Press Release
Dou Gong Typeface by Shanghai Kuyekuye Technology Co., Ltd Is Granted the Bronze A' Design Award in Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design
Shanghai Kuyekuye Technology Co., Ltd acknowledged for graphics, illustration and visual communication design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 17, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Dou Gong Typeface by Shanghai Kuyekuye Technology Co., Ltd, designed for Kuyekuye, has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design category. The award was conferred within the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
The Bronze A' Design Award Explained
The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.
More About Dou Gong Typeface
Dou Gong Typeface reinterprets traditional Chinese timber construction as a typographic system. Inspired by mortise and tenon joinery, characters are formed through interlocking strokes that act as modular structural elements. The design expands into three dimensional and spatial applications, bridging architecture and typography. It introduces a method driven approach that transforms structural logic into a flexible and contemporary visual language.
About Shanghai Kuyekuye Technology Co., Ltd
He is a designer and creative director working across visual communication, typography, and brand systems. His practice focuses on translating structural logic, cultural references, and systematic thinking into contemporary design methodologies. With experience in international brand and communication projects, he develops design systems that integrate clarity, adaptability, and long-term usability. His work explores the relationship between form and structure, extending across graphic design, spatial applications, and interdisciplinary experimentation.
Award Record
Shanghai Kuyekuye Technology Co., Ltd is a winner of 2 A' Design Awards, including this recognition. The awards span the editions from 2023 - 2024 to 2025 - 2026 of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design Award
The A' Graphic Design Award is an international graphic design competition recognizing good graphic designs by best creative agencies and designers worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to graphic designers, communication designers, graphic artists and illustrators from all countries. Entries typically include logos, posters, infographics, brochures, packaging designs and business cards. Awarded graphic designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/graphics
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/181648
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/181648
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!181648
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/350880
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Dou Gong Typeface
- Function
- Typeface
- Category
- Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design
- Discipline
- Communication Design
- Industry
- Branding & Advertising and Arts
- Colors
- Lavender, Dark Slate Gray, Dark Gray, Light Gray and Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Kuyekuye
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Shanghai Kuyekuye Technology Co., Ltd
- Country
- China
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #181648
Credits
- Team
- Xusong Wang, Xiao Dong and Yi An
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Inspired by Dou Gong, the ancient Chinese timber bracket system, this typeface translates structural intelligence into typography. Built without nails or glue, Dou Gong relies on interlocking mortise-and-tenon joints. The typeface follows this logic: strokes interlock, overlap, and brace rather than simply connect. Each glyph acts as a modular framework, reflecting the spatial rhythm and load-bearing logic of traditional architecture. Structure becomes form. Form becomes language.
- Inspiration
- Inspired by Dou Gong, the iconic bracket system of traditional Chinese timber architecture. Originating in the Western Zhou Dynasty and flourishing through the Tang and Song periods, Dou Gong functioned as a structural, seismic, ornamental, and symbolic element in Chinese architecture for over 3,000 years. Built entirely without nails or glue, it relies on precise mortise-and-tenon interlocking joints—each component bearing weight through compression and balance.
- Research
- Type of Research: Practice-based design research. Research Objectives: To translate architectural structural logic into a typographic system. Methodology: Structural analysis, modular prototyping, iterative testing. Data and Tools: Architectural documentation review, vector modeling, grid simulation. Participants: Internal design team testing brand applications. Results: A modular, interlocking type system. Insights and Impact: Confirmed that structural intelligence can inform type design. Effect: Advanced brand system thinking and sustainable design methodology.
- Challenge
- The main challenge was translating three-dimensional architectural compression logic into both three-dimensional and two-dimensional typographic construction while maintaining legibility. Balancing historical structural principles with digital font production constraints required multiple iterations. Vector geometry and optical correction limitations added further refinement challenges.
- Realization and Technology
- The typeface was developed using a structural construction methodology inspired by traditional mortise-and-tenon logic. Stroke intersections are designed as interlocking nodes rather than overlapping paths. Kerning was iteratively refined, and a grid-based proportional system was applied for optical corrections. Variable-weight prototypes were used to test structural balance and consistency.
- Operation and Interaction
- The typeface functions as a modular system. Designers can assemble letters using interlocking principles to create mutually supportive visual structures. Structural relationships remain stable at any scale, allowing flexible application across posters, brand identity, and environmental graphics. The structural rhythm enhances visual impact while maintaining legibility. The system enables consistent and dynamic brand expression.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in March 2024 in Shanghai and was completed in May 2025 in Beijing. Structural research was conducted concurrently with brand development, and the typeface was implemented across corporate visual identity applications upon completion.
- Specifications
- The character set includes letters, numbers, punctuation, and core Chinese glyph prototypes. Built on a modular grid system with consistent stroke ratios. Initial release includes Regular weight.
- Keywords
- Structural Typography, Brand Identity System, Mortise-and-Tenon Logic, Sustainable Design Thinking, Architectural Inspiration, Corporate Typeface, Parametric Construction
