In Name of Paper

Exhibition design | 3D model design | 3D Model rendering | Booklet design

This project aims to design an exhibition in a designated space within a branding system. My exhibition is about Chinese paper cutting. The interior design was inspired by traditional Chinese architectures, such as hard hill roofs and bilateral symmetric structures. Visitors will see some exquisite paper-cutting pieces and learn stories behind each artist here and will have chances to learn some basic paper-cutting skills from visiting artists in the interactive area of this exhibition.

Timeline:

4.5 weeks

Role:
3D space design, visual design, booklet layout

Team:

School project

Tools:

SketchUp, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Indesign

Background.

History.

Paper-cut is a very distinctive visual art of Chinese handicrafts. It originated in the 6th century when women used to paste golden and silver foil cuttings onto their hair at the temples, and men used them in sacred rituals. Later, they were used during festivals to decorate gates and windows. After hundreds of years of development, now they have become a very popular means of decoration among country folk, especially women.

People find hope and comfort in expressing wishes with paper cuttings. For example: for a wedding ceremony, red paper cuttings are a traditional and required decoration on the tea set, the dressing table glass, and on other furniture. A big red paper character 'Xi' (happiness) is a traditional must on the newlywed's door. Upon the birthday party of a senior, the character 'Shou' represents longevity and will add delight to the whole celebration; while a pattern of plump children cuddling fish signifies that every year they will be abundant in wealth.

It is easy to learn about cutting a piece of paper but very difficult to master it with perfection. One must grasp the knife in an upright fashion and press it evenly on the paper with some strength. Flexibility is required but any hesitation or wiggling will lead to imprecision or damage the whole image. Engravers stress the cutting lines in several styles. They attempt to carve a circle like the moon, a straight line like a stem of wheat, a square like a brick, and jaggedly like the beard.

INSPIRATION

Traditional Chinese roofs.

Ancient Chinese architecture was designed to be attractive, especially the distinctive roofs. Traditional Chinese roofs had different forms at different stages of history. Different roof forms were used for different types of buildings. Here are the four main types in order of hierarchy, and my design was inspired by Hard Hill Roof.

Bilateral symmetry.

A very important feature in Chinese architecture is its emphasis on articulation and bilateral symmetry, which signifies balance. Bilateral symmetry and the articulation of buildings are found everywhere in Chinese architecture, from palace complexes to humble farmhouses. When possible, plans for renovation and extension of a house will often try to maintain this symmetry, provided that there is enough capital to do so.[10] Secondary elements have been positioned on either side of the main structures as two wings to maintain overall bilateral symmetry.

DESIGN

Branding.

Location.

I choose the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco – Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture to host this exhibition. The Asian Art Museum houses one of the most comprehensive Asian art collections in the world, with more than 18,000 works of art in its permanent collection, some as much as 6,000 years old.