Core image designs bring city's culture to life

Items integrate silk and internet in a beautiful array of schemes

The 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 will be held from Sept 10 to 25,2022 in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province. China Daily is teaming up with the organizing committee of the Games to spotlight the preparation for and facts about the Hangzhou Asian Games.

"Meeting the World" and "Harmony of Colors", the newly launched core graphics and color system of the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022, perfectly combine the elements of silk and the internet. They convey the key message of reunification for the Olympic Council of Asia members, as well as the vibration of the modern city of Hangzhou, its chief designers said.

The core graphics "Meeting the World" draw inspiration from silk, a quintessential cultural element of the host city of Hangzhou. Hailed as paradise on earth by Italian explorer Marco Polo, the city was a key link on the Maritime Silk Road.

The design absorbs both traditional and modern styles and adopts a combined approach of static and dynamic touches to depict the graceful yet flexible, fine yet smooth, gentle yet vibrant traits of silk unfurling in the air.

The core graphics foretell the OCA family's reunion in Hangzhou and the diversified Asian sports culture to be showcased by the Hangzhou Asian Games.

"The idea is also derived from mountains and rivers in Zhejiang, as well as smart cloud computing, the city's backbone industry," said Cheng Zhaohui, designer of the core graphics and professor at the China Academy of Art based in Hangzhou.

Considering Hangzhou is the capital of the internet, the design team added some spots in different colors, which can be superimposed to create a surface just like the network of a cloud, Cheng said.

Both the core graphics and color system were launched at a ceremony on Oct 21 in Hangzhou.

Titled "Harmony of Colors", the color system is dominated by Rainbow Purple and complemented by Glowing Red, Mist White, Laurus Yellow, Glimmering Blue, and Lake& Mountain Green.

The color system is inspired by lines from Su Shi, a renowned poet and artist of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), "If the West Lake was the great beauty, she would look beautiful whether in light or heavy makeup", according to Guo Jinyong, designer of the color system.

Rainbow Purple, also the dominant color of the Games' emblem "Tides Surging", implies reunion and unity, vibrancy and innovation. Associated with the connotation "the sun and the moon reflecting the glory of the new era", it conveys an auspicious and energetic image.

As auxiliary colors, Glowing Red is inspired by transient twilight, Mist White by inclusive light ink wash, Laurus Yellow by laurel flower and fragrance, Glimmering Blue by clear skies and ripples, and Lake & Mountain Green by lush mountains and nature. Varying hues of the colors not only merge into each other through juxtaposition and overlapping, but also add luster to the leading color of Rainbow Purple.

The core graphics and color system will be applied to a variety of scenarios including venue decoration, TV broadcasts, ceremonies, cultural activities, urban landscaping, vehicles, uniforms, tickets and licensed products, according to the Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee.

The Hangzhou Asian Games' pavilion was set up in the exhibition hall of the 14th Hangzhou Cultural & Creative Industry Expo, which ran from Oct 29 to Nov 1. It was decorated in the new color system with the silkthemed core graphics. Together, they showcased the time-honored Oriental aesthetics.

With the revealing of the core graphics and color system, Hangzhou 2022 organizers have now finished their set up of a complete visual image system. Other features include an emblem, mascots, a slogan and sports pictograms.

The emblem for the Hangzhou Asian Games, named "Tides Surging", was officially launched in August 2018. It was the first visual element of the event.

Consisting of six elements: a Chinese fan, the Qiantang River, a tidal bore, a running track, the internet icon and the glowing red sun of the OCA, the emblem combined the characters of the current times and the Olympic spirit.

In a congratulatory response to the launch of the emblem, OCA President Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah described it as dynamic and said it highlighted all the unique aspects of the city of Hangzhou.

The official slogan of the Games is "heart to heart, @future", which was announced in December 2019. It reflects that in the digital era, people from all over the Asian continent are connected with each other.

The event's mascots, named Congcong, Lianlian and Chenchen, were unveiled in early April with the cultural and technical prowess of Hangzhou embodied in their designs.

Yang Meng, deputy director of the Press & Public Relations Department of the HAGOC, hailed the visual designs for the Games as embodiments of the unique qualities of the city, such as the well-protected nature and the fast-developing internet industry.

Echoing Yang, Song Jianming, a professor at China Academy of Art and director of the design sector of the Games, said thousands of athletes and sports lovers will gather at this continental event in Hangzhou. The aesthetics, mainly exemplified in visual designs, will be everywhere in the city.

The series of designs unveiled step by step, such as the emblem and mascots, sports pictograms and the color system are now seen around the city of Hangzhou, on airplanes, buses, small stamps and silk products, which are expected to attract more people to pay attention to and participate in the Hangzhou Asian Games, said the director.

The Hangzhou Olympic and International Expo Center will be the main venue for the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022. XIAO DA/CHINA DAILY

The Games' main stadium features 55 curved metallic lotus petals. XIAO DA/CHINA DAILY

The stadium has a total floor area of 229,000 square meters and a capacity to seat 80,800 people. XIAO DA/CHINA DAILY

An art performance is staged during the launch ceremony of core graphics and color system of the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022. CHINA DAILY