Ziyang Wang Receives the Bronze A' Design Award for In Scene Brand Experience in Advertising, Marketing and Communication Design

Ziyang Wang recognized for advertising, marketing and communication design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

COMO, Italy, April 16, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ In Scene Brand Experience by Ziyang Wang, designed for Zhejiang Wanli University, has been granted the Bronze A' Design Award in the Advertising, Marketing and Communication Design category, A' Design Award & Competition has announced. The result belongs to 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 evaluated 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 In Scene Brand Experience

In Scene is a brand renewal programme for a coffee brand based in Shanghai. The design uses theatre as a metaphor and places the consumer inside the scene. The gift box has a three-fold paper sculpture structure that opens like stage curtains and measures about 300 by 200 by 80 millimetres. Eco-friendly paper and metal fittings are used. A scanned code links the box to a short personality test that creates a card for sharing. Stores add light, scent and sound to extend the coffee experience.

About Ziyang Wang

Helen is a visual communication design student based in Zhejiang, China, specializing in brand design and identity systems. Her practice combines strategic thinking with cultural research, exploring how visual language can shape perception, memory, and emotional connection. Alongside commercial branding, she is interested in interdisciplinary topics such as human behavior, social structures, and contemporary culture, translating research into clear and engaging visual outcomes. Working across print, digital, and spatial formats, Helen approaches design as both a communication tool and a way to create meaningful relationships between people, ideas, and brands.

Award Record

This recognition makes Ziyang Wang a winner of 1 A' Design Award.

About the A' Advertising, Marketing and Communication Design Award

The A' Advertising Design Award is an international advertising design competition recognizing good advertisement designs by designers and agencies worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to advertising designers, marketing professionals, communication designers and creative directors from all countries. Entries typically include advertisement campaigns, billboards, commercials, print ads, social media campaigns and direct mails. Awarded advertising designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/advertising

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/179887
A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/179887
Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!179887
Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/378469

Media Contact

Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953

###

Fact Sheet

The Work

Project: In Scene Brand Experience
Function: Brand Experience
Category: Advertising, Marketing and Communication Design
Discipline: Communication Design
Industry: Branding & Advertising
Colors: Black, Dark Slate Gray, Dark Gray, Gainsboro and Dim Gray
Images: 5
Client: Zhejiang Wanli University

The Recognition

Laureate: Ziyang Wang
Country: China
Recognition: Bronze A' Design Award
Edition: 2025 - 2026
Design ID: #179887

Credits

Team: Jiayun Wu, Hongli Gu, Jie Zhang, Xinyue Huang, Nan Zhou, Ying Zhou, Kewei Xu, Yaodong Chen, Hua Wang and Min He
Image Credits: Illustrator Ziyang Wang, Jiayun Wu and Xingyue Huang, Main Visual and Supporting Design, 2026.; Illustrator Jiayun Wu, Promotional Material Design, 2026.; Photographer Ziyang Wang, Advertisement Photo, 2026.; Illustrator Ziyang Wang, Character and Card Visual Design, 2026.; Illustrator Ziyang Wang and Hong Ligu, UI Design and Interaction, 2026.

Design Details

Unique Properties: My Scene in Shanghai is an integrated brand renewal strategy for Shanghai Coffee, transforming coffee consumption into an immersive Haipai cultural experience. By combining narrative-driven design, visual identity, packaging, retail scenes, and interactive media, the project turns everyday consumption into a participatory urban performance, positioning the brand as a contemporary cultural symbol of Shanghai.
Inspiration: Inspired by Shanghai's Haipai culture, coffee heritage, and urban memory, the brand traces its origins back to 1935 as a witness to the city's evolving coffee scene. Using theatre as a metaphor, the design positions consumers as protagonists within the coffee experience, inviting them to step into the scene and reconnect with the emotional texture of the city.
Research: Type of Research: Market and user research. Research Objectives: Explore Shanghai coffee market trends, gift consumption motivations, and Gen Z cultural tourism behavior. Methodology: Desktop research and competitive analysis with consumer interviews and data analysis. Data Collection and Tools: Surveys, in-depth interviews, market data, and social media observation. Participants: Primarily Gen Z consumers and coffee enthusiasts. Results: Coffee consumption shifts from functional use to emotional and social experiences. Insights: Gift market emphasizes emotional connection and personal identity expression.
Challenge: The core challenge was balancing the brand’s deep historical assets with emotional engagement of contemporary young consumers. Solutions included creating a dramatic narrative framework that turns history into an interactive modern script, designing a role-playing mechanism for users to become active protagonists, and integrating online and offline touchpoints to ensure narrative continuity and immersive experience. This overcame the typical challenge of heritage brands lacking experiential and emotional resonance while considering social context, information availability, and technological feasibility.
Realization and Technology: The gift box features a three-fold 3D paper sculpture structure, simulating stage curtains opening. Materials include eco-friendly paper and metal fittings. Interactive elements integrate mini-program H5 testing, social media UGC collection, and immersive spatial design (light, scent, sound). The visual system encompasses brand identity, color palette, graphic language, and dynamic motion graphics.
Operation and Interaction: Users initiate a ritualized experience through the "My Scene in Shanghai" gift box, scanning a QR code to participate in the "Haipai Coffee Moments" personality test, generating personalized cards to share on social media. Offline, participants can visit immersive stores for light-and-shadow check-ins, read the Shanghai Coffee News mini-paper, and engage in pop-up activities, forming a closed-loop experience of unboxing, testing, checking in, sharing, and repurchasing.
Project Duration and Location: The project concept was initiated in 2025, with conceptually planned implementation in Shanghai from March to May 2026.
Specifications: The gift box features a three-fold 3D paper sculpture structure, simulating stage curtains opening, with dimensions approx. 300mm x 200mm x 80mm. Materials include eco-friendly paper and metal fittings. Interactive elements integrate mini-program H5, mobile-compatible, social media UGC collection, and immersive spatial design with light, scent, and sound, with modular store layouts. The visual system covers brand identity, color palette, graphic language, and dynamic motion graphics, supporting multi-platform outputs including print, digital, and motion.
Keywords: Brand Renewal, Haipai Culture, Immersive Experience, Gift Design, Coffee Culture, Urban IP, Dramatic Packaging, Interactive Marketing, Visual Identity, User Experience