designs based on intangible cultural heritage, which represents my most time-consuming, meticulously crafted, and representative creations. This series breaks through the current industry pain points of homogenization and superficiality in intangible cultural heritage design, abandoning the simple piling up of traditional elements. Through in-depth cultural context tracing, scientific deconstruction, and modern reconstruction, it achieves a contemporary rebirth of traditional intangible cultural heritage aesthetics. The works combine cultural rigor, international aesthetic innovation, and practical application in dissemination. They safeguard the origins of local culture while adapting to contemporary audiences and international aesthetics, gaining international recognition and achieving widespread public communication, thus unifying cultural, artistic, and social values.

To continuously improve design skills, one must first transcend the limitations of technical tools, shifting from simply "creating visuals" to "creating value, culture, and solutions." Daily practice requires consistent cultural accumulation, on-site research, aesthetic contemplation, and review of past work, rejecting fragmented, fast-food-style learning. Over many years in the industry, I have consistently maintained a daily commitment to studying aesthetic literature, keeping abreast of international design trends, conducting in-depth research into cultural contexts, and participating in iterative real-world projects. Simultaneously, I maintain an open mind, engaging in creative exchange and breaking through conventional thinking to continuously hone my original design abilities, cultural interpretation skills, and practical critical thinking, gradually building a mature personal design system.

Even if I hadn't become a designer, I would still be deeply involved in the fields of culture and aesthetic education, most likely focusing on traditional aesthetics research and public cultural dissemination. I firmly believe that my core pursuit has never been simply design technology, but rather the inheritance, innovation, and dissemination of Eastern aesthetics. Regardless of whether I work in the design industry, I will remain true to my cultural aspirations, deeply engaged in the research of traditional cultural context, the popularization of public aesthetic education, and aesthetic education, safeguarding, disseminating, and revitalizing local traditional culture in different ways, and fulfilling the core mission of humanistic communication and social aesthetic education.

For me, design is far more than mere visual embellishment or decorative techniques; it is a systematic translation of cultural characteristics in a personalized, rational, and aesthetic way. It is a bridge connecting tradition and modernity, art and life, and the individual and society. Design possesses both warmth and contemporary relevance. It must respect the origins of cultural heritage and uphold aesthetic principles while adapting to the contemporary context, solving real-world problems, and conveying humanistic values. It is a combination of rational logic and emotional aesthetics, a multi-dimensional fusion of technology, culture, art, and society. Its ultimate goal is to empower life, inherit culture, beautify society, and convey warmth.

My growth and dedication are inseparable from the support of the academic platform of universities, the guidance of senior mentors in the industry, and the silent support of my family. The university platform provided me with a stable environment for teaching, research, and creation, allowing me to cultivate a long-term commitment to the cultural design field. Industry mentors instilled in me invaluable creative concepts, guiding me to avoid the pitfalls of formalistic design and uphold the core of culture and the initial passion for originality. At the same time, the understanding and support of my family enabled me to focus on long-term development, refine my work, and remain undaunted by the industry's volatility. Through continuous learning and practical experience, I have gradually built my own design system and industry understanding.

The core factors that have helped me grow into a high-quality designer are long-term cultural accumulation, continuous practical review, rigorous academic thinking, and a steadfast commitment to originality. Years of field research and literature study have given my designs a cultural foundation; continuous project experience and international competitions have honed my skills in both innovative vision and practical application; and my university teaching and research experience has cultivated my logical reasoning and attention to detail. Most importantly, I consistently reject superficiality and trend-following, adhering to long-termism, not pursuing short-term results, but focusing on refining the core of my work and my personal design thinking to achieve steady growth.

In the early stages of my career, I faced two major obstacles: first, the tendency to fall into the trap of simply piling up traditional elements, making it difficult to balance traditional charm with modern innovation, resulting in works lacking uniqueness and a sense of the times; second, the impact of industry homogenization, where fast-paced aesthetics easily eroded my original intentions, making it difficult to persist in a long-term, in-depth cultural design approach. At the same time, cultural design requires long-term accumulation, and results are not readily visible in the short term, which also led to feelings of restlessness and creative blocks. Through long-term research into cultural context, benchmarking against international perspectives, and continuous review of my work, I gradually broke through fixed mindsets, adhered to my original intentions, and forged my own path of cultural innovation design.

Designers showcasing their work should not only focus on exquisite visual renderings, but also comprehensively present the creative logic, cultural core, design process, and practical value. High-quality presentations need to balance visual presentation, conceptual explanation, cultural origins, creative process, and application scenarios, allowing the audience to understand the thought and value behind the design. At the same time, creators should leverage international competitions, public exhibitions, and academic platforms to showcase their work, moving beyond the self-satisfaction of their private circles and accepting diverse scrutiny from the industry and the public. Only authentic, complete, logical, and insightful presentations can truly reflect the professional value and humanistic significance of design.

My next core project is to leverage digital technology to empower innovative design research and public exhibitions of intangible cultural heritage. This will focus on the modernization and digital transformation of local intangible cultural heritage, creating a series of new intangible cultural heritage creative IPs and public visual works. In the future, you can look forward to more systematic, international, and public-oriented Eastern cultural design works from me. I will continue to break through the limitations of single visual design, launching more large-scale cultural design projects that are highly practical, culturally profound, and compatible with international aesthetics. At the same time, I will continue to improve the cultural design teaching system, cultivate more outstanding young design talents, and promote Eastern cultural design to a broader international stage.

My lifelong design goal is to build a mature innovative design system for Eastern regional culture, enabling the profound local traditional culture to achieve long-term inheritance and global dissemination through modern and international design language. Simultaneously, I aim to empower social aesthetic education, support cultural tourism development, and promote the revitalization of intangible cultural heritage through design, breaking down the international community's superficial understanding of Eastern design. I hope not only to produce high-quality original works but also to cultivate a group of young designers who are deeply rooted in local culture and possess an international perspective through teaching, research, and practice, making the minimalist, elegant, and warm design aesthetics of the East an indispensable force in the global design system.

The industry and the public often expect creators deeply engaged in cultural design to uphold the bottom line of originality, reject superficiality and following trends, and consistently produce culturally rich, warm, and contemporary cultural design works. They also expect us to shoulder the responsibility of industry leadership and cultural dissemination, breaking the homogenization of traditional Chinese design and exploring new paths for the modernization and revitalization of traditional culture. Furthermore, they expect experienced designers to empower industry succession, fostering the growth of young creators through teaching, research, sharing, and practice, and promoting the healthy development of the entire design industry towards a more culturally rich, higher-quality, and more socially valuable direction.

Design is a soft, core force empowering social progress, capable of building a better society from multiple dimensions including aesthetic education, culture, life, and ecology. High-quality public and cultural design can enhance public aesthetic literacy, popularize traditional aesthetics, and achieve cultural inheritance; life-oriented design can optimize the living experience and improve the quality of life; sustainable design can practice low-carbon concepts and protect the ecological environment; and cultural and creative design can empower regional industrial upgrading and drive cultural tourism development. Design not only beautifies the visual world but also warms hearts, inherits cultural heritage, empowers industries, and promotes aesthetic education, comprehensively contributing to high-quality social development.

What currently ignites my passion most are the ongoing research projects on digitally empowering intangible cultural heritage innovation and the implementation of public cultural exhibitions. I am using digital design methods to systematically deconstruct and reconstruct the visual system of traditional intangible cultural heritage, addressing the industry's challenges of superficial and homogenized design, and exploring scientific pathways for revitalizing traditional culture. Simultaneously, I am preparing special exhibitions on intangible cultural heritage in public spaces, bringing niche intangible cultural heritage designs into the public eye and into public settings. Being able to empower the revitalization of traditional culture through professional design research, allowing traditional aesthetics to be seen and recognized by more people—this creative process, which combines academic and social value, keeps me constantly filled with creative excitement.

What gives me the greatest sense of accomplishment are the intangible cultural heritage innovation design projects at Hukou Waterfall and the public cultural tourism design projects at the Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor. Unlike short-term commercial designs, these projects truly achieve a unity of cultural and social value. They not only achieve visual innovation and upgrades but also effectively revitalize the nearly dormant traditional cultural heritage, making intangible cultural heritage adaptable to contemporary life and international aesthetics. These works have gained international recognition, been exhibited in public spaces, and served the public's aesthetic education, breaking down the barriers between traditional culture and contemporary society. The most precious sense of accomplishment is not in the awards and honors, but in giving new life to dormant traditional aesthetics and achieving long-term cultural inheritance and dissemination.

I hope that the design industry can completely shed its fast-paced, template-driven, and homogenized superficiality and return to the cultural essence and social value of design. I hope the industry can reduce the excessive influence of short-term trends and commercial traffic, and place greater respect on originality, delve into core concepts, and value humanistic warmth and cultural heritage. At the same time, I look forward to the industry achieving a positive integration of technology and aesthetics, allowing digital technology to serve cultural innovation rather than replace creative thinking. Ultimately, I hope the design industry can evolve from a purely visual service industry into a core enabling industry for cultural inheritance, social aesthetic education, and sustainable ecological development.

The future design industry will exhibit three core development trends: deep integration of digitalization and intelligence, refined cultivation of culture, and sustainable humanistic upgrading. Purely visual decorative design will gradually be phased out; technology will no longer be an advantage but a basic tool. The modernization and internationalization of traditional culture will become the core track, with interdisciplinary and cross-domain integrated design becoming mainstream. Simultaneously, sustainable design, public humanistic design, and public welfare aesthetic education design will continue to rise, with design placing greater emphasis on social value, humanistic warmth, and long-term development, shifting from commercial visual output to a higher level of cultural and social empowerment.

I consistently reject fast-food style design, and project cycles vary depending on the depth of the creative work. For standard visual design and cultural and creative product projects, the complete creative cycle is approximately three to four weeks, covering the entire process from research, conception, sketching, iteration, and final optimization. For in-depth cultural design projects such as intangible cultural heritage, cultural tourism IP, and public exhibitions, the cycle can be as long as one to three months, or even longer. In-depth cultural design requires ample time to trace the cultural context, refine elements, polish aesthetics, and adapt to practical applications. Only with sufficient accumulation and iteration can the cultural rigor, innovation, and long-term vitality of the work be guaranteed.

I never jump straight into visual production for my new projects, always adhering to a creative logic of "culture first, logic foremost." The first step is always in-depth cultural tracing and field research. Through literature review, site visits, and material collection, I accurately uncover the cultural core and spiritual connotation of the project. Only after fully understanding the cultural origins, project positioning, audience needs, and implementation scenarios do I proceed with element deconstruction, visual reconstruction, and creative conception. By first establishing the cultural logic and creative framework, I then begin visual creation, fundamentally avoiding the superficial design problems of simply piling up symbols and detaching from the core essence.

My design and life motto is: rooted in culture, inspired by simplicity, driven by innovation, and grounded in warmth. I firmly believe that truly high-quality creation is never a mere accumulation of ornate forms, but a natural expression of profound inner strength. I uphold cultural origins without blindly following trends, insist on originality and innovation without stagnation, balance aesthetic excellence with practical application, and embody the warmth of our times and social responsibility. Whether in design creation or education, I adhere to this principle, cultivating my craft tirelessly and remaining true to my original aspirations to create works and a career that are profound, warm, and vibrant.

Short-term mass trends are driven by commercial impulses, but truly high-level original design always leads long-term aesthetic and industry trends. Ordinary designers are easily swayed by short-term trends, blindly imitating others, while exceptional creators remain rooted in culture and life, using original innovation to create entirely new aesthetic languages. Trends are fleeting, cyclical, and superficial, while design aesthetics refined through cultural accumulation are eternal, enduring, and profound. I always insist on creating aesthetics and leading trends through design, rather than blindly following them, defining a new era of Eastern design aesthetics with original works possessing a cultural core.

Technology is a tool and enabler for design, not its core essence. Digital technology can improve creative efficiency, enrich forms of expression, and optimize implementation accuracy, providing more possibilities for the innovation, visual iteration, and digital presentation of traditional culture. However, technology cannot replace cultural reflection, aesthetic judgment, and creative thinking. I always adhere to the principle of technology serving creativity and empowering culture with science and technology, rationally utilizing cutting-edge digital technologies to optimize the presentation of my works while preserving the warmth of handmade creation and the humanistic core of culture, avoiding the homogenization and coldness of design caused by technology dominance.

My creative process combines digital technology with handcrafted creation, balancing professional precision with humanistic warmth. Digitally, I utilize Adobe's full suite of design software for visual illustration, layout design, image retouching, and rendering. Simultaneously, I employ digital design tools and data visualization software for cultural and creative research and decision-making. Handcrafted equipment includes sketching paper and pens, texture collection tools, and pattern rubbing instruments, used for initial material gathering and sketch refinement. Digital tools ensure standardized implementation of the work, while handcrafted creation preserves its unique texture and humanistic warmth; the two complement each other, forming a complete creative system.

Color, materials, and environment are the core carriers of design expression, directly determining the temperament, warmth, and suitability of a work. Color carries cultural connotations and emotional expression; different traditional color systems contain unique humanistic connotations and are key to the visual transmission of culture. Materials determine the texture, feel, and warmth of a work; the choice of materials directly affects the sophistication and authenticity of the design. Environment determines the design's adaptation logic; all creations need to fit the application scenario and spatial atmosphere. These three elements complement each other, allowing design to transcend empty, flat visuals and achieve a unity of aesthetics, texture, scene, and culture.

I hope everyone will focus on the cultural logic, creative thinking, and revitalization value behind the works, rather than just evaluating their surface visual effects. I look forward to people asking questions about the cultural origins of the designs, the modern reconstruction of traditional elements, the humanistic concepts and contemporary values ​​the works want to convey, how to balance traditional charm with modern innovation, and how to solve the problem of homogenization in cultural design. Rather than superficial evaluations of "whether it looks good or not," I hope everyone will discuss the cultural significance, social value, and innovative paths of the designs, truly understanding the core and original intention of Eastern cultural design.

When I see high-quality design works, I first appreciate their aesthetic expression and detailed texture. Then, I delve into their creative logic, cultural core, and innovative techniques, reflecting on their strengths and lessons. I analyze how the work balances aesthetics and function, tradition and modernity, innovation and practical application, while also reflecting on areas for improvement in my own work. I always maintain a learning mindset, avoiding blind worship or subjective rejection. I draw aesthetic perspectives, creative thinking, and practical experience from high-quality works, integrating them into my own cultural design system to continuously iterate my creative understanding.

I strongly endorse and uphold the collaborative design model. Excellent teamwork can overcome the limitations of individual thinking and achieve multi-dimensional upgrades to the work. My ideal partner is a creator with original aspirations, respect for the core of culture, professional competence, and a sense of responsibility. They are not impetuous or profit-driven, and they value the cultural value and long-term significance of the work, rather than short-term commercial interests. Regardless of the experience level of team members, as long as they adhere to originality, respect culture, are willing to innovate, and are good at communication, they can form an efficient and high-quality collaborative creative atmosphere, achieving mutual empowerment in design results, academic research, and talent development.

The person who has had the most profound influence on my design awareness, aesthetic vision, and professional growth is Professor Zhu Jinhui, President of Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts. He is a renowned art educator in China, a doctoral supervisor in art theory and fine arts, and has been deeply involved in art education and humanities research for many years. During my studies and teaching, Professor Zhu Jinhui's greatest influence on me was not simply the teaching of techniques, but the cultivation of a high-level aesthetic system and profound humanistic qualities. He has always guided me to transcend superficial visual routines, to support design creation with humanistic foundations, and to judge the value of works with high-level aesthetics. He taught me to respect culture and reject homogenous, superficial creations. It is his philosophy of aesthetic education that has enabled my designs to always possess artistic style, humanistic warmth, and cultural depth, laying the core creative foundation for my culturally innovative designs.

The books that have profoundly influenced me can be broadly categorized into three types: traditional aesthetics, design theory, and humanities and social sciences. Traditional aesthetics and classical art classics allowed me to systematically understand the Eastern aesthetic system, comprehend the humanistic connotations behind traditional patterns, colors, and forms, and solidify the foundation of cultural design. Cutting-edge international design theory books helped me connect with modern design perspectives and master scientific innovative design methods. Humanities and social science works broadened my creative horizons, enabling my designs to go beyond mere visuals and incorporate humanistic reflection and social perspectives, forming a mature design system that integrates culture, aesthetics, and logic.

My professional abilities are the result of long-term accumulation, continuous review, and the integration of knowledge and practice. First, I insist on cultivating a solid foundation, strengthening my core skills in hand-drawing, layout, and color, thus building a strong creative foundation. Second, I insist on combining theory with practice, using academic research to support my creative work and project-based practice to review theory and continuously optimize my design logic. At the same time, I consistently engage in field research and cultural accumulation, building a unique library of original inspiration. Most importantly, I maintain a lifelong learning mindset, benchmarking against international frontiers, absorbing the wisdom of masters, and breaking through conventional thinking, continuously iterating and steadily growing in the cycle of teaching, creation, and research.

Setting aside the limitations of time and space, I most desire to engage in in-depth discussions with Mr. I.M. Pei. As a legendary master who bridges Eastern aesthetics with international modern design, his works and philosophies perfectly interpret the core logic of modernizing traditional cultural context. I hope to explore with him the construction methods of minimalist Eastern aesthetics, the balance between culture and modern design, the expression of public value in humanistic design, and how to maintain the uniqueness and sophistication of Eastern aesthetics on the international stage. By drawing upon his creative wisdom, I can further refine my own system of cultural innovation design.

All international awards and industry honors are not the end for me, but rather recognition of my long-term dedication and motivation to keep moving forward. These honors prove that innovative design based on Eastern culture can gain international recognition, and they also inspire me to continue refining my work and deepening my research. I firmly believe that true industry recognition is never a deliberately pursued empty title, but a natural result of long-term accumulation and adherence to one's original aspirations. The path of cultivating originality and upholding culture is destined to be quiet and long, requiring resistance to impetuosity and long-term perseverance. It may seem slow, but it is steady and solid. This perseverance is also the most difficult and precious practice for creators.

I prefer elegant and serene color schemes, mainly moon white, gold, and ink tones, which align with the minimalist and elegant aesthetic core of the East. My favorite places are the historical and cultural blocks and intangible cultural heritage villages in Xi'an, which are steeped in rich local culture. I love simple and traditional cuisine. I love the calm and gentle autumn season, with its relaxed and contemplative atmosphere. In my daily life, I prefer objects that combine Eastern aesthetics with practical value, such as Ru ware, Dehua white porcelain, and Song-style furniture. I also favor cultural and creative design brands that uphold originality, delve into culture, and emphasize quality and human warmth, and I prefer creative styles that are profound and unpretentious.

The most memorable experience in my many years in the industry was a creative serendipitous encounter during a field research trip on intangible cultural heritage. Early in my career, while deeply involved in local intangible cultural heritage design, I ventured into rural areas to research traditional folk patterns. Initially, my aim was simply to collect basic design materials, but through conversations with intangible cultural heritage inheritors, I came to understand the folk stories and humanistic sentiments behind these patterns. This experience completely transformed my creative thinking, allowing me to abandon superficial element piling and truly learn to approach cultural design with reverence. It also made me deeply understand that high-quality cultural design is never just about creating visuals, but about inheriting stories, continuing warmth, and revitalizing cultural heritage.

Every day, completing cultural exploration and reflection, refining high-quality original sketches, breaking through a creative bottleneck, or sparking new cultural ideas with students fills me with a sense of accomplishment. My greatest motivation comes from industry recognition of my work, from seeing traditional culture revitalized through my designs, and from contributing to the dissemination of public culture. I constantly motivate myself with my initial cultural aspirations and long-term goals, frequently reflecting on my creative intentions and looking back on my journey of dedicated work. I always remind myself that the value of design lies not in short-term popularity, but in long-term cultural inheritance and social empowerment. Staying true to my principles and continuously improving is the best form of self-motivation.

I didn't have a clear career plan as a designer when I was a child, but I loved aesthetics from a young age, had a fondness for traditional objects and classical art, and possessed a natural sensitivity and aesthetic perception to color, patterns, and composition. This innate love of aesthetics laid the groundwork for my future design path. My growth path is a result of passion, accumulation, choices, and perseverance. It wasn't predetermined, but rather, through long-term learning, practice, and reflection, I gradually clarified my direction, stayed true to my original aspirations, and ultimately cultivated a deep expertise in cultural design, forging my own creative path.

I am full of confidence in the future of the design industry and cultural dissemination. Future technologies will continue to iterate, and the forms of design expression will constantly evolve, but humanistic warmth and cultural heritage will never be outdated. A thousand years from now, technology, aesthetics, and mediums will continue to be updated, but the core spirit of Eastern culture, the humanistic value of design, and the social significance of aesthetic education will endure forever. Future design will be more intelligent, green, humanistic, and diverse. Technology serving humanity and empowering culture will become the norm, and high-quality cultural design will transcend time and space, continuously conveying the timeless charm of Eastern aesthetics.

I hope everyone understands that all my designs adhere to the principles of "culture as the root, originality as the core, and warmth as the essence." I never chase short-term trends or commercial gains; I always delve into the cultural heritage of the East, insist on original innovation, and am committed to bringing profound traditional culture to the public and the world in a modern, minimalist, and international way. I am not only a designer, but also a cultural inheritor, a practitioner of aesthetic education, and a guide for young creators. In the future, I will continue to delve into the revitalization of intangible cultural heritage and innovative cultural design, uphold my humanistic aspirations, and continuously produce works that are profound, warm, and of contemporary value, contributing to the long-term inheritance and global dissemination of Eastern aesthetics.

I have been working at the Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts since 2008, dedicating nearly two decades to teaching and creating in the field of visual communication design. I majored in animation design during my undergraduate studies and pursued a graduate degree in visual communication design at the same institution, thereby establishing a comprehensive design aesthetics and practical system. While I was not initially determined to become a designer from a young age, I had a fondness for pure art in my earlier years. After encountering visual design, I realized its combination of artistic beauty and social value. Witnessing the current situation of the discontinuity in the dissemination of local intangible cultural heritage, I firmly upheld my original intention of using design as a bridge to revitalize traditional culture and empower regional cultural creativity, and have consistently devoted myself to both teaching and creative work.

I have not established a commercial design company or studio; my primary identity is that of a university design instructor, a cultural design researcher, and an independent cultural and creative designer. My work is based on the academic platform of the Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts, focusing on four key areas: the revitalization of intangible cultural heritage, Silk Road cultural and creative design, local brand design, and information visualization. I follow an academic and public-oriented creative path. All of my works are grounded in scientific research and educational reforms, adhering to the tripartite concept of “research, teaching, and creation.” I deeply engage with local cultural design in Shaanxi while using practical outcomes to support university design education.

Having been deeply involved in design work for many years, I believe that design is not simply about visual aesthetics; it is a creative solution that combines warmth, logic, culture, and practical value. The core of design is to achieve unity between aesthetics, functionality, culture, and the times. It is both a visual language for efficient information transmission and a key medium for the contemporary translation of traditional culture. Design roots itself in everyday life and serves the public. It employs aesthetics as its form, culture as its soul, and practicality as its foundation, thus enabling traditional cultural heritage to adapt to modern life and empowering cultural transmission and everyday aesthetic education through innovative design.

I have a particular fondness for brand packaging designs that highlight local culture and creative designs that visualize intangible cultural heritage. On one hand, I focus on products with unique characteristics from Shaanxi Province, exploring traditional patterns and classical aesthetics, and reshaping the brand’s visual identity. The works “Zhan Lou” and “Yin Yi Pot” that won awards this time are examples of such creations. On the other hand, I concentrate on the transformation of intangible cultural heritage such as Maianhua from Huangling and rituals at the Emperor Huang’s Mausoleum. I aim to convert complex traditional folk customs and ritualistic culture into lightweight, visual creative works, making rich traditional culture more accessible to the general public, especially young people.

My personal favorite is the beverage brand and packaging design named “Zhan Lu” that won the bronze award at the A’Design Award in Italy. The title is taken from the Book of Songs, while the core graphic design concept draws inspiration from the art of Han-era stone carvings from Shaanxi Province. It incorporates ancient, flowing Han-style lines and the aesthetic of stone carving textures. I eschewed the homogenized design style of internet celebrity beverages and opted for a minimalist composition combined with the traditional grace of stone carvings, paired with elegant watercolor colors, to restore the natural, pure essence of the product. This work adheres to the principle of designing with traditional culture in mind, integrating Han-era stone carvings with modern brand design, balancing oriental charm, visual appeal, and practical dissemination, thus achieving the contemporary commercial revival of traditional cultural aesthetics.

I have no experience in designing for commercial companies. However, one of my earliest and most memorable works was a series of posters titled “Fight the Flu, Protect Yourself, Protect Others,” created in 2006 for an international poster competition organized by the Paris Public Utilities Authority in France. This work utilized traditional Chinese papercutting as its core visual language. By combining Eastern traditional aesthetics with a theme of public welfare, it won the grand prize of the competition. This recognition from an international event had a profound impact, prompting me to establish a creative direction of using traditional local visual languages to convey universal design narratives, which has deeply influenced my subsequent design philosophies and styles.

In my creative process, I prefer natural, eco-friendly materials such as paper, bamboo, and cotton. I appreciate the warm texture of rice paper and art paper, which perfectly align with the aesthetic connotations of traditional Chinese design and also resonate with the principles of sustainability. Adobe’s comprehensive suite of software serves as the core platform for my work, ensuring the professionalism and practicality of visual design. Technologically, I am particularly fond of digital design technologies and the MCDM (Multi-Criteria Decision Making) design methodology, which break away from traditional subjective creative constraints, enabling cultural heritage and creative design to combine aesthetic warmth with scientific logic, thus facilitating precise innovation.

When delving deeply into local cultural research and engaging in intellectual exchanges between teachers and students, my creativity is at its peak. Visiting the traditional villages and cultural heritage sites in Shaanxi Province, studying ancient texts and their cultural heritage, and extracting traditional elements enable me to break free from rigid design thinking and achieve the reconstruction and integration of traditional symbols with modern design. Additionally, as a university teacher, interacting and exchanging ideas with young students allows me to absorb new aesthetic trends and innovative ideas, thereby overcoming my own creative habits, continuously refining my design methods, and generating fresh creative inspiration and ideas.

Throughout the design process, I have always strived to balance four core dimensions. Firstly, the precision of the cultural essence, which involves delving deep into the roots of culture, avoiding the mere accumulation of symbols and cultural misinterpretation, and safeguarding the foundation of design culture. Secondly, the uniqueness of visual aesthetics, which combines Eastern atmosphere with international aesthetics to create a distinctive national visual system. Thirdly, the practicality of implementation, which considers craftsmanship, cost, and user experience, and rejects hollow artistic design. Finally, innovation and sustainability, which integrates digital thinking to enable traditional cultural designs to align with contemporary aesthetics and the development of the times.

My creative process has always been driven by three emotions. Firstly, there is a deep sense of reverence for traditional culture. When it comes to preserving millennia-old intangible cultural heritage and local cultural heritage, I meticulously refine every design detail. Secondly, there is a focused and calm creative mindset, allowing me to endure the tedious process of refinement and calmly achieve the fusion and reconstruction of culture and design. Finally, there is a profound sense of accomplishment when local cultural designs are exported abroad and recognized and passed down by the general public, which has solidified my original intention and value of using design to transmit cultural heritage and tell the story of Chinese culture.

When the work is fully realized and presented, I first feel a sense of solid certainty, gratified that the cultural philosophy and design concept have been fully implemented. Secondly, there is surprise and emotion; the traditional cultural heritage has been given new life through modern design, gaining recognition from the public and international platforms. At the same time, there is a humble self-reflective mindset; every realization serves as a practical test, allowing me to clearly see areas for improvement and continue to deepen my expertise and innovation in the field of revitalizing intangible cultural heritage and cultural design.

I believe that successful design is determined by three key factors. The first is the precision of the cultural core, particularly in cultural-themed designs. Only by grounding oneself in the roots and respecting the cultural context can design have soul. The second is the compatibility of aesthetics with the times, balancing artistic quality with international perspectives, and moving beyond homogenized patterns. The third is the practical value and social significance, meeting both functional needs and the requirements of practical craftsmanship, while also facilitating cultural dissemination and aesthetic education, truly serving the public and preserving culture.

In evaluating the quality of a design, I first consider its core and original intent. First, I examine the cultural authenticity, ensuring it aligns with the essence of the creation and does not involve the artificial imposition of symbols or the misinterpretation of cultural connotations. Second, I assess its adaptability, considering whether it fits the usage context, the audience’s aesthetic preferences, and practical needs, without resorting to superficial, formalized design. Third, I evaluate its innovativeness, assessing whether it makes a breakthrough over traditional methods and imbues the work with new contemporary value. Finally, I balance detail quality with dissemination capabilities to achieve a harmonious integration of beauty, utility, and elegance.

Designers bear the triple responsibilities of cultural heritage transmission, social aesthetic education, and ecological environmental protection. At the societal level, design should serve as a medium to revitalize local culture, convey positive aesthetics, support mass aesthetic education, and tell the stories of local culture. In terms of the environment, we must adhere to green and sustainable design principles, select environmentally friendly materials, streamline unnecessary processes, and implement low-carbon design concepts. Additionally, we must remain committed to the original purpose of “design for the people,” enabling design to serve the lives of the general public and empower regional cultural tourism development, while also fulfilling the social responsibility of artists.

Currently, design is evolving in the direction of digital-smart integration, cultural depth, and sustainable development. Designs that are purely visually appealing are gradually being phased out, and the industry places greater emphasis on the deep integration of technology, culture, and practicality. Future design will become more diverse, with digital and smart technologies empowering design efficiency and innovation dimensions. Traditional culture revitalization will become a key area, while sustainable, public-benefit, and lifelike design will become the mainstream. Design is no longer just a single visual output but rather a core force for cross-sector integration and social development.

I have not yet organized a personal exhibition, but with the support of the research and teaching platforms of the Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts, I planned and hosted two thematic exhibitions in 2025: the Exhibition on Innovative Design of Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Exhibition on Innovative Design of Lacquerware. These exhibitions were open to the public and showcased the results of innovative design in regional culture. This year, I plan to establish a new exhibition on innovative design of intangible cultural heritage at the Xi’an Xianyang International Airport, further expanding the dissemination platform and continuing to explore contemporary innovative design expressions of the culture of northwest China.

My inspiration mainly stems from the local cultural heritage, traditional cultural relics, art, and intangible cultural heritage of the northwestern region of China. Han Dynasty stone carvings, traditional papercutting, facial flower intangible cultural heritage, and classical poetry are all key sources of inspiration for me. I adhere to field research and the study of ancient texts, extracting original visual elements from traditional cultural remnants. Through academic exchanges and the collision of young minds, I break away from creative habits. By combining digital and data-driven design research, I broaden the scope of my creative work, allowing traditional materials to be integrated with contemporary aesthetics, thus consistently producing original design pieces that are warm and rich in heritage.

My design style can be summarized as ancient elegance combined with minimalism, cultural refinement, and digital empowerment. It focuses on the fusion of traditional Eastern aesthetics and modern international design. My experience in teaching and researching deeply rooted in local culture has instilled in me a commitment to this style and a rejection of homogenized national styles. The style’s characteristics include simplification of complexity, using form to convey elegance, and balancing cultural, artistic, and practical aspects. The design approach employs a three-stage model of “sketching-reconstruction-recreation,” from cultural origins and element deconstruction to innovative regeneration, thus achieving the contemporary and precise revitalization of traditional culture.

I have made Xi’an, China, my long-term residence and have extensively studied the cultural design of the northwestern region. The rich cultural heritage of this region serves as the core foundation of my creative work, profoundly influencing my design aesthetics and creative direction. Stone carvings from the Han Dynasty, intangible cultural heritage customs, and the Silk Road heritage provide a constant source of material inspiration for my creations. The advantage is having access to profound and unique cultural resources, which gives me the confidence to create in a distinctive manner. The disadvantage is that traditional cultural heritage is profound and complex, making it easy to fall into the trap of mere element accumulation. It requires constant balance between traditional elegance and modern innovation.

My design collaborations primarily focus on local cultural tourism institutions and regionally representative scenic spots, and I do not engage in mass-produced, purely commercial design work. I concentrate on delving deep into the unique cultural characteristics, intangible cultural heritage, and humanistic essence of a particular region, and refining exclusive visual symbols and cultural IPs. By using design as the core lever, I transform native cultural resources into visual, implementable, and disseminated cultural tourism design outcomes, thereby precisely empowering local cultural tourism upgrades, cultural dissemination, and the high-quality development of the industry.

I suggest that enterprises establish a cooperative model with designers based on “cultural consensus, two-way communication, and respect for original work,” abandoning fast-food design thinking and providing designers with time for cultural research and refinement of their creations. When selecting outstanding designers, enterprises should not solely focus on visual appeal but also assess their cultural understanding, implementation control, and original attitude. High-quality designers can balance cultural connotations, aesthetic innovation, and commercial implementation, reject template-based applications, and customize suitable solutions tailored to the specific characteristics of projects, thereby truly empowering brands and tourism and cultural projects.

My design follows a well-established three-stage creative process. The first stage is the cultural origin tracing phase, during which we conduct field research and literature reviews to accurately uncover the essence of local culture and intangible cultural heritage. The second stage is the deconstruction and reconstruction phase, where we extract traditional visual elements and combine them with modern aesthetic principles and digital design methods to deconstruct and reorganize the visual system. The final stage is the implementation and optimization phase, during which we balance aesthetic appeal, practical scenarios, and craftsmanship implementation. We refine the details repeatedly to ultimately complete the contemporary innovation of traditional culture, ensuring that the work has depth, beauty, and practicality.

I generally prefer home design items that combine material aesthetics, design logic, and humanistic connotations. The five items I frequently use and find highly aesthetically valuable each have their own unique characteristics.

The Yueji Kiln Dehua White Porcelain Pingbu Qingyun Cover Bowl is warm and translucent, embodying the essence of elegant Eastern design.

The host’s Youyak Tianqing teacup features the classic Tianqing glaze from Youyak, with its natural crack patterns and refined texture, embodying the minimalist aesthetics of the Song Dynasty.

The Fanji black walnut veneered cloud stone writing tray features the warm texture of solid wood paired with the natural pattern of cloud stone, combining storage and support functions with the aesthetic of Song-era white space.

Marimekko Unikko Flower Mug features a minimalist Nordic design paired with iconic prints, offering both functionality and modern visual appeal.

The Copper Master brand recreates the Song Dynasty armchairs and coffee tables from the Palace Museum, inheriting the essence of the “simple, elegant, and ethereal” design style of the Song Dynasty. It adheres to the traditional design philosophy of roundness for heaven and flatness for earth, using refined lines, mortise-and-tenon structures, and modern craftsmanship to recreate the aesthetics of classical furniture. It possesses both decorative value and philosophical insights about objects.

My daily routine involves balancing teaching, research, and creative work. The pace is structured and fulfilling. During the day, my main activities include university teaching, research projects, and guiding students in their design work. I focus on cultivating design talent and conducting academic research on intangible cultural heritage and creative arts. In my free time, I concentrate on field cultural research, refining my work, and writing papers, allowing my design ideas to mature. In the evenings, I review the details of my creative work, study traditional aesthetic literature, and absorb cutting-edge design concepts. Teaching, research, and creative work complement each other and form the norm of my design life.

I recommend that young designers focus deeply on fundamentals, resist superficiality, and uphold originality. They should thoroughly master core skills such as layout, color, and graphics, rather than blindly following trend templates. They should draw inspiration from local culture and everyday life, understanding that the essence of design lies in solving problems rather than simply beautifying things. At the same time, they should maintain a mindset of continuous learning, balancing traditional aesthetics with cutting-edge digital technologies, finding a balance between aesthetics, culture, and practicality, staying true to their initial design principles, resisting homogenization, and cultivating their unique creative core.

The greatest advantage of being a designer is the ability to perceive and create beauty, which allows one to convey cultural values through creation, empower society, and achieve the dual value of art and utility. However, the downside is that the creative process is laborious, requiring immense patience, and one must continually face the pressures of aesthetic evolution and innovation over an extended period. Additionally, high-quality cultural design requires long-term development, which can easily be misunderstood by those with a fast-food-style aesthetic. Designers must therefore stay true to their principles and continue to delve deeply into their craft.

My golden rule for design is that culture serves as the foundation, innovation acts as the wings, practicality is the core, and simplicity is the essence. No design can be divorced from its cultural essence and utilitarian value. It is essential to reject meaningless visual clutter and hollow trends. We must always uphold respect for cultural context, align with the times, and ensure practicality. We need to find a balance between tradition and modernity, aesthetics and functionality, art and mass appeal, so that every design detail has a basis, warmth, and value, ultimately achieving truly sustainable original design.

The most essential aspects of a designer’s work are not software operation but aesthetic judgment, cultural interpretation skills, and problem-solving abilities. Proficient tool skills are merely a foundation; understanding culture, grasping needs, and precise innovation are the core competencies. Additionally, original thinking, attention to detail, and the ability to adapt and implement are crucial, as they balance artistic expression with practical application. The ability to continuously learn is also indispensable, as it allows one to stay abreast of industry trends and continually refine design concepts and creative methods.

My design toolbox is primarily categorized into several groups:

Software tools: The core of daily design work involves Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. These three tools are essential for creating vector graphics, typesetting, and material design. Figma is also used for collaborative design of online materials. During the creative ideation phase, AI-generated tools are employed to aid in exploring styles and graphic directions.

Hardware tools: a hand-drawn tablet for sketching and creating graphics; a dedicated notebook for jotting down ideas and sketches at any time; and a set of standard color cards for verifying printing colors and preventing color discrepancies on the screen.

Books and references: I keep a collection of reference books on typography design and layout standards, as well as numerous collections of brand and packaging design worksheets, which serve as references and sources of inspiration.

Inspiration sources: In addition to professional design websites, I have a mobile photo album where I store good designs I come across in everyday life, such as street signs, attractive packaging, and interesting stickers. These are all part of my inspiration pool.

I employ a phased, modular approach to time management. I break down the design process into four major modules: research and concept development, sketching, visual implementation, and detail optimization. I focus on making progress in specific areas at different times to avoid procrastination. Additionally, I distinguish between core work and secondary tasks, prioritizing the allocation of essential time for cultural research and creative concept development. By combining teaching and research efforts with a rational pace, I utilize fragmented time to refine details, systematically advance the project, and effectively address the challenges of lengthy design processes and cumbersome iterations.

The design cycle primarily depends on the type of project and the level of cultural depth. For standard brand visual and packaging design, it generally takes three to four weeks to complete the cultural research, concept creation, and implementation optimization. For non-heritage cultural innovation and cultural IP-related deep design projects, the cycle is longer, often requiring one to two months. This requires ample time to delve deeply into the cultural context, refine elements, and repeatedly test samples. I insist on producing work without rushing, ensuring that every cultural design possesses rigor, completeness, and uniqueness.

Two of the most frequently asked questions are how to effectively integrate traditional and modern elements in design, and how to avoid design homogenization. Many practitioners and students often fall into the trap of simply stacking symbols, making it difficult for them to truly create works that combine cultural heritage with unique artistic styles. Another common question is about the methods for implementing cultural design and innovative thinking. The general public is curious about how traditional culture can be adapted through modern design to suit contemporary markets and young aesthetics, thereby achieving genuine revitalization and dissemination.

What has had the greatest impact on me is my extensive experience in academic research, teaching, and cultural design at the Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts over the past two decades. By relying on university platforms to conduct research on intangible cultural heritage, implement educational reforms, and engage in design creation, I have developed a tripartite work model of “research, teaching, and creation.” Additionally, winning the Grand Prize at the International Poster Competition in 2006, securing multiple international design awards in recent years, and successfully implementing cultural and tourism projects have helped me establish a core research and creative direction focused on the digitalization of regional culture.

My collaborators primarily consist of official tourism and cultural platforms, local tourism and cultural institutions, representative scenic spots, and institutions responsible for preserving intangible cultural heritage. We have been working on projects related to Shaanxi regional culture for an extended period, focusing on the culture of the Huangdi Mausoleum, the intangible cultural heritage of Huangling, the Silk Road culture, the local tea culture of Shaanxi, and the development of distinctive cultural and creative products. Unlike commercial private clients, my collaborative projects prioritize cultural dissemination, tourism development, and the revitalization of intangible cultural heritage, while also possessing both philanthropic and academic value.

I am particularly fond of work related to the creative design of intangible cultural heritage and local brand packaging. This type of creative endeavor allows me to deeply embed myself in the local cultural context, transforming Han aesthetics, traditional customs, and intangible cultural heritage techniques into contemporary visual works. It not only fulfills my artistic aspirations but also effectively addresses the challenges of the limited dissemination of traditional culture and the outdated visual identity of brands. It holds academic research value, aesthetic innovation value, and social empowerment value, enabling design to truly take root and empower cultural development.

In the future, I will continue to delve deeply into the study of digital design for Northwest regional culture and the revitalization of intangible cultural heritage, and promote the implementation of design research projects. I will consistently produce innovative designs rooted in traditional culture, actively participate in international competitions and cultural tourism exhibitions, and plan to establish more cultural exhibitions at airports and public spaces. Additionally, I will leverage university teaching platforms to refine the curriculum for intangible cultural heritage design, train more local talent in innovative design, and enable Western traditional aesthetics to continue spreading nationwide and internationally.

My design and creative work is primarily conducted through a project-collaboration model with student teams. As a mentor, I oversee and meticulously refine the core creative ideas and overall visual systems of the projects. This ensures that the concepts are pure, the styles are consistent, and the execution is professional. Additionally, I guide students through the entire design project process, including research, sketching, visual optimization, and implementation. In doing so, I teach cultural design methods and creative thinking in practical scenarios, thereby empowering both design output and talent development.

I am currently working on a project for the Shaanxi Provincial Department of Education’s Digital Intelligence-Driven Innovation of Intangible Cultural Heritage, focusing on the modernization design and transformation of Huangling’s flower-shaped intangible cultural heritage. I am systematically deconstructing and modernizing traditional flower-shaped visual elements using digital design methods and MCDM creative logic, and developing a series of cultural and creative products, as well as brand visual systems. The project aims to address the issue of homogenization in intangible cultural heritage design, explore scientific and digital pathways for the revitalization of intangible cultural heritage, and its outcomes will be showcased in exhibitions and applied in teaching practices.

You can reach me through these methods:

Business collaboration email: malan.xafa@gmail.com

Drawing on my 20 years of experience in design education and cultural innovation, I have further distilled my core design insights and the purpose of my academic research. In my view, design is not merely about creating visual aesthetics; it is a systematic translation of cultural characteristics into personalized, rational, and aesthetically pleasing forms. Its creative dimensions must combine humanistic warmth with contemporary attributes, achieving a high degree of unity between formal beauty, cultural logic, and social value. For a long time, I have leveraged the cultural resources of the Northwest region to establish an integrated research and practice system focused on “digitalization empowering intangible cultural heritage innovation, design aiding tourism and cultural industry evolution, and integration of research and education for talent cultivation.” In my creative and research endeavors, I resolutely reject superficial design paradigms characterized by templates and homogeneity, instead basing my work on field research and textual analysis to delve deep into the core essence of local intangible cultural heritage, ritualistic culture, and the Silk Road heritage, providing visual design with solid academic support and diverse social value. In the future, I will continue to conduct in-depth research on the innovative transformation of Chinese Western culture, promoting the integration of theoretical research findings, exhibition practices, and educational reforms. I will explore ways to revitalize traditional Chinese culture in the contemporary context, employing professional, scientific, and modern design research and practices to showcase a new image of China to the world.