Logo logo

Signs are symbolic symbols of mass communication. With the help of people's thinking abilities such as symbol recognition and association, they express certain meanings and convey specific information with concise images. Signs are widely used in all aspects of modern society because of their powerful information transmission function, even surpassing language and writing under certain conditions. At the same time, modern logo design has become an important design course offered by design colleges or departments.

According to the author's experience in design teaching, many teachers are strongly influenced by western design ideas in the teaching process of modern logo design, so when guiding students to carry out logo design, they are often used to starting from the composition theory derived from Bauhaus's basic education system, and let students try various combinations of points, lines, surfaces and bodies. At the end of the design, most of them just emphasize the sense of form and modernity of the logo. This teaching ignores the traditional graphic art, which leads students to design only from the perspective of simplified letters, fonts and modern abstract forms when dealing with logo modeling. Although the logo designed in this way will have a strong sense of modernity, information and commerce, it will make people feel that it lacks the cultural charm and national heritage of China. Therefore, in view of this deficiency, the author expresses his views on the issue of "the combination of modern logo design teaching and traditional graphic art in China" for discussion with * * * *.

China traditional graphic art has a long history and has developed for thousands of years. Long before the birth of writing, our ancestors began to use graphics to convey ideas and exchange feelings. Painted pottery patterns and rock paintings carved on cliffs in the Neolithic Age not only recorded the ancestors' understanding and expectation of nature, but also became the earliest graphic art of mankind. China's graphic art not only originated early, but also developed continuously. Although it is fast and slow, it never stops, such as the gluttonous graphics on bronzes in Shang Dynasty; Tadpole script and plum blossom seal script in the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period; Phoenix lacquerware in Han dynasty, precious flower patterns in Tang dynasty, and later bronze inscriptions. China is rich in traditional graphic resources. In their respective development and evolution, they have the same strain and colorful characteristics. They show unique, profound and fascinating national traditions and spirits with diverse and unified styles. With the passage of time and the development of history, these figures have been continuously precipitated, extended and evolved, forming a unique traditional art system in China, which embodies the wisdom essence of the Chinese nation for thousands of years and embodies the unique artistic spirit of the Chinese nation.

Combining traditional graphic art with modern logo design teaching is the key to guide students to design modern logos with advocacy, modernity and internationality. However, this combination does not mean that students should simply copy or misappropriate traditional graphics, but that teachers should guide students to know and understand traditional graphics, and on this basis, let students learn to gradually dig, change and transform traditional graphics, so that traditional graphics can become new creative points and inspiration points for their design, so as to design a vibrant modern symbol of China. For the combination of traditional graphic art and modern logo design in China, the author thinks that it can be analyzed and applied from three aspects: shape, meaning and potential of traditional graphics:

First, the extraction and derivation of "shape"

"Shape" generally refers to the shape and structure of an object represented by graphics. China's traditional graphics are rooted in the traditional artistic origins of China's nationalities and regions, which are different from the modeling methods of modern graphics. China's traditional graphics mainly pay attention to the integrity and decoration of real shapes (or orthographic shapes), and pay attention to the echo, comity and mutual penetration between shapes, and often follow the bone style of seeking integrity, symmetry and unity when constructing. For example, China's most primitive and basic auspicious figure "Tai Chi Map" consists of two fish-shaped patterns in black and white; You can see the "four happiness numbers" of four dolls on the top, bottom, left and right of their heads, bodies, hands and feet (Figure1); Nine squares and Mi Zige figures formed by the concept of five elements and five parties, fish-shaped characters formed by fish-shaped features of basic strokes, and car-shaped characters formed by car-shaped features of basic strokes, etc.

To apply the "shape" in traditional graphics to the teaching of modern logo design, teachers should guide students to learn to extract its shape elements from traditional graphics first, and then combine some composition methods learned in the composition course, such as disassembly, cutting, dislocation and variation. Then, these extracted shape elements are redesigned and reorganized. Finally, students are allowed to base themselves on the original shape of traditional graphics, and at the same time, they are constantly decomposing, transforming and reconstructing the original shape. The logo designed in this way can not only retain the charm of traditional art, but also have distinctive characteristics of the times, and can fully express the thoughts and personality contained in the logo.

Jin Diqiang, a master designer in Hong Kong, can be said to be a good example. He derived traditional graphic elements and applied them to modern logo design. Under the guidance of the company's "people-oriented" concept, his standard of "Jin Diqiang Design Co., Ltd." adopts the traditional auspicious graphic "Fang Sheng" as its basic framework. Although the prototype of the standard is "Fang Sheng", Mr. Jin Diqiang's keen visual perception and profound understanding of the connotation and charm of traditional graphics make him extract, derive and recreate the shape instead of faithfully copying the prototype, making the standard more oriental and more suitable for future use. This is not a successful revelation for us! Therefore, Chen said in the bid evaluation: "I think the success of Mr. Jin's design is that the combination of nationality and modernity is natural and decent, and there is no far-fetched feeling;" Second, the company's standards pay attention to concepts, have large capacity, are full of philosophy and are reminiscent; Third, the image can be changed and used well. Of course, this is the original title' credit'. "

Similarly, the symbol of spiritual civilization in the capital is also a good example of the combination of traditional graphics with modern composition and expression skills. The basic elements of the symbol of spiritual civilization in the capital are "Temple of Heaven" and "Heart". "Temple of Heaven" symbolizes the capital, and the shape of "heart" embodies the abstract meaning of spiritual civilization. Designer Li Lin used the technique of "base painting conversion" in modern composition to combine the two perfectly, and treated the top of the sign with formal beauty, so that the "heart-shaped" groove and the top of the "Temple of Heaven" naturally and smoothly connected, which not only fully and intuitively expressed the connotation of the sign, but also brought a brand-new visual expression effect.

Second, the continuation and extension of Yi

Throughout the ages, people have repeatedly depicted the same figure from generation to generation, not only because of its beautiful appreciation value, but more importantly, behind these traditional figures, there are often more and deeper auspicious meanings. External form is the expression of internal meaning, and it is the externalization and materialization of internal meaning. So it's just a traditional figure who comes from people's worship of nature and religion. After the evolution of time, many beautiful symbolic meanings such as "rich life, rich life and happiness" have been extended.

Combining traditional graphic art with modern logo design teaching requires not only teachers to guide students to refine and innovate traditional graphic modeling, but also teachers to lead students to explore and explore the meaning behind it. Because ancient people and modern people have the same yearning for beautiful things, as Situ Hong said: "The embodiment of China people's cultural consciousness and morphological philosophy has two characteristics: First, it contains scientific and reasonable parts, which is the ancient people's summary of natural laws; The second is its imagination and creativity, which reflects China people's yearning for good luck and happiness. " Therefore, the auspicious implication behind traditional graphics is also suitable for the design of modern signs.

For example, China's traditional figure-"Pan Chang" is often used in combination with the pattern of "Fang Sheng" among the people to express people's good wishes to promote the Four Rings and make everything bright. The logo of China Unicom Company is to adopt the shape of "Panchang", one of the "Eight Auspiciouss" originated from the eight treasures of Buddhism, and take its original intention of "having a long history, endless life and bringing out the best in each other" to extend the communication business of Unicom Company. The four squares in the logo modeling have the meaning of extending in all directions and all the best; Six laps have the meaning of the same road and smooth everywhere; The 10 space in the logo has the meaning of perfection. Whether symmetrical or even, the whole logo is permeated with the auspicious spirit that has been circulated in the ancient East.

Therefore, it is also a good method for modern logo design to apply the traditional graphic "meaning" which has been established and formed in China people's minds to the inherent connotation of the company to which the logo belongs, so as to extend the newer and deeper conceptual spirit and make it more cultural and social.

The logo designed by Mr. Jin Diqiang for Ronghua Bakery is also a good example of following the auspicious meaning of traditional graphics. Hong Kong Ronghua Bakery was established in 1950 with a history of more than 50 years. Its basic elements are square cakes, peony flowers and bright moon. In the logo, the element of "square cake" is owned by the enterprise, and "peony flower" and "bright moon" are both traditional figures. Peony flower gives people a graceful feeling, and together with the bright moon, it has the auspicious meaning of flowers and a full moon. Ronghua is calligraphy, which is very important. China's calligraphy is the brightest crown of traditional graphic arts in China. Its composition is only a few simple ink lines, but it is really "modeling, abstract abstraction, the intersection of motion and static, the connection of time and space, and the expression of self-depth." (Li Yanzu). Ronghua bakery's "Ronghua" strokes have many irregular arcs, but they are very distinctive, like the petals of peony flowers. Peony patterns have been modified, strengthened and reshaped, and have not changed. Golden flowers and blue cakes are very China, traditional, auspicious and modern.

Third, the grasp and inheritance of "potential"

"potential" usually refers to the charm contained in the characters, their situations and atmosphere, and "potential" can convey the spirit of the whole characters. As far as the "potential" of traditional graphics is concerned, China's national quintessence-calligraphy should be mentioned in particular. Calligraphy is inspired by observing the posture of all things in nature, and its conception is ingenious. After thousands of years of development and evolution, it has formed various personalities and styles, such as: "Da Zhuan" is rough and powerful, realistic and bold; The baby seal is round and moist, and its structure is rigorous; Lishu is dignified and quaint; Regular script is neat and beautiful; The running script is lively and cheerful, and the pulse is connected; Cursive script flies like lightning. Calligraphy has not only structure, but also brushwork. Structure is only the basis of calligraphy, and the formation of calligraphy personality depends on its pen "potential"

Grasping and inheriting the "potential" of traditional graphics, and finally integrating it into the design of modern logo, is the difficulty in the combination of traditional graphic art and modern logo design. It is easy for students to understand and master the inheritance of "form" and "meaning" in traditional graphic art, but this inheritance can only be said to be a superficial understanding and understanding of traditional graphic art, and the creation of new national forms requires teachers to lead students to get rid of its materialized surface and go deep into its spiritual field when learning traditional graphics. Because only by deeply understanding the artistic essence of traditional graphics, and then on the basis of western modern design ideas, eclectic and find the intersection of tradition and modernity, can we create a modern symbol that belongs to our nation and is international at the same time.

The world-famous logo of Beijing's 2008 Olympic bid can be said to be a classic in modern logo design. The overall structure of the logo is also taken from the traditional auspicious pattern "Pan Chang", but what is valuable is that it does not directly borrow this traditional shape, but uses the unique freehand brushwork technique of "pen without pen" in China's calligraphy to properly convey the two dynamics and images of "Chinese knot" and "athlete", so as to express the theme of the logo and convey people's wishes.

Long Island Aquarium is a modern aquarium supplies company, and its logo was designed by Hong Kong designer Cai Yongyao. Because it is an aquarium company, the basic shape of logo is considered as the shape of "fish"; Because the company is a modern enterprise in Hong Kong, the designer adopted the initials "L" of the company name. "L" is written by cursive technique in China's calligraphy. Add two points, and it becomes two lively fish playing in the water. Such a design that combines tradition and modernity skillfully is very representative.

In addition, the logo of China Post also makes good use of the "potential" in traditional graphics. The basic element of China postal sign is the word "Zhong" written by China in ancient times. On this basis, the designer integrated the flying momentum of geese into the logo design according to the allusion of "The Story of Hongyan" in ancient China. The logo is mainly horizontal and vertical parallel lines, and the combination of shape and potential induces changes, expressing the corporate purpose of serving thousands of households and the corporate image of being fast, accurate, safe and ubiquitous.

Finally, combining modern logo design with traditional graphic art, teachers should also warn students that the application of traditional graphics is not a simple "takenism" because:

First, the content in traditional graphic arts is not all good. Because China's traditional graphic art sprouted from human childhood, grew and developed in the long feudal society, it bears the imprint of the mother and fetus of the feudal society. Therefore, teachers should make students understand that some traditional graphics also have superstitious and backward dross. To apply traditional graphic art to modern logo design, we should be scientific and realistic, discard the false and retain the true, so that its nationality and reality can be carried forward.

Secondly, if students use classic traditional graphics, just copy the gourd, and just use a little folk or original symbols, they begin to gather the formal beauty and modern beauty on the surface, then the design of logo will inevitably fall into a stereotype. Therefore, teachers should guide students to grasp the spiritual essence and connotation of traditional graphics and let such cultural charm naturally emerge in their designs.

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Basic knowledge of signs:

The Origin of Logo Design

The origin of signs can be traced back to the ancient "totem". At that time, every clan and tribe had an animal or natural image that had some mysterious relationship with itself as a special symbol (totem) of their clan or tribe. For example, Nuwa people take snakes as their totems, Yu Xia's ancestors take yellow bears as their totems, and others take crows from the sun and the moon as their totems. At first, people carved totems on caves and labor tools where they lived, and later they became national flags and badges as symbols of war and sacrifice. After the birth of the country, it evolved into a national flag and national emblem.

In production, labor and social life, ancient people constantly created and widely used various signs, such as road signs, village signs, steles and seals. , in order to facilitate contact, mark meaning, distinguish the types, characteristics and ownership of things. Broadly speaking, these are LOGO. In the tombs of ancient Egypt, vessels with logo patterns were found, mostly the manufacturer's logo and name, which later became patterns. In ancient Greece, LOGO was widely used. In ancient buildings in Rome, Pompeii and Palestine, special signs of carving, such as crescent-shaped wheels, grape leaves and similar simple patterns, were found. The armor worn by European soldiers in the Middle Ages had invisible marks on their skulls, and aristocratic families also had family emblems. In ancient China, their workshops and shops were equipped with signs such as signboards and lids. In the Tang Dynasty, there were dark marks on the paper. By the Song Dynasty, the use of trademarks had become quite common. ...

In this century, public signs and international signs have become popular all over the world. With the rapid development of social economy, politics, science and technology, and culture, carefully designed signs with high practicality and artistry have been widely used in all fields of society, which has had a great effect and influence on the development and progress of human society. A new science-"symbol identification" came into being.

What is logo design?

LOGO is a kind of symbol that expresses the characteristics of things. It takes simple, obvious and easy-to-identify images, graphics or text symbols as the intuitive language. Besides indicating what to replace, it also has the functions of expressing meaning, emotion and indicating actions. As a special way of human intuitive contact, signs are not only ubiquitous in social activities and production activities, but also play an extremely important and unique role in the fundamental interests of the country, social groups and even individuals.

As a symbol of a country's image, the national flag and national emblem have special functions that are difficult to express accurately in any language or writing. Signs, traffic signs, safety signs, operation signs, etc. It plays an intuitive and quick role in guiding people to carry out orderly and normal activities and ensuring the safety of life and property. Trademark, store logo, factory logo and other special signs have practical value and legal protection for developing economy, creating economic benefits and safeguarding the rights and interests of enterprises and consumers. All kinds of major events, conferences, sports meetings at home and abroad, as well as postal transportation, financial trade, institutions, groups and even individuals (stamps, signatures) almost all have their own LOGO. These signs play the role of communication, exchange and publicity from all angles, promote the progress of social economy, politics, science and technology and culture, and safeguard their respective rights and interests. LOGO is intuitive and vivid, without language barriers, which is very conducive to international exchanges and communication. Therefore, international signs have been rapidly promoted and developed, and become one of the most effective visual communication means and an intuitive contact tool for human communication.

Signs, logos and trademarks are the products of modern economy, which are different from ancient imprints. Modern signs bear the intangible assets of enterprises and are the medium of comprehensive information transmission of enterprises. As an important part of enterprise CIS strategy, logo is the most widely used, frequent and key element in the process of corporate image communication. The strong overall strength, perfect management mechanism, high-quality products and services of the enterprise are all contained in the logo, which is deeply left in the hearts of the audience through constant stimulation and repeated portrayal.

Logo design fixes concrete things, events, scenes and abstract spirit, ideas and directions through special graphics, which makes people naturally associate with logos when they see them, thus generating a sense of identity with enterprises. Signs are closely related to the operation of enterprises. Logo is an essential element in daily business activities, advertising, cultural construction and foreign exchange. With the growth of the enterprise, its value is also increasing. Someone once asserted: "Even if all the assets of Coca-Cola are burned by a torch, Coca-Cola can stand up again with its trademark". Therefore, enterprises with long-term vision attach great importance to logo design and understand the role of logos. In the early days of the enterprise, a good logo design is undoubtedly an important carrier for the accumulation of intangible assets in the future. If there is no sign that can objectively reflect the entrepreneurial spirit and industry characteristics and has a scientific and beautiful appearance, what about other enterprises? With the development of Hui Hui Olympics, there will be changes and adjustments, which will cause unnecessary waste and losses to enterprises. After the Bank of China changed its logo, the replaced outdoor media was taken off the shelves nationwide, with a loss of 20 million.