Iron Giftware · 2026
Si Shengsheng Magnet Gift Set
by Peng Gao, Mian Wu and Yixuan Wu
- A' Design Award 2026 in Giftware
- CLIENT: The China Media Group Spring Festival Gala
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 4,203
- Verification code 3808F9A471 · Verify this award
Colors
About Si Shengsheng Magnet Gift Set
Si Shengsheng is a magnet gift set created for the Chinese Spring Festival and the Year of the Snake. The set contains four refrigerator stickers, and each sticker carries a distinct blessing, such as happiness, wealth and the joy of good food. In Chinese culture, the snake represents renewal and continuity through its natural cycles of hibernation and shedding. The design merges the snake with the ruyi, a traditional emblem of good fortune, turning a feared creature into a friendly mascot. The stickers can be applied to any magnetic surface and arranged freely.
About the A' Design Award
Si Shengsheng Magnet Gift Set is an Iron A' Design Award winner, a prestigious recognition granted to good designs that meet the professional and industrial requirements expected from well-designed creations. Iron winners demonstrate great skill, high specialization, expert understanding, and creative capacity of their creators. Si Shengsheng Magnet Gift Set is expected to be a highly regarded, admired, and cherished creation that is practical and innovative. This Iron A' Design Award-winning design integrates industry best practices and has competent technical characteristics linked with know-how and talent. Si Shengsheng Magnet Gift Set is respected for its thoroughness and is designed to provide quality of life improvements that help make the world a better place.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- The Refrigerator Sticker Gift Set features four charming versions of Si Shengsheng, the mascot of the China Central Television Station's 2025 Spring Festival Gala, celebrating the Year of the Snake. Inspired by the traditional Chinese ruyi, a ceremonial object symbolizing good fortune, the main character has been reimagined as a lively little turquoise snake. This set includes four distinct designs, each representing a joyful blessing: happiness, wealth, and the cheerful spirit of foodie.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- 250*250*30
- Tags
- Refrigerator Sticker Gift Set，Chinese Spring Festival，Mascot Snake
- Production Technology
- CNC,Stamping manufacturing, Epoxy resin coating
- Design Challenge
- The snake is often perceived as a fearsome creature, making it a challenge to transform it into a culturally rich and auspicious New Year gift. By merging the snake with the form of the ruyi, we created a theme of "Auspiciousness and Endless Vitality." The head design incorporates elements from the earliest known ruyi artefact, a Tang dynasty gilt ruyi, with its cloud-shaped tip reinterpreted as the head contour and spiral facial ornament. Additional features such as the brows, eyes, and nose were inspired by the bronze snake from the renowned Sanxingdui site. Each design detail is grounded in archaeological evidence and reimagined through contemporary visual language, with a playful and endearing transformation of form.
- Research
- This design draws on desktop research and artefact studies. We explored serpent worship in Chinese tradition and analysed snake-related artefacts and the evolution of the ruyi motif. The Sanxingdui bronze serpent and the Famen Temple ruyi were chosen as key references. Field research at the Palace Museum informed our understanding of ruyi ornamentation and craftsmanship, which were then translated into decorative elements for the snake’s body in the design.
- Inspiration
- The core of this design lies in transforming the traditionally unwelcomed image of the snake into a festival mascot and a New Year gift. In Chinese culture, the snake, due to its natural cycles of hibernation and shedding, symbolises renewal and the continuity of life. Drawing inspiration from ritual objects associated with traditional serpent worship, the design merges the form of the snake with that of the ruyi, creating a mascot and gift set.
- Project Duration
- The project began in Zhuhai in September 2024 and was completed in Beijing in January 2025. It was subsequently exhibited and sold in Beijing, Shanghai, and 35 other cities across China, and was also presented as a gift to the United Nations Headquarters in New York and Tokyo University.
- Operation Flow
- The Refrigerator Sticker Gift Set is designed primarily as a New Year gift. The recipient opens the package and peels the backing off each sticker. The stickers are then applied to any magnetic surface, such as a refrigerator door, iron door, or a dedicated magnetic display wall. The four designs can be arranged freely in any combination according to personal preference. Compact yet culturally meaningful, the set functions not only as a decorative item but also as a collectible object, offering the recipient a versatile and lasting way to celebrate the festive season.
- Image Credits
- #1: Photographer Evan, Variations, 2025
#2: Photographer Evan, Variations, 2025
#3: Photographer Evan, Variations, 2025
#4: Photographer Evan, Variations, 2025