Serpentine Seasons 蛇年四季 by Leijing Zhou is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 A' Design Award 鐵獎 in 生成式設計 Competition Category.

鐵生成式· 2025

Serpentine Seasons 蛇年四季

by Leijing Zhou

Client: Zhejiang University

A' Design Award 鐵獎 Winner in 生成式 Category

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View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Serpentine Seasons 蛇年四季

《蛇年四季》係一部運用人工智能創作嘅動畫影片。呢個作品透過二十四節氣呢個傳統嘅紀年系統,重新演繹咗中國白蛇傳嘅傳說故事。呢部六分鐘嘅影片,每個部分都對應住一個節氣,場景亦隨住四季更替而變化。影像係運用文字轉影片生成技術同風格轉換技術製作而成,保留咗東方視覺風格。《蛇年四季》展現咗人工智能如何透過數碼敘事嘅方式,呈現文化遺產嘅魅力。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 鐵獎

Serpentine Seasons 蛇年四季是 A' Design Award 鐵獎得主，這是授予滿足人們對設計精良的創作所期待的專業與工業要求的優良設計的聲望認可。鐵獎得主展現出其創作者的高超技藝、高度專業化、專家級的理解力和創造能力。預計Serpentine Seasons 蛇年四季將成為一件備受推崇、令人欽佩且被珍愛的創作，既實用又創新。這件贏得 A' Design Award 鐵獎的設計整合了行業最佳實踐，並擁有與專業知識和才華相結合的稱職技術特性。Serpentine Seasons 蛇年四季因其嚴謹而受到尊重，旨在提供有助於讓世界變得更美好的生活品質改善。

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: This AI-generated video integrates the legendary White Snake with the 24 Solar Terms, creating a unique fusion of Chinese mythology and traditional timekeeping. Utilizing advanced AI visual synthesis, the design captures the poetic rhythm of nature, presenting dynamic seasonal transitions through the lens of folklore. Its innovation lies in blending cultural heritage with cutting-edge technology, offering an immersive and visually stunning interpretation of time and transformation.
Dimensions & Packaging: This is a digital video project with no physical dimensions. It is optimized for standard video display formats, including 4K resolution. The video duration is approximately 6 minutes, with each section aligning with a specific Solar Term, seamlessly transitioning between them. The project utilizes AI-driven video generation, ensuring smooth integration of the cultural narrative and seasonal shifts, tailored for presentation on digital platforms and multimedia exhibitions.
Tags: AIGC, White Snake, 24 Solar Terms, Chinese culture, folklore, generative art, digital storytelling, seasonal transitions, style transfer, cultural innovation
Production Technology: We adopt the technologies of Text-to-Video and Style Transfer to ensure that the images not only possess Eastern aesthetics but also conform to the characteristics of the solar terms. The AI tools we use include Midjourney (text-to-image) and runway (image-to-video), among others.
Design Challenge: The main challenge lay in blending traditional cultural narratives with cutting-edge AI technology. Balancing the integrity of the White Snake legend with the technical demands of AI-driven storytelling required careful cultural research and innovative thinking. External challenges included limited AI tools capable of translating the complexity of seasonal transitions into a cohesive narrative, while internal obstacles involved aligning the visual and emotional tone of the project with the original folklore’s themes of love and transformation.
Research: Type of Research: Design Research
Research Objectives: To explore how AI can be used to reimagine traditional folklore in a contemporary digital medium.
Methodology: A combination of AI video generation, style transfer, and cultural analysis was employed to develop the design.
Data Collection and Research Tools: AI modeling software, video editing tools, and cultural research databases.
Participants or Experiments: The research involved collaboration with digital artists and AI specialists.
Results: A seamless integration of traditional folklore with modern AI technology, creating an immersive digital experience.
Insights and Impacts: The project demonstrates the potential of AI in preserving and transforming cultural heritage in innovative ways, with implications for the future of digital storytelling and design.
Effect in Real-Life Phenomena: The project contributes to the discourse on digital culture and the role of AI in cultural preservation, impacting both artistic practices and public engagement with folklore.
Inspiration: Inspired by the legend of the White Snake and the 24 Solar Terms, this project seeks to explore the intersection of mythology, nature, and time. Drawing from traditional Chinese philosophy, it visualizes seasonal transformations through AI-generated imagery, merging folklore with technology. Rooted in research on computational creativity and cultural storytelling, this work reinterprets ancient narratives using modern digital techniques, offering a novel perspective on tradition and innovation.
Project Duration: The project started in October 2024 in China and finished in March 2025 in China.
Operation Flow: The video flows in a nonlinear narrative, where the White Snake interacts with the changing seasons represented by the 24 Solar Terms. As the seasons progress, the environment adapts, with the character's emotions and actions shifting in response to the natural world. The interaction between AI and cultural symbols enhances the depth of storytelling, offering viewers an evolving experience where each transition aligns with the thematic shifts of the Solar Terms.
Team Members: Xiaotong Guan
Leijing Zhou
Xinmiao Shen
Xiaofei Gong
Menghan Li
Jinjie Li
Qianyi Wang
Zihan Zhang