Culture is the sum of civilizations accumulated by humans in the course of historical practice. In the history of development, each country will form a traditional culture with its own characteristics. The design activities of any nation cannot be separated from specific social and cultural systems, and they cannot be separated from their respective national spirits.
With the rapid development of the commodity economy, some people may think that traditional culture is outdated and attempts to get rid of the shackles of traditional culture. However, the nationality and cosmopolitanism of packaging design complement each other. Only the packaging design that embodies local characteristics can contain profound cultural roots. Modern packaging design and traditional culture are not separated from each other. Instead, they should infiltrate each other to achieve the organic combination of traditional culture and modern packaging. In the era of continuous development, cultural inheritance will enable modern packaging with its own ethnic characteristics.
In the modern packaging design, the cultural heritage must be based on a deep understanding of the national culture. Such as the ancient style of earthenware is simple; the bronze wares of the Shang Dynasty were simple and honest; in the Han Dynasty, the wattles were concise and vivid, and we still think that it is a fine product. Only by understanding traditional Chinese culture and recreating it with modern design techniques, can we design a culture with Chinese characteristics and achieve cultural heritage and development.
The Application of Traditional Graphics in Modern Packaging Design
China’s five-thousand-year civilization has produced many traditional auspicious figures, such as fish patterns in the Neolithic Age, silk patterns in the Shang and Zhou dynasties, dragon patterns in the Warring States period, patterns such as Taobao in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and these patterns were very strong. Decorative, often used in modern design. However, the use of traditional graphics is not a simple task, but should be based on a full understanding of the characteristics of traditional art and expression techniques, combined with modern design concepts, it has a traditional charm, without losing the meaning of modern design. The traditional graphics conform to modern people's aesthetic habits, and inject into the traditional cultural connotations in modern packaging design to achieve the conformity of “form†and “meaningâ€.
Shikumen, a typical building in Shanghai, condenses the essence of Shanghai culture and represents the combination of Chinese and Western cultures. The creative design of “Shanghai Laojiu†adopts the features of traditional patterns and old Shanghai architecture. It combines traditional patterns and regional features with contemporary people’s appreciation habits to express the culture of old Shanghai and gives people a sense of simplicity and return. The modern wine packaging that we love to see.
Mr. Zhao Zuoliang's packaging design for Shikumen Shanghai Old Wine
Author / Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Media Design Ji Jing Gu Huizhong
Source: "Shanghai Packaging," 2005, Issue 4,