the design concept of logo design
LOGO is a symbolic mass communication symbol, which expresses certain meanings with concise images and conveys specific information with the help of people's thinking abilities such as symbol recognition and association. Logo has a strong function of conveying information, even exceeding language and writing under certain conditions, so it is widely used in all aspects of modern society. At the same time, modern logo design has become an important design course set up by design colleges or design departments.
according to the author's experience in design teaching, many teachers are strongly influenced by western design thoughts 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 of Bauhaus's basic education system, and let students try to divide and combine various points, lines, planes and bodies, and at the end of the design, they only emphasize the sense of form and modernity of the logo. This kind of 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 business, it will make people feel that it lacks the cultural charm and national foundation of China. Therefore, in view of this shortcoming, the author would like to express his views on the issue of "the combination of modern logo design teaching and Chinese traditional graphic art" in order to discuss it with * * *.
Chinese traditional graphic art has a long history, and it has developed for thousands of years today. As early as before the birth of characters, ancestors began to use graphics to convey their thoughts and communicate their feelings. The painted pottery patterns and rock carvings carved on the cliff 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 was fast and slow, it never stopped, such as the gluttonous graphics on bronzes in Shang Dynasty; During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, tadpole script and plum blossom seal script; Phoenix-shaped lacquerware in the Han Dynasty, precious flower patterns in the Tang Dynasty, and later bronze inscriptions. China's traditional graphic resources are extremely rich. In their own development and evolution, they have a consistent vein and colorful features. With their diverse and unified styles, they show a unique, profound and charming national tradition and spirit. With the passage of time and the development of history, these figures have been continuously precipitated, extended and evolved, thus forming a unique traditional art system in China, which embodies the wisdom essence of the Chinese nation for thousands of years and also embodies the unique artistic spirit of the Chinese nation.
Integrating traditional graphic art into the teaching of modern logo design is the key to guide students to design modern logos that are assertive, contemporary and international. However, such a 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 excavate, change and transform traditional graphics, so that traditional graphics can become a new creative point and inspiration point for their design, so as to design a vibrant China modern logo. As for the combination of China traditional graphic art and modern logo design, the author thinks that it can be analyzed and used from three aspects: shape, meaning and potential of traditional graphics:
1. Extraction and derivation of shape
Shape generally refers to the shape and structure of objects represented by graphics. China's traditional graphics are rooted in China's national and regional traditional artistic origins, and they are different from the modeling methods of modern graphics. China's traditional graphics mainly pay attention to the integrity and decoration of the real shape (or orthographic shape), and pay attention to the echo, comity and interpenetration between shapes, and often follow the bone style of seeking integrity, symmetry and uniformity when constructing. For example, the most primitive and basic auspicious figure "Taiji pattern" in China, which consists of two fish-shaped patterns in black and white; The four dolls' "four happiness figures" can be seen on the top, bottom, left and right of the head, body, hands and feet of the two dolls (Figure 1); Nine squares and Mi Zige figures formed by the concepts of five elements and five parties, fish-shaped characters whose basic strokes are formed by fish-shaped features, and car-shaped characters whose basic strokes are formed by car-shaped features, 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 means learned in the composition course, such as: breaking up, cutting, dislocation, variation and other methods, and then carry out new design reorganization on these extracted shape elements, and finally let students base this on the prototype of traditional graphics, while constantly decomposing and transforming the prototype. 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 ideas and personality contained in the logo.
Jin Diqiang, a master designer in Hong Kong, can be said to be a good model after deriving traditional graphic elements and applying them to modern logo design. Under the guidance of the company's "people-oriented" concept, the standard of his "Jin Diqiang Design Co., Ltd." adopted the traditional auspicious figure of "Fang Sheng" as its basic framework. Although the prototype of the standard was "Fang Sheng", Mr. Jin Diqiang's keen visual perception and his profound understanding of the connotation and charm of traditional graphics made him not copy the prototype truthfully, but extracted, derived and recreated the shape, making the standard more oriental and more suitable for future use. This is not a successful revelation for us! Therefore, when evaluating the bid, Chen Hanmin said: "I think the success of Mr. Jin's design is, firstly, the combination of nationality and modernity, and it is natural and appropriate, without far-fetched feeling; Second, the company standard pays attention to the concept, which has a large capacity and is full of philosophy for people to associate; Third, the image can be varied and applied well. Of course, this is first of all the original title' credit'. "
Similarly, the symbol of spiritual civilization in the capital is a good example of combining 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". The "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 "transformation between the bottom and the picture" in modern composition to combine the two perfectly, and treated the top of the sign with formal beauty, so that the "heart"-shaped recess and the top of the "Temple of Heaven" joined naturally and smoothly, which not only made the connotation of the sign fully and intuitively expressed, but also brought a brand-new visual expression effect.
Second, the continuation and extension of "meaning"
From ancient times to the present, people have repeatedly described the same figure, not only because of its beautiful appreciation value, but more importantly, there are often more and deeper auspicious meanings behind these traditional figures we see. The external form is the way to express the internal meaning, and it is the externalization and materialization of the internal meaning. Therefore, it is only a traditional figure that originated from people's worship of nature and religion. After the evolution of time, it has extended many beautiful symbolic meanings such as "life is prosperous, life is rich and happy".
The combination of traditional graphic art and modern logo design teaching not only requires teachers to guide students to refine and innovate the shapes of traditional graphics, but also requires teachers to lead students to explore and explore the meaning behind them. Because both 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: one is that 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 meaning behind traditional graphics is also suitable for the design of modern signs.
For example, the traditional figure of China-"Pan Chang" is often used in combination with the pattern of "Fang Sheng" among the people, so as to express people's good will to carry out the four rings and make everything bright. The logo of China Unicom Company is to adopt the shape of "Pan Chang", one of the "Eight Auspiciouss" originated from the eight treasures of Buddhism, and to extend its original intention of "having a long history, being endless and complementing each other". The four squares in the logo shape have the meaning of extending in all directions and everything goes well; Six circles have the meaning of the same road and smooth everywhere; And the 11 empty places in the sign have the meaning of fullness and perfection. No matter from symmetry or even number, the whole sign is permeated with the auspicious spirit that has been circulated in the ancient East.
Therefore, the traditional graphic "meaning", which has been established and formed in the minds of China people, is applied to the inherent connotation of the company to which the logo belongs, thus extending the newer and deeper concept spirit and making it more cultural and social, which is also a good method of modern logo design.
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, founded in 1951, has a history of more than 51 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 itself, "peony flower" and "bright moon" are both traditional figures, and peony flower gives people a graceful feeling, and together with the bright moon, it has the auspicious meaning of a good flower and a full moon. The word Ronghua is calligraphy, which is very important. China's calligraphy is the most brilliant crown in China's traditional graphic arts. Its composition is just a few simple ink lines, but it is indeed "the modeling of modeling, the abstraction of abstraction, the intersection of motion and static, the cohesion 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 petals of peony flowers. The peony pattern has not changed through modification, strengthening and reshaping. 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 figure and its posture and atmosphere, and "potential" can convey the spirit of the whole figure. On the point of "potential" of traditional graphics, China's national quintessence-calligraphy should be especially mentioned. Calligraphy is inspired by observing the posture of all things in nature, and it is ingeniously formed. 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; Small seals are round and gentle, with rigorous structure; Lishu is dignified and quaint; Regular script is neat and beautiful; The running script is lively and cheerful, and the pulse is connected; The cursive script flies and flows like lightning. Calligraphy not only has structure, but also has brushwork. Structure is only the basis of calligraphy, and the formation of calligraphy personality depends on its pen "potential".
it is a difficult point to grasp and inherit the "potential" of traditional graphics and finally integrate it into 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 shallow understanding and understanding of traditional graphic art, and the creation of a new national form requires teachers to lead students to get rid of its materialized surface and go deep into their spiritual field when studying traditional graphics. Because only after deeply understanding the artistic essence of traditional graphics, and then on the basis of modern western design thoughts, eclectic and comprehensive, and finding the convergence point between tradition and modernity, can we create a modern symbol that belongs to our nation and is international at the same time.
The logo of Beijing 2118 Olympic bid, which has attracted worldwide attention, 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 "writing without writing" in China's calligraphy, which properly conveys the two dynamics and images of "Chinese knot" and "athlete", so as to express the logo theme and convey people's wishes.
Long Island Aquarium is a modern aquarium supplies company, whose logo was designed by Hong Kong designer Cai Yongyao. Because it is an aquarium company, the basic shape of the logo is considered as the shape of "fish"; Because the company is a modern enterprise in Hong Kong, the designer adopted the initial letter "L" of the company name. The "L" is written by using the cursive technique in China's calligraphy. With two points added, it becomes two lively fish playing in the water. Such a design, which skillfully combines tradition with modernity, is very representative.
In addition, the logo of China Post also makes good use of the "potential" in traditional graphics. The basic element of the logo of China Post 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 "Hongyan delivers books" in ancient China. The logo is mainly composed of horizontal and vertical parallel lines, and the shape and potential are combined with each other to induce changes, expressing the corporate purpose of serving thousands of households and the corporate image of being fast, accurate, safe and everywhere.
Finally, combining modern logo design with traditional graphic arts, teachers should also warn students that applying traditional graphics is not a simple "takenism" because:
First, not all the contents in traditional graphic arts are good. Because China's traditional graphic art germinated in human childhood, grew and developed in the long feudal society, so it has the imprint from the maternal womb of the feudal society. Therefore, teachers should make students understand that some traditional graphics also have superstitious and backward dross elements. 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 national and realistic side can be carried forward.
Second, if students use classic traditional graphics, they will begin to assemble superficial formal beauty and modern beauty only by using a little folk or original symbols, then the design logo will inevitably fall into the stereotype. Therefore, teachers should guide students to grasp the spiritual essence and connotation of traditional graphics, and let such a cultural charm naturally emerge in their designs.
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basic knowledge of logo:
the origin of logo design
the origin of logo can be traced back to the "totem" in ancient times. At that time, every clan and tribe had an animal or natural image that had some mysterious relationship with itself as a special symbol of their clan or tribe (that is, totem). For example, Nuwa clan takes snakes as totems, Xia Yu's ancestors take yellow bears as totems, and others take the sun, moon and crow as totems. At first, people carved totems in their homes.