Press Release
Phaidesign Is Honored with the Platinum A' Design Award for Mystical Serpent Light Art Installation in Fine Arts and Art Installation Design
Phaidesign acknowledged for fine arts and art installation design by the international grand jury of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 18, 2025 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Mystical Serpent Light Art Installation by Phaidesign, designed for The Inlet, has been granted the Platinum A' Design Award in the Fine Arts and Art Installation Design category. The award was conferred within the 2024 - 2025 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.
About the Platinum A' Design Award
The Platinum A' Design Award is recognized for honoring designs that stand at the forefront of creativity and innovation. It is the highest accolade bestowed by the A' Design Awards, acknowledging works that blend remarkable innovation with impactful societal contributions. These designs not only showcase exceptional artistic and technical proficiency but also highlight their creators' commitment to advancing the boundaries of art, science, design, and technology. Recipients of this award are celebrated for their role in shaping the aesthetics and trends of our time, contributing significantly to the enhancement of quality of life and promoting sustainable development.
More About Mystical Serpent Light Art Installation
Mystical Serpent is a light art installation created on the facade of a century-old building in Shanghai, China. The work blends serpent legends from ancient China and ancient Rome. The main body is an inflatable form made of lightweight recyclable material, winding through the building windows and across the ground. Printed fabric on the walls and stickers on the glass form a mural with a pseudo three-dimensional effect. Eastern and Western motifs are combined in a unified color scheme. The installation links horizontal and vertical spaces and gives the old facade a new appearance.
About Phaidesign
Weijie Yang Prestige designer, design educator, founder of PHAIdesign. Mr Yang graduated from TongJi University and received his master degree from Domus Academy Milano. He had worked in many European design agencies and been teaching for more than a decade, now he is a guest professor in TongJi University. His work has been exhibited in UNSCEO Zurich headquarter, Salone del Mobile Milan, Venice Biennial, New York design Week and many other venues. He has won more than 20 important design competitions which include IF gold award, Chinese furniture gold award and was collected by many domestic art organizations.
Award Record
With this recognition, Phaidesign is a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Fine Arts and Art Installation Design Award
The A' Fine-Art Design Award is an international fine-art design competition recognizing best fine-art works by leading fine-art artists and creators worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to artists, painters, sculptors and ceramicists from all countries. Entries typically include sculptures, paintings, installations, photographs, drawings and mixed media works. Awarded art designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/fine-art
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/172079
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/172079
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!172079
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/367873
- Further Information from the Laureate: http://www.phaidesign.com
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
- Mystical Serpent Light Art Installation
- Function
- Light Art Installation
- Category
- Fine Arts and Art Installation Design
- Discipline
- Communication Design
- Industry
- Arts
- Colors
- Black, Midnight Blue, Dark Slate Gray and Maroon
- Images
- 5
- Client
- The Inlet
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Phaidesign
- Country
- China
- Recognition
- Platinum A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2024 - 2025
- Design ID
- #172079
Credits
- Team
- Weijie Yang, Jiewen Luo, Linhui Miao and Yanlong Li
- Image Credits
- Photographer DXIN,Mystical Serpent 1,2025.; Photographer Qiao Wu, Mystical Serpent 2,2025.; Photographer Qiao Wu, Mystical Serpent 3,2025.; Photographer Qiao Wu, Mystical Serpent 4,2025; Photographer Qiao Wu, Mystical Serpent 5,2025.
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- 2025 is the Year of the Snake in traditional Chinese zodiac culture. On the facade of a century-old building in Shanghai, China, we have created a lighting art installation with the theme of snake: "Mystical Serpent", blending serpent legends from ancient China and Rome. The winding 3D inflatable snake body intertwines with the building's windows and the pseudo-3D mural. It renovates the original appearance of the building's facade, connecting the ground and the walls, and giving this century-old building a new visual experience.
- Inspiration
- The inspiration of "Mystical Serpent" comes from the legend of Zhulong, a serpent deity from ancient Chinese lore who governs day-night cycles and symbolizes eternal life. Additionally, it incorporates the story of the ancient Roman "domestic snake" the guardian of family. The fusion embodies renewal, protection, and the unbroken thread of life across civilizations. Also this integration achieves a convergence of Eastern and Western cultures, and conveys the profound meaning of protection and the continuation of life.
- Research
- Before we started the design, we conducted extensive research in the following directions: Cultural Inheritance and Cross-cultural Dialogue: The original building in this case is The Inlet in Shanghai. It is a unique Shanghai-style architecture that incorporates both Chinese and Western architectural cultures. When designing "Mystical Serpent", we also took into account the approach of integrating Chinese and Western elements to interpret the traditional culture of the Year of the Snake, which represent the city's all-embracing spirit.
- Challenge
- The innovation of the design is mainly reflected in the following aspects: Spatial Design: Spanning from Building No.3 in The Inlet's facade to the ground, the installation merges three-dimensional forms with pseudo-3D planar patterns. We installed a frame on the outer side of the original wall of the building and covered the facade in the form of mural. Additionally, inflatable tubes, simulating the shape of a snake slithering through the building and across the ground, to connect the horizontal and vertical space. Graphic Design: In terms of graphic design, the mural on the wall is applied in a pseudo-3D style, creating a three-dimensional atmosphere through the use of visual illusions.
- Realization and Technology
- Using lightweight recyclable material, the main body of the "Mystical Serpent" is an inflatable device. The material properties ensure that installation can be stably displayed under various weather conditions. The pseudo-3D effect is achieved by covering the building walls with printed fabric and pasting glass stickers on the building`s glass. With carefully designed colors and patterns, and through ingenious visual treatment, a strong three-dimensional sense is created as a whole.
- Operation and Interaction
- The entire installation is installed on the building and the ground, allowing people to interact with it by observing or taking photos in the square.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in October 2024 and finished in December 2024 in Shanghai, and was exhibited in January 2025 in Shanghai.
- Specifications
- Main body of the inflatable "Mystical Serpent": Diameter: 1m, Length: 7m-14m South wall mural: 100 square meters West wall mural: 250 square meters
- Keywords
- Installation, Art Installation, Light Art Installation, Exhibition, Shanghai
