The design team led by Cao Xue *** 14 is all from the School of Visual Arts and Design of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts (hereinafter referred to as "Guang Mei"), half teachers and half graduate students. In 20 19, they came up with 16 sets of plans in 19 days. There were no holidays, and they repeatedly revised and discussed them every day, drawing tens of thousands of manuscripts.
The transformation from pupa to butterfly is bound to be particularly painful and difficult. After more than 20 trips to Beijing, the team spent more than190,000 on accommodation and air tickets, but the plan was still in the air, and it was always revised over and over again. The pressure is so great that many people want to back down, even the air in the studio has solidified. Some even questioned whether there was any hope. Why does this burden fall on Guang Mei?
"Hope is no longer in the eyes of others, but in your own hands." Cao Xue said frankly that he answered very firmly at that time.
Where there is a will, there is a way. Guang Mei's design team's three schemes were finally shortlisted in the top ten. Among them, the plan of sugar-coated haws impressed the judges the most and was identified as the key revision plan. Cao Xue said that sugar-coated haws are a snack in the north and have a very grounded cultural attribute. The key point is that the icing on its body is linked to the movement of snow and ice. This is the inspiration for the "ice shell". However, after all, it is a snack, and ultimately it can't bear the image of a country, and people abroad are not familiar with it. Finally, the panda is the only choice to represent China, because it is a national treasure animal of China that people all over the world love and recognize.
In fact, there is a panda scheme in the 16 scheme, but it was not shortlisted at that time. The biggest challenge of using pandas as mascots is that they are too common. The next task of the design team is to design a unique "panda".
"Ice Shield" Image Design Manuscript
In order to distinguish effectively, Cao Xue's design team collected hundreds of "pandas" that can be collected in the market, printed them out and posted them on the wall of Shougang Park studio. At that time, I went in and out, and there were all kinds of "pandas". Finally, the image of "ice shield" was released, with the panda as the core and the ice shell shape of sugar-coated haws retained. Sugar-coated haws are also called sugar piers, hence the name "Ice Pier Pier". It is worth mentioning that after the basic type of "Ice Pier" was determined, the design team conducted two special inspections in China and Switzerland. Pass the ball
But this is not the most worrying test, blind evaluation is. According to the experience of previous Olympic Games, the main target consumers of mascots are children around 9 years old. Therefore, in 20 19, the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee specially invited 240 children to vote. In order to keep it a secret, I didn't tell the child what it was, nor did I have any guidance or hints. This is a blind evaluation. At that time, the emblem of the Winter Olympics on the "Ice Shield" was removed. In order to be fair and interfere with audio-visual, the staff specially downloaded two cute cartoon images on the Internet and released them together with the "Ice Shield", so that children can choose which one they like. On the day of blind evaluation, Cao Xue was anxiously waiting for news in Beijing. Because some staff said that if it didn't work this time, their whole team would go back to Guangzhou completely.
In the end, 230 votes were voted for "Ice Shield".
A "dock" is hard to find.
Charm lies in "warmth" and "softness". Why does a small "ice pier" have such great charm? Cao Xue revealed the mystery of design: innocence and warmth. The "ice shield" is a combination of the embarrassing image of the giant panda and the ice crust with a sense of science and technology. At first glance, it looks very cold, but it actually gives people a lovely and warm feeling of MengMeng. Between cold and warm, hard and soft, love is spreading.
"The national treasure panda is loved all over the world." Cao Xue said that the team specially chose the younger panda baby image in the design. "The giant panda is cute, and the baby panda is even cuter." In order to observe the expression and posture of the baby panda, Cao Xue and his team specially went to Wolong, Sichuan. Cao Xue introduced that in order to make the design of "Bingdundun" younger and more lovely, "we made" Bingdundun "an" inner figure ",which is more in line with the walking posture of the baby panda. The action of' Ice Dun' beckons, and the body leans forward slightly, which is a bit like the feeling of a baby standing unsteadily. "
The warmth and softness of the "ice pier" convey love. "Last year, the Olympic motto was updated to' More United'. Unity is based on love. Such a small mascot transcends national boundaries and languages, so that everyone can feel love together and look forward to the future together! " Cao Xue said. What are the characteristics of a popular mascot? Cao Xue believes that there must be three characteristics: cultural, artistic and commercial. Culture is an excellent traditional culture and story in China. And artistry is how to spread good culture and tell good stories by artistic means. Commerciality is to be tested by the market, and selling is the last word. After the final shape of the "Ice Pier" was released, it was not only recognized by the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, but also appreciated by IOC President Bach. Cao Xue revealed that at that time, everyone had great confidence in the sales of Ice Shield.
Tell the story of China with visual arts. In fact, the mascots "Ice Shield" and "Edelweiss" in the commemorative awards still contain a clever idea. "The commemorative mascots presented to athletes, the golden outer ring is actually China's traditional' three friends of the old cold' pine, bamboo and plum, which once again reflects China culture." Cao Xue revealed.
Design is a visual language.
As Chopin, a famous Polish composer, said, "When people can't express their feelings in words, music is born". Does Cao Xue think visual art is not? "Ice Shield" is an explosion that tells the story of China well and spreads China culture with good visual language. "Mascot design is actually a character design." Cao Xue believes that design never aims at deductive art, and art is only a means of expression in design. Peking Opera, Chinese medicine and China Wushu can tell the story of China well and spread the excellent Chinese culture. "The key is that our designers should have a high vision and a low figure." Cao Xue said. It is best to have an international perspective. As far as the Winter Olympics is concerned, when designing a mascot for the Winter Olympics, we should read all the mascots of previous Olympic Games and get to know them first. To be low, it is necessary to be grounded and adopt a form that people can understand.