"Bingdundun" is so popular, Cao Xue said that she did not expect it. “I’m very excited that ‘Bingdundun’, which was designed after 10 months, is so loved by everyone.” Cao Xue said that she was very touched by the behavior of “hundreds of people lining up in the cold wind”. The excitement lies in the fact that "the team's work has been recognized and loved by everyone", and the emotion lies in the fact that "people are waiting in the cold wind just to have a piece of warmth in their hands at the last moment."
Led by Cao Xue The design team consists of 14 people, all of whom are from the School of Visual Arts and Design of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts (hereinafter referred to as "Guangmei"), half of whom are teachers and half of whom are graduate students. In 2019, they came up with 16 sets of plans in 19 days. There were no holidays. They revised and discussed repeatedly every day, and drew tens of thousands of manuscripts in one day.
The transformation from pupa to butterfly must be extremely painful and difficult. The team made more than 20 trips to Beijing and raised more than 190,000 yuan for food, accommodation and air tickets. However, the plan was still pending and was being revised over and over again. The pressure was so great that many people wanted to retreat, and even the air in the studio became solid. Some people are even questioning whether there is any hope? Why would such a heavy burden fall on Guangmei?
"Hope is no longer in the eyes of others, but in your own hands." Cao Xue said frankly, and at that moment he answered decisively.
Hard work pays off. Three plans from the Guangmei design team were finally shortlisted for the top ten. Among them, the Candied Haws proposal impressed the judges the most and was identified as the key modification proposal. Cao Xue said that candied haws on ice is a northern snack with very down-to-earth cultural attributes. The key is that the ice-shell sugar coating on it is related to ice and snow sports. This is where the inspiration for “Ice Shell” came from. However, it is a snack after all, which ultimately cannot carry the image of a country, and foreign people are not familiar with it. In the end, the panda became the best choice to represent China, and it could only be it, because the giant panda is China’s national treasure animal loved and recognized by people all over the world.
Actually, there was a panda plan among these 16 plans, but it was not shortlisted at that time. The biggest challenge with using pandas as mascots is that they are too commonplace. The next task of the design team is to design a unique "Panda".
"Bingdundun" image design manuscript
In order to make effective distinctions, Cao Xue's design team collected hundreds of "pandas" that could be collected on the market and printed them all Come out and stick it on the wall of the studio in Shougang Park. At that time, when I walked in and out, I was surrounded by all kinds of "pandas". Finally, the image of "Bingdundun" was released, with the panda as the core and retaining the ice shell shape of the candied haws. The candied haws on ice was originally also called Tangdun'er, hence the name "Bingdundun". It is worth mentioning that after the basic model of "Bingdundun" was determined, the design team conducted two duplicate checks in China and Switzerland. Passed!
But this is not the most worrying test, the blind evaluation is. According to the experience of previous Olympic Games, the main target consumers of mascots are children around 9 years old. Therefore, the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee specially invited 240 children to vote in 2019. In order to keep it secret, the children were not told what it was, without any guidance or hints. This is a blind review. At that time, the Winter Olympics emblem on "Bing Dundun" was removed. For the sake of impartiality and at the same time to interfere with the audio-visual experience, the staff specially downloaded two cute cartoon images from the Internet and pasted them together with "Bingdundun", allowing the children to choose and vote for whichever one they like. On the day of the blind review, Cao Xue was anxiously waiting for news in Beijing. Because some staff members said that if they failed to pass this test, their entire team would completely return to Guangzhou.
In the end, all 230 votes were cast for "Bing Dundun".
A "dun" is hard to find
The charm lies in its "warmth" and "softness". How can a small "ice puddle" have such great charm? Cao Xue revealed the secret of the design: it is cute and heart-warming. "Bingdundun" combines the cute and naive image of the giant panda with a technologically rich ice chip shell. It looks cold at first glance, but in fact it gives people a cute, cute and warm feeling. Between one cold and one warm, one hard and one soft, love is spread.
“The national treasure giant panda is loved all over the world.” Cao Xue said that the team specially chose a younger panda baby image in the design. "Giant pandas are very cute, and baby pandas are even cuter." In order to observe the expressions and postures of baby pandas, Cao Xue and his team made a special trip to Wolong, Sichuan. Cao Xue said that in order to make the design of "Bingdundun" younger and cuter, "We made 'Bingdundun' look like an 'inner eight', which is more in line with the baby panda's walking posture. 'Bingdundun' beckons." In this movement, the body leans forward slightly, a bit like a baby feeling unsteady."
Behind the "warmth" and "softness" of "Bingdundun" is love. "Last year, the Olympic motto updated 'More Unity'. Unity is based on love. Such a small mascot crosses national boundaries and languages, allowing everyone to feel the love and move towards the future together!" Cao Xue said . What characteristics does a popular mascot usually have? Cao Xue believes that it must have three characteristics: cultural, artistic and commercial. Culture is the country’s excellent traditional culture and stories. And artistry is how to use artistic means to spread good culture and tell good stories.
As for commercialism, it is tested by the market, and big sales are the last word. After the final shape of "Bingdundun" was released, it was not only recognized by the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, but also praised by International Olympic Committee President Bach. Cao Xue revealed that everyone was very confident that "Bingdundun" would be a hit.
Use visual art to tell Chinese stories well. In fact, there is another ingenuity hidden in the awards commemorative mascots "Bingdundun" and "Xuerongrong". "The golden outer ring of the commemorative mascot given to the athletes is actually the traditional Chinese 'three friends of winter': pine, bamboo and plum, which once again reflects Chinese culture." Cao Xue revealed.
Design is a visual language.
As the famous Polish composer Chopin said, "When humans cannot express their emotions in words, music was born." Cao Xue believes that visual art is not the same? "Bingdundun" is a hit that uses good visual language to tell Chinese stories and spread Chinese culture. "Mascot design is actually a kind of character design." Cao Xue believes that design never aims to perform art, and art is just a means of expression in design. Peking opera, traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese martial arts, etc. can all tell Chinese stories well and spread the excellent Chinese culture. "The key is that we designers should have a high vision and a low stature." Cao Xue said. The best vision is an international perspective. As far as the Winter Olympics is concerned, when designing a Winter Olympics mascot, you should read all the mascots of previous Olympic Games and understand them first. The stature should be low, which means it should be down to earth and adopt a form that people can understand.