Can professionals talk about auspicious design? I need it badly.

First, the origin and development of auspicious concept

For a long time, the people of China have been pursuing an auspicious and happy lifestyle. In ancient times, sacrifices were regarded as auspicious things, rituals as auspicious ceremonies, good people and sages as auspicious people, the land where emperors lived as auspicious places, and good days as auspicious days and Yue Ji. Some animals, plants and patterns are usually used as symbols or symbols of beautiful meanings, so these patterns contain corresponding auspicious concepts. Auspicious ideas mainly include: accepting blessings to welcome auspicious, exorcising evil spirits, having many children and many blessings, longevity, promotion and wealth, and happiness. There are many auspicious things in China tradition, including all kinds of auspicious animals, such as turtles, cranes, deer, elephants, dragons and phoenixes. There are auspicious plants such as pine, bamboo, plum, cinnamon, pomegranate, acacia and dogwood; There are also items such as Ruyi, silver ingots, longevity stones and ritual vessels. The most expressive forms are auspicious patterns, patterns and patterns, which express people's various good wishes, so that the pictures must be intentional and the meaning must be auspicious.

The idea of auspiciousness should originate from primitive society. Primitive people are full of longing for life and survival. Sacrifice and divination as auspicious events are the concrete manifestations of this auspicious concept. Oracle Bone Inscriptions's divination is mainly an activity of taking advantage of bad luck, and Oracle Bone Inscriptions, who is used for divination, often has an Oracle or an efficacious record of good luck. Mr. Li Yanzu thinks: "As far as the pattern form is concerned, the origin of auspicious patterns is directly related to the way ancient ancestors looked at things and took pictures, and their understanding of reading patterns in divination activities" [1].

The appearance of auspicious symbols stems from the generation of auspicious consciousness. Where there are human beings, there are people who pursue happiness and pray for good luck and peace. Auspicious consciousness comes from the ancient people's insecurity about life. Ancestors are full of confusion and fear about human diseases, plagues and deaths. They think that the devil is invading the body. They need something or a god to help them attack the devil, drive him away, eliminate disasters and protect peace. Therefore, they hold grand dances and create images that they think the devil is afraid of as protectors of their families and clans. Then, the totem appeared. The entity of totem is an animal, a plant, an inanimate or natural phenomenon, and even an artificially created image. Primitive people originally worshipped totems as ancestors. Later, totems were regarded as protectors. So totem is the ancestor and protector of the clan. Then it has its own totem shrine, totem ceremony, totem objects, totem colors, totem music, symbols and graphics. This is closely related to the contents of modern enterprise identification system, such as enterprise spirit, code of conduct, enterprise logo, mascot, standard color, symbolic graphics and so on. It is also in line with the cohesion, mutual help spirit and brand personality pursuit of employees pursued by modern enterprises.

In primitive society, those meaningful patterns on painted pottery have already contained "auspiciousness" in a broad sense. Primitive people carved symbols and painted patterns on pottery and other objects, not only for the sake of beauty, but for the sacred purpose related to survival. They carefully portrayed auspicious signs with trust and hope. They believe that objects decorated with patterns are sacred and can bring them good luck. The fish pattern, fish pattern, frog pattern, bird pattern and other patterns in painted pottery, whether for witchcraft, sacrifice, totem or for the purpose of having many children and grandchildren, all embody the meaning of seeking good luck, which is an ancient form of early people praying for good luck.

In the bronze decoration in Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties, auspicious themes made the decoration under the ritual system begin to present a secular life style, such as cheerful and vivid Feng Niaowen and fish patterns, which all contained auspicious life. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, religious theology was the mainstream of philosophy. As a social trend of thought, Chen Wei became a part of theological classics in the Han Dynasty, emphasizing the unity of man and nature. Under the cloak of religious superstition, it wraps up more pursuit and affirmation of human existence, such as the pursuit of longevity and wealth, and the prevalence of reburial. Therefore, the decoration also shows the same life and life content, and everything has implications, such as Qinglong, White Tiger, Suzaku and Xuanwu. Decorative patterns with auspicious themes were very popular in Han and Tang Dynasties. Han Dynasty is the integration period of auspicious patterns development, and it is also the transition period of decoration as a whole from the strict norms of destiny theology in Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties to secularization. Since then, "auspiciousness" has been the theme of decorative arts in China for thousands of years. In the popular bird and beast patterns in the Tang Dynasty, there are obvious meanings of metaphor, beauty and perfection. In the heyday of Ming and Qing Dynasties, everything must be auspicious, and auspiciousness almost became the only content of decoration, which was the result of diluting its religious mystery and secularizing and visualizing the form of life support.

Second, the embodiment of auspicious concept in modern design

The meaning behind Chinese traditional patterns is the key to people's fascination with their shapes. Both ancient people and modern people yearn for beautiful things, so the auspicious implication contained in traditional patterns is also suitable for modern design and conveys modern design concepts. In our life, we can find excellent articles that make the past serve the present and bring forth the new. For example, the logo of China Unicom (attached figure 1) adopts the shape of "pan Chang", one of the eight treasures of Buddhism, which means "a long history and endless life". The winding lines symbolize the modern communication network, the orderly communication business and smooth information of China Unicom in the information society, and the endless and everlasting career of China Unicom. The continuation of this auspicious implication makes our modern design less commercialized and more cultural and friendly. The design of Jin Daiqiang Design Co., Ltd. (Attached Figure 2) is another example of the successful combination of traditional auspicious culture and modern aesthetics in China. The logo skillfully uses the pattern of "Fangsheng" as the basic framework. "Fangsheng" is a unique auspicious cultural pattern in China, which expresses a good wish of unity and blood ties. Combined with the pattern of "Pan Chang", it conveys a long-standing, endless and complementary thought and is an active pursuit of happiness. Mr. Jin Daiqiang used this theme to make his design more emotional and philosophical. Although it originated from the traditional "Fang Sheng" mode, it was not copied truthfully, but was recreated through images, making the standard more suitable for future use. The logo of Beijing's bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games (Attached Figure 3) does not directly borrow the traditional style, but uses the unique freehand brushwork technique of "similarity and dissimilarity" in China's art, and appropriately conveys the two images of "Chinese knot" and "athlete". This logo not only embodies the unique style of China, but also is recognized by the world. Another example is the logo of the Chinese channel of Phoenix Satellite TV (Attached Figure 4), which borrows the picture of the phoenix bird in the painted pottery of primitive society and adopts the unique "welcoming" structure of the China pattern, reflecting the rich cultural heritage. The wings of the phoenix bird are very dynamic, which embodies the characteristics of modern media. In addition, the original corporate logos of China Mobile and China Telecom (Attached Figures 5 and 6) all adopt the auspicious pattern of "palindrome". Auspicious elements can be seen everywhere in visual communication art, environmental art and other design fields. In recent years, the return of "Chinese style" in clothing industry also reflects this trend. Even the old man of KFC put on a cheerful melon seed hat and a Tang suit, conveying our blessings. These all reflect the desire of modern people to pursue a better life, and there are countless examples of this.

Through the historical extension of traditional art, we can see that art itself is an open system, which is constantly updated and expanded under the impact of new technologies and new concepts. Its connotation and spirit are the result of long-term accumulation of national history, unique to the Chinese nation and the soul of national form. China's auspicious culture is the unique landscape and precious wealth of oriental culture. It has a wide range of themes, rich connotations, diverse forms and a long history, which is irreplaceable by other art forms. In the world of art, its unique oriental cultural charm is shining. Of course, inheritance does not mean rigidity. Simply pursuing "takenism" in design, without bringing forth the old and bringing forth the new, will lead to the stagnation of the development of national traditional art, and will eventually make our design a large number of antique replicas without the spirit of the times. It is even more undesirable to completely deviate from tradition. Simple imitation and misappropriation of western modern art will make our art lose its national personality. Nowadays, many designers with low quality present to the public not spiritual food and enjoyment of beauty, but some "tooth wisdom" and even visual pollution picked up from the west under the banner of "avant-garde".

Therefore, we should advocate national culture and advanced culture, resist decadent culture, extend and develop China traditional culture and art in modern design, create new national forms, adopt its "form" and "meaning" on the basis of understanding, thus convey its "spirit", express it in the essence of China traditional culture and modern international language, and integrate the spiritual elements of auspicious symbols into modern design, so as to make the national cultural spirit and the design language of the world.

Third, the mainstream in the field of mascot design today

There are two main trends in the field of mascot design today: lignification and excitement. The former is silly like a fool, but there is great wisdom behind the seemingly calm and plain appearance. The latter belongs to the typical Disney style: always in a state of extreme excitement, flamboyant personality, exaggerated movements and rich expressions ... the two are diametrically opposed, but "striking" is the same feature.

Mascots have the functions of attracting public attention and strengthening brand awareness in information dissemination. Therefore, the role positioning must be distinct and unique. The advantage of animation art lies in its continuity and extensibility, which can deepen people's understanding of roles. The mascot design is different. "How to attract everyone's attention as soon as the character appears? How to let the frozen characters express their identity? How to make static modeling convey dynamic effects? How to make personality image deeply rooted in people's hearts? ..... ",which undoubtedly puts forward higher requirements for the future of mascot design. As for the storyline of image extension, that was the last article!

The times are changing and advancing, so should the mascot design.

Some designs rely on traditional entry points, such as animals, plants, creatures, allusions, myths and so on. It has lacked the flavor of the times, lacked new ideas, and is similar. "Innovation is not splicing". Adding fashion elements to traditional modeling does not mean "progress". The mascot has its own language, which is irresistible and convincing, and does not need too many complicated details; Do not need fancy decoration; Let alone usurp the attachment of the host. "Concise, complete and clear" also applies to mascot design.

The future trend of mascot design will gradually become "fuzzy", that is to say, there will be more and more new people, tech kids, cool elves and E-era darlings ... they are unexpected and reasonable figures, like what? Like what? Give people enough association space, without the bondage of thinking mode. They have human signs, actions and expressions-fashion avant-garde. These future mascots are highly refined from concrete forms, ignoring the intuitive image, but the essence is everywhere. Remember the word "monster"? This may be a macro description of the future mascot.

Put aside tradition, do not follow the rules, and make all kinds of colorful little monsters. Of course, the premise is that they must be a symbol of good luck and the embodiment of "truth, goodness and beauty". "Mascot, mascot, as the name implies, is auspicious and peaceful", if it conveys the information of evil, ugliness and terror, it obviously deviates from the original intention of design. On the basis of shape and correctness, we can achieve "vivid". Mascots are based on human nature, with strong human feelings, broad affinity, humorous and lovely expressions and heartfelt relaxation and joy. If it really reaches this state: the mascot will still smile very sweetly without a mouth; Without limbs, it will still be vivid and full of spirituality; There is no stipulation that mascots are limited to a single mascot, and they can be in pairs, groups or even groups. It is worth mentioning that the Spheriks of the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan injected a brand-new concept into the design of future mascots.

In the future, ever-changing creative expressions will be more widely used in the field of mascot design. Excellent mascots should not be limited to two or three dimensions, but should be suitable for any media. "Clay sculpture" expands the expression form of mascot design, which is more intuitive and convenient. The transparency of CG technology makes the modeling and rendering of mascots no longer inscrutable. In addition, there are paper art, pottery, flash, inflatable models, plush toys, rapid prototyping technology and so on.

Four. Design of mascots for the 2008 Olympic Games

"Five Fuwa, why are eating grass, and no one is eating meat? Don't China people have nothing but kindness? "

There is no exact data showing that 60% people applaud the design, but the public's reaction to these five mascots really exploded. Supporters say that Fuwa represents a kind and peaceful temperament, which is very cute, and the design especially embodies the traditional color and charm of China. Opponents sneered at the "five mobs". They have no creativity and pursuit, are lifeless, and are completely the aesthetic taste of the older generation.

Once the image of Fuwa was published, it immediately sold well all over the country. Experts predict that the profit of the mascot of the Beijing Olympic Games may exceed 300 million dollars, making it one of the most profitable commodities for the Olympic Games.

1 1 On this day, with 1000 days to go before the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the long-awaited mascot of the Beijing Olympic Games was finally unveiled. The five newly born Olympic mascots are Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini, based on the Olympic flame, giant panda, baby fish, Tibetan antelope and swallow respectively. The homonym of these five Fuwa names happens to be "Welcome to Beijing", and their colors just echo the five colors of the Olympic rings: red, orange, blue, green and black.

The Beijing Olympic Games unexpectedly launched five mascots, making the most grand appearance in the history of Olympic mascots.

Mascots are born with many business opportunities.

At the moment when the mystery of mascots was finally unveiled, I believe many people will have such a most direct reaction: "Why are there so many mascots?" There are five mascots in an Olympic Games, which is unprecedented.

The reason why the number of mascots is designated as "five" not only has the profound implication of echoing the Olympic rings and coinciding with the great spirit of the Olympic Games, but also fully embodies the diverse and rich traditional cultural connotation of the Chinese nation. In addition, such a choice also makes people smell a strong commercial atmosphere. The introduction of mascots for the Beijing Olympic Games has conveyed an important message: smart China people have injected thinking about commercial factors when choosing mascots, and commercial value factors have begun to play an important role in the choice of mascots.

In fact, with the continuous development of the Olympic cause, mascots have become an indispensable part of supporting the Olympic economy. 1972, when artists from the Federal Republic of Germany carefully designed the first mascot in the history of the Olympic Games-a small hunting dog, people probably placed more hopes on the mascot to mobilize the society's extensive concern and great enthusiasm for the Olympic Games. People at that time may not have thought that a small mascot would bring a lot of money. However, as people pay more and more attention to the Olympic Games, the attraction of the Olympic economy is becoming more and more obvious, and people gradually find that there is much to be done in the original humble mascot. Through franchising, mascots can be developed into toys, clothing, stationery, commemorative badges and other forms of goods. Since then, the mascot has played the role of "lucky boy" in addition to the identity of "friendship angel" and has been endowed with more commercial connotations.

In recent years, mascots have surpassed ticket revenue and TV broadcasting fees, and become the biggest "cash cow" for the Olympic economy. The number of mascots has also begun to break through. 1996 During the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, four mascots named "Snowman" were introduced. At the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000, the three unique animals of Australia, the echidna, the platypus and the albatross, became the symbols of the Olympic mascots. In the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, three mascots were introduced: a dog, a rabbit and a bear.

The choice of mascots for the Beijing Olympic Games broke through the past tradition and introduced five different images. From the perspective of Olympic market development, this is a creative move. Because consumers have different personal preferences, a single Olympic mascot is obviously not enough to carry the different preferences of thousands of people. BOCOG launched five Fuwa, which greatly expanded the market potential and made it possible to multiply the economic benefits of the Olympic Games, thus promoting mascots to better serve as the "way to make money" for the Olympic host.

Of course, this method is not without risks. There are also some people who have different opinions on the appearance of the five Fuwa. They believe that the five mascots are too complicated, which weakens the meaning of the core logo of the mascots themselves. Moreover, if we want to move this set of mascots home completely, we need to greatly increase the cost now, which will increase the risk of mascot sales to a certain extent.

Can Five Blessingg really bring good luck?

Can these five Fuwa bring blessings to those businessmen who stare at the Olympic cake and help them earn a lot of money?

According to the data, in recent Olympic Games, the franchise revenue accounted for about 65,438+00% of the total Olympic revenue, both exceeding 500 million US dollars. At the Athens Olympic Games, which just ended last year, the sales of licensed goods reached 728 million euros. Among all Olympic licensed commodities, mascots have always been the biggest highlight. Take the most popular mascot plush toy as an example, the sales of this item alone can cover more than half of the income of the whole franchise store. At the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, Australia's three mascots, Aussie, Sid and Millie, brought in 2,654.38+0.3 million dollars. By the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, two dolls named Athena and Fevos had brought Athens $206,543.8 billion.

Compared with Greece, the population of China is 100 times that of Greece, so there is no doubt about the market potential of mascots. Besides, there are many mascots themselves. Therefore, the economic benefits brought by "Fuwa" to China should be more considerable. In this regard, an official of BOCOG Market Development Department is full of confidence. He said that although it is impossible to fully predict how many products the mascot will sell, I believe that the sales amount of this mascot should be better than previous Olympic Games, given the enthusiasm of China people for China to host the 2008 Olympic Games.

In fact, long before the release of the mascot, more than one expert predicted that the benefits brought by the mascot to China were expected to exceed 2.5 billion yuan. After the birth of the five Fuwa, a senior Olympic marketing expert boldly calculated that the income of the mascot "Fuwa" of the Beijing Olympic Games would account for 15% of the total Olympic revenue. If the marketing of mascot products is very successful, the total income can even reach 4 billion yuan!

Almost at the same time that the five Fuwa officially appeared, licensed goods related to mascots began to land on the market quickly. In the future, 300 kinds of licensed goods in six categories of mascot series will appear in front of consumers one after another. At present, a plush mascot toy from 78 yuan has set off a buying craze in the market, and the mascot market seems to be booming soon.

However, can Fuwa really become a veritable "grandmother of wealth" for the Beijing Olympic Games, as experts say? This is still a question mark. At present, the start of Beijing Olympic commodity sales has been slightly slow. In contrast, souvenirs of the 20 10 Vancouver Winter Olympics have been on the market since last year. How many consumers will be willing to spend 400 yuan to buy this huge mascot after the short novelty has passed? After consumers gradually return to rationality, how long can this booming scene last? How to make these five strange Fuwa quickly penetrate the hearts of consumers? These are all difficult problems faced by Olympic market developers. In the future, Beijing Olympic business development plan will face many tests.

The use of Fuwa began from the moment of birth.

The birth of the mascot Fuwa also touched the nerves of others, who are sponsors of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at all levels. Countdown to Beijing Olympic Games 1000 days, mascot unveiled. Such a memorable moment is naturally the best opportunity for Olympic sponsors to make full use of their sponsorship rights. International sponsors with rich marketing experience have already set their sights on this day and lost no time in playing their own Olympic marketing cards.

UPS, the sponsor of logistics and express service for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, announced at the first time when the mascot of the 2008 Olympic Games was released, that UPS would take advantage of its global network to deliver the mascot to many friendly people at home and abroad who helped Beijing successfully bid for the Olympic Games through fast service. Welcome the birth of the mascot in this unique way and share the joy and happiness given by the mascot of the Beijing Olympic Games.

At the same time, under the witness of two Olympic champions and thousands of citizens, Coca-Cola launched a commemorative mascot jar. A total of 1.6 million commemorative cans with vivid and lovely mascots will be listed simultaneously in 2 1 cities nationwide. In order to ensure the maximum output of commemorative cans with the production date of "165438+1October 1 1", Coca-Cola specially arranged to start the production line at 0: 00 that day.

By contrast, sponsors of the China Olympic Games seem to be slow to respond. Among many sponsors in China, only Lenovo, as a global partner of the International Olympic Committee (TOP), has taken action. 1 1 In the evening, Lenovo Group and the mascot image simultaneously launched the "Limited Collection Lenovo USB flash drives for Beijing Olympic mascots", with a limited edition of 10 sets, each set consisting of five titanium alloy USB flash drives with Beijing Olympic mascots.

Compared with Coca-Cola and UPS's creative and generous marketing methods, Lenovo's Olympic marketing on the occasion of the unveiling of the mascot has obviously been slightly inferior. As for several other China enterprises that have signed up as partners of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, they are even more indifferent. This can't help worrying China enterprises sponsoring the Olympic Games.

For China enterprises, after signing the sponsorship contract with a huge sum of money, it still needs a lot of efforts to enhance their reputation with the help of the east wind of the Olympic Games. With the approach of the 2008 Olympic Games, the marketing competition of Olympic sponsorship has begun. Compared with international enterprises such as Coca-Cola and Samsung, China enterprises that have become Olympic sponsors or partners are somewhat slow in developing the Olympic market. How to make a systematic and executable marketing strategy according to the characteristics of your own products and the advantages of Beijing Olympic Games in terms of time, location and people? China enterprises should find the answer as soon as possible.

Mascot design is a comprehensive and interdisciplinary subject, which is still in the ascendant stage in China and has enough room for development. There are both limitations of traditional concepts and established constraints. Whether you are engaged in architecture, graphic design or professional animation, you have a say in mascot design. Creating a mascot is equivalent to creating life, a small life with sacred duties. For every responsible designer, it is a long way to go!