Research on 20th Century Chinese Graphic Advertising

Author: Hu Yunbin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: Under the premise of China's economic development in the context of modernization or economic globalization, "Westernization" might be an unavoidable process in learning. However, over time, as more and more works with a Westernized appearance are seen, both viewers and designers may experience a sense of loss. This is determined by the deep humanistic care rooted in national memory. Chinese people have their own way of expressing in graphic design. The "Six Types of Characters" (、、、、、) as defined in the Chinese writing system actually summarize the typical thinking of our ancestors in conveying meaning through visual elements like characters. In the fields of traditional painting and folk art, examples of conveying messages through broad graphics are countless. Realistic and expressive painting styles, auspicious patterns, and religious motifs have longed into the local blood of Chinese people and gradually formed the visual expression methods of the Chinese. However, in the hundred years of the 20th century, our discovery and development of the aforementioned national methods did not meet expectations, meaning that history is not always correct. In the New Culture Movement and the "trend of learning from the West" in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as in the movement of the Communist Party attempting to establish new socialist values and cultural perspectives through the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and 1970s, our graphic design, like political fervor, went astray. Now, looking back, we slowly realize the absurdity of history and the importance of re-reading history to learn from its lessons in silence and with a sense of humor.