Press Release
Dapeng Zhang Receives the A' Design Award for Time And Seasons Of Dunhuang Cultural Promotion in Cultural Heritage and Culture Industry Design
Dapeng Zhang recognized for cultural heritage and culture industry design by the international grand jury of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 19, 2025 /DesignNewswire/ Time And Seasons Of Dunhuang Cultural Promotion by Dapeng Zhang has been granted the A' Design Award in the Cultural Heritage and Culture Industry Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The recognition forms part of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
What the A' Design Award Means
The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.
More About Time And Seasons Of Dunhuang Cultural Promotion
Time and Seasons of Dunhuang is a poster series that links the mural aesthetics of the Mogao Caves with the twenty-four solar terms of the Chinese calendar. The mineral pigment colors of Dunhuang were digitally reconstructed, and brushstroke rhythms and decorative patterns were combined with contemporary typography to show the agricultural meaning of each solar term. Each poster measures 594 by 841 millimeters and is made by screen printing. The series offers a way to renew intangible cultural heritage while keeping historical accuracy and a simple modern form.
About Dapeng Zhang
Zhang Dapeng is a researcher and practitioner in the field of digital innovative design of cultural heritage, and currently serves as a teacher at Zhejiang Sci-Tech University. Through interdisciplinary design experiments and the development of public projects, his work is committed to the contemporary translation and sustainable dissemination of traditional visual systems. His work The Seasons of Dunhuang takes the visual language of Dunhuang murals and the culture of the Chinese 24 Solar Terms as the research focal points.
Award Record
With this recognition, Dapeng Zhang is a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Cultural Heritage and Culture Industry Design Award
The A' Cultural Heritage Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good designs that preserve, protect, and promote cultural heritage. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to cultural heritage designers, culture industry professionals, cultural heritage specialists and museum designers from all countries. Entries typically include cultural heritage projects, cultural conversation, preservation and restoration and protection projects. Awarded cultural heritage designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/cultural-heritage
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/170902
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/170902
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!170902
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/357058
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
- Time And Seasons Of Dunhuang Cultural Promotion
- Function
- Cultural Promotion
- Category
- Cultural Heritage and Culture Industry Design
- Discipline
- Communication Design
- Industry
- Arts and Social Impact
- Colors
- Dark Slate Gray, Black, Dim Gray and Gray
- Images
- 5
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Dapeng Zhang
- Country
- China
- Recognition
- A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2024 - 2025
- Design ID
- #170902
Credits
- Image Credits
- Main; Dapeng Zhang, Time and Seasons of Dunhuang, 2024. Optional; Dapeng Zhang, Poster display, 2024. Optional; Dapeng Zhang, Design application 1 , 2024. Optional; Dapeng Zhang, Design application 2 , 2024. Optional; Dapeng Zhang, Design application 3, 2024.
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- "Dunhuang Seasonal Festivals" is an innovative design that blends the aesthetics of Mogao Caves murals with China's 24 solar terms. By reconstructing the Dunhuang mineral pigment color system and integrating brushstroke rhythms and decorative patterns, this project uses contemporary typography to visualize the agricultural philosophy of each solar term. It offers a new approach for the revitalization of intangible cultural heritage, balancing historical authenticity with modern minimalism.
- Inspiration
- The inspiration for the project comes from the profound connection between Dunhuang murals and the Chinese 24 solar terms. The design combines Dunhuang elements with the agricultural themes of the solar terms, reinterpreting ancient visual language. The project digitally reconstructs Dunhuang mineral colors and traditional patterns, blending them with contemporary typography to breathe new life into them within the context of modern culture.
- Research
- Research Type: Cultural communication and design practice. Research Objectives: To popularize Dunhuang culture and the agricultural culture related to the 24 solar terms, explore the design model that combines tradition and modernity, and provide new ideas for the cultural and creative industry. Methodology: Sort out relevant classical documents and research materials, conduct on - site investigations in Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, and carry out questionnaires and interviews to collect the public's understanding of traditional culture and their feedback on design works.
- Challenge
- In terms of creative conception, it is extremely challenging to achieve the natural integration of Dunhuang elements with the structure and strokes of the font while also ensuring the readability of the font. Regarding internal factors, having an in-depth understanding of the cultural connotations of Dunhuang and making the design conform to modern aesthetics places high demands on one's knowledge reserve and design capabilities. Moreover, there are also problems of scattered information and difficulties in screening when it comes to the collected Dunhuang elements.
- Operation and Interaction
- The poster design facilitates profound interaction between audiences and the 24 Solar Terms and Dunhuang cultural heritage through four strategic dimensions: visual magnetism, informational storytelling, emotional resonance, and social media propagation. This multidimensional approach achieves dual cultural communication objectives - immersing viewers in traditional aesthetic philosophy while organically stimulating participatory engagement and grassroots dissemination momentum.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project was launched in Dunhuang in November 2023, concluded in October 2024, and was exhibited at Zhejiang Sci-Tech University in November 2024.
- Keywords
- Poster Design, Dunhuang Patterns, Typegraphy Design
