Since ancient times, people in China have advocated nature and thought that the universe is infinite. However, they are not opposed to nature, but devoted to and integrated with nature, which is the so-called "harmony between man and nature". No country in the world can attach importance to the status of nature like China, because the north of China (the birthplace of Chinese civilization) is rich and open, and there are running rhinos and elephants everywhere. People live in the mountainous Yuan Ye, touching the fresh life of the universe and the rare birds and animals in nature, feeling infinite vitality and magic. They replaced the actual description of the image with rich suggestive and symbolic power, and integrated the dreamy realm with the invisible but ubiquitous void, which was detached and profound.
Throughout China's paintings, the artistic conception and the picture are always integrated, and the flowing and regular lines are in harmony with the atmospheric flow between heaven and earth, bringing the painting art into an evocative spiritual realm. For example, the landscape painter and Xia Gui in the Southern Song Dynasty, commonly known as "Ma", captured the most exquisite part of nature with the angle scenery, which produced the effect of "seeing the big from the small, generalizing from the partial, creating the environment with the virtual and the real, and creating the environment with the intention" and gained the interest of "endless brushwork". In fact, not only paintings, ancient totems and auspicious symbols in Ming and Qing dynasties all reflect this unique world outlook and life perception, which is of great reference significance to modern logo design.
Totem, the emblem, is a strictly racial symbol. When primitive people settled in a place, things closely related to their life in that place were worshipped because they were beneficial or harmful. This is the primitive totem. At this time, the totem worship of nature is a symbol to distinguish different human groups. In the process of contact with it, primitive people regarded them as protectors. At the end of primitive society, tribal chiefs and nobles in slave society took advantage of the lofty position of totem gods among the people to describe themselves as the representatives of ancestor gods in the world, so ancestor symbols appeared, that is, a large number of artistic images integrating people, animals and plants.
Many of these mysterious and exquisite totem emblems embody the successful rules of modern design. For example, in the Neolithic painted pottery art, the clans living in Anbanpo, Xi 'an took fishing and hunting as their main source of livelihood. Over time, the fish pattern has become the main totem of Banpo clan. It combines the sun and fish as the ancestors of the face, Pisces as the ears, and fish tail as the face, lips and head emblem, which complement each other and have a pun effect of' black and white'. Another example is the double phoenix sunrise pattern on the ivory carving of Hemudu culture in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The sun and birds are the ancestors of Hemudu culture. Two birds and one sun form a symmetrical emblem to achieve a balanced and stable visual effect. The most ingenious is the' god emblem' on the jade cong of Liangzhu culture, that is, the faces of gods, people and animals, with an arched crown at the top, an inverted trapezoidal face under the crown and a radial feather pattern at the top. The brow ridge and nose of an animal's face are maws, and people put their legs cross-legged under the animal's mouth. Animal ears are all human arms, human feet are all animal beards, and human face and animal face are the collocation of human body and animal head.
For another example, in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, when bronze art reached its brilliant peak, "gluttony", which represented the theocracy of slaves, became the symbol of intimidation of the ruled and the protector of the ruler. Solemn, mysterious, ferocious and terrible, most of them are carved on bronze ritual vessels. At first glance, the design of shoulder-to-shoulder gluttony in Fang Ding Ghost in Shang Dynasty is a ferocious and terrible animal face. Then, I saw two dragons walking opposite each other, the dragon horn and the animal eyebrow * * * and the dragon tail and the animal ear * * *, separated by a raised nose ridge, which not only used * *.
In the gallery of ancient life, there are countless symbols with far-reaching artistic conception like this. From these beautifully designed and profound' symbols', we seem to have experienced the infinite wisdom of ancient ancestors. With the leap of the times, the emblem, which represents power and philosophy, embodies folk customs, pursues good fortune, avoids evil and pursues happiness, shines alone. For example, the four gods of the Han Dynasty, Wadang, are called the gods of the four directions according to the theory of taboo superstition of Yin and Yang and five elements in the Han Dynasty. There are dragons in the east, tigers in the west, suzaku in the south and Xuanwu in the north. These four long beasts are arranged in a circle with a diameter of three or four inches, with a wide border to live in, and their bodies are curled up, but they have not hindered their fierce prancing. Taiji pattern is the most primitive and basic figure among auspicious symbols in China. It is composed of black and white fish patterns, commonly known as yin-yang fish, which vividly expresses the alternation of yin and yang. On the contrary, complementarity is the fundamental philosophical thought of the generation and change of all things. Regardless of its profound meaning, from the ingenuity of graphic design alone, it successfully uses the inversion of the bottom of the picture, which is strong in contrast but seamless. For example, the pattern of Dunhuang Feizaojing Design Center is "Three Rabbits * * * Ears". Three rabbits should have six ears when chasing and running, while artists only made three ears in the shape of * * *. Rabbits run and jump, which is full of fun around the appropriate space. Another example is the pattern of "four happy people", which means that boys from all directions come together and that future generations will come together. The head, body, hands and feet of the two dolls are skillfully connected together, and four dolls can be seen from up, down, left and right, which is another ingenious example of graphic application.
Looking at these wonderful emblems, we have to admire the wisdom of our predecessors. Those animals and plants that are common in nature and closely related to life are beautified and deified, integrated into their own emotions and sustenance, and designed into various symbolic and interesting emblems. For example, the most common graphics in nature are abstractly deformed, so that they can be interpreted as symbols with different meanings while resembling images; * * * Use form, that is, express the meaning in the simplest way, and apply the principles of formal beauty of' one for ten' and' conciseness'; Interactive shapes and appropriate graphics make the abstract shapes and the surrounding "environment" complement each other, resulting in a rounded sense of volume ... In fact, these highly creative design methods, we can not only feel a thing or two from Picasso's modern cubist painting "The Girl of avignon", but also appreciate the use of graphics by Dutch graphic designer escher and contradiction space's masterpieces. It can be said that China unconsciously used many basic methods of modern design as early as ancient times, instead of just mechanically imitating nature and copying it.
China is one of the ancient civilizations in the world. Her unique geographical environment and humanistic and historical factors have created distinct cultural connotations, and her artistic creation is even more unique. China's artistic thoughts originated from dragons, snakes, tigers and leopards and nebula birds and animals in the deep mountains of nature, symbolizing the rhythm of life in the universe. Its realm is the whole world, not a single person; Its brushwork is flowing and regular lines, not static and three-dimensional images. It is China people's unique aesthetic view to integrate with nature, follow the laws of nature, appreciate nature in the spirit of "enjoying oneself" and jump into the rhythm of nature to be "too mysterious" in order to get a relaxed and happy enjoyment. In artistic expression, the rhythm of life in the universe is expressed by flying lines, the vast space of the universe is embodied by the realm of "emptiness", and the meaning of fugue is conveyed by harmony and conciseness. Western aesthetics mainly comes from Greek art, and Greeks live in civilized and tidy cities. The Mediterranean is sunny, all objects have clear outlines, and their thoughts swim in clear logic and geometry. The mysterious illusion is disappearing day by day, and even God has lost its deep mystery. It's just a brilliant and happy life. They regard order, harmony, proportion and balance as the highest standards and ideals of beauty, while the artistic theory of Greek artists and philosophers is "learning from nature". Although China said that "man is everywhere, the earth follows the sky, the sky follows the Tao, and the Tao follows nature", his artistic expression technique is superior to that of "simply imitating nature". It is this unusual spiritual experience that makes China's art blossom independently.
The aesthetic value of China's ancient symbols makes it beneficial to modern logo design. For example, Jin Daiqiang, a Hong Kong graphic designer, designed the "China Bank" logo, which combined ancient copper coins with the word "Zhong" to convey profound meanings with common graphics; The logo of' Zheng Mingming Cosmetics' embodies the artistic conception of' closing the moon and feeling ashamed of flowers' with crescent moon and flowers; The symbol of "Chen Youjian Studio" shows the spirit of cooperation with the auspicious pattern of "conjoined person" (Figure 8) ... It is worth discussing how to use China's precious cultural heritage to serve modern design, but the study of ancient design in China is still in its infancy and should continue to be explored.