Press Release
Bronze A' Design Award in Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design Goes to Hua Shanday Cultural and Creative Design by Chen Zilong, Huang Yan and Zhu Xuguan
Chen Zilong, Huang Yan and Zhu Xuguan recognized for graphics, illustration and visual communication design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 17, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Hua Shanday Cultural and Creative Design by Chen Zilong, Huang Yan and Zhu Xuguan, designed for City University of Macau, has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design category. The award was conferred within the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the Bronze A' Design Award
The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.
About Hua Shanday Cultural and Creative Design
Hua Shanday is a visual identity created for the Huashan Scenic Area in Guangxi, China, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The identity draws on the 2000-year-old Huashan Rock Art made by the Luoyue people. Ancient totems showing ritual prayer and collective labor are extracted and rebuilt as clean geometric icons. The color palette keeps the red ochre tone of the original rock paintings. The system is applied to signage, posters and digital media, so that wayfinding also becomes an accessible educational experience.
About Chen Zilong, Huang Yan and Zhu Xuguan
The company is based in China and was founded in 2021. It is a brand design company focusing on visual design and visual planning.It has served large enterprises in China including Alibaba and WeChat.As a trendy and design-driven company, it takes design as the core to solve product problems.It always creates works that fit the current aesthetic and artistic conception.
Award Record
Chen Zilong, Huang Yan and Zhu Xuguan is a winner of 1 A' Design Award, including this recognition.
About the A' Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design Award
The A' Graphic Design Award is an international graphic design competition recognizing good graphic designs by best creative agencies and designers worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to graphic designers, communication designers, graphic artists and illustrators from all countries. Entries typically include logos, posters, infographics, brochures, packaging designs and business cards. Awarded graphic designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/graphics
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/180205
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/180205
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!180205
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/379015
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
###
Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Hua Shanday Cultural and Creative Design
- Function
- Cultural and Creative Design
- Category
- Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design
- Discipline
- Communication Design
- Industry
- Branding & Advertising and Arts
- Colors
- Sea Green, Turquoise, Medium Turquoise, Dark Slate Gray and Medium Aquamarine
- Images
- 5
- Client
- City University of Macau
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Chen Zilong, Huang Yan and Zhu Xuguan
- Country
- Macau (China)
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #180205
Credits
- Team
- Designer：CHEN ZILONG；, Designer：HUANG YAN；, Designer：ZHU XUGUAN；, Designer：YANG CHAO；, Designer：LIU XINYU；, Designer：GU JIAYUAN； and Designer：MAO YUTING；
- Image Credits
- Image #1：CHEN ZILONG； Image #2：HUANG YAN； Image #3：ZHU XUGUAN； Image #4：YANG CHAO； Image #5：LIU XINYU；GU JIAYUAN；MAO YUTING；
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Designed for the Guangxi Huashan Scenic Area a UNESCO World Heritage site this project establishes the visual identity for Hua Shan Day. The core concept is the revitalization of the 2000 year old Huashan Rock Art. The design actively extracts and reconstructs ancient Luoyue totems depicting scenes of prayer and labor. By reinterpreting these raw historical symbols through a contemporary design language the project bridges the gap between deep archaeology and modern audiences. It transforms static heritage into a vibrant brand system ensuring the ancient visual legacy continues to inspire future generations.
- Inspiration
- The design draws direct inspiration from the awe inspiring Huashan Rock Art in Guangxi created by the Luoyue people during the Warring States period to the Eastern Han dynasty. We focused on the iconic monochromatic red ochre figures specifically the distinct forms representing ritual prayer The Frog Man and collective labor. The raw power dynamic postures and the spiritual connection between humans and nature found on the cliff faces served as the primary visual source. We sought not to copy but to decipher the primitive energy of these ancestors and translate it into a modern graphic narrative.
- Research
- This research revitalizes the 2000 year old Huashan Rock Art UNESCO World Heritage for modern audiences. The team employed visual archaeology to decode Luoyue totems known as the Frog Man and extracted their geometric DNA from ancient pigments. These forms were reconstructed using contemporary design principles. The resulting visual system preserves historical authenticity while ensuring educational accessibility for future generations.
- Challenge
- The main challenge was to breathe new life into ancient pictograms without losing their historical authenticity. Traditional approaches often result in rigid copying or overly abstract interpretations. The challenge was to find a balance making the 2000 year old symbols speak to a digital native audience while preserving their solemn heritage value. The solution lay in the methodology of contemporary reconstruction simplifying the complex rock textures into clean iconic graphics that are adaptable across media while retaining the soul of the original Luoyue visual language.
- Realization and Technology
- The visual identity is designed with a digital first approach to minimize physical waste utilizing scalable vector graphics for online promotion and digital exhibitions. For necessary physical applications such as signage and merchandise the design strictly adheres to sustainable practices utilizing recycled paper stocks and soy based inks. The color palette remains faithful to the heritage site utilizing the specific Huashan Red ochre derived from the original hematite pigment used in the rock art ensuring visual consistency and cultural respect.
- Operation and Interaction
- The design functions as an accessible cultural gateway. By simplifying archaeological figures into intelligible modern icons it lowers the cognitive barrier for visitors. The visual system is applied across the scenic area turning wayfinding and branding into an educational experience. Visitors can instantly recognize the motifs connecting the graphics on their tickets or phone screens directly to the cliffs in front of them. This creates a cohesive narrative loop that transforms a passive viewing of archaeological ruins into an engaging relatable cultural discovery.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in September 2025 in Guangxi, China and finished in December 2025. The project is located in the Huashan Scenic Area, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China.
- Specifications
- Primary Physical Application (Banners/Posters): 600mm x 900mm.
- Keywords
- Visual Identity, Huashan Rock Art, UNESCO World Heritage, Cultural Branding, Luoyue Culture, Heritage Preservation, Contemporary Reconstruction, Graphic Design, Guangxi China
