February 2022 marks the start of a new year according to the Chinese lunar calendar and the beginning of the Year of the Tiger. The Academy of Arts & Design of Tsinghua University (AADTHU) celebrated the event with a range of new artistic creations. At the same time, the academy also celebrated tiger-themed designs from the past.

A blessing gift box for the Year of the Tiger

Professor Wang Hongwei from the Department of Visual Communication Design of AADTHU led a team and designed a blessing gift box for the Year of the Tiger named "the Spirit of Chinese New Year."

Designing zodiac signs is a tradition of the team. Every year, Wang leads the team members to design zodiac patterns and develop cultural and creative products. Wang named this year's zodiac design "the Earnest Tiger."

The pattern adopts a concise modeling manner and combines a tiger head design with a copper coin pattern. Four tiger heads are presented in a connected form, each occupying one corner of the square, respectively. The negative space looks like a coin eyelet, implying that wealth and good fortune are coming from all directions. The tiger's eyes are wide open, and the design is domineering and cute, adding a bit of childishness and playfulness to the pattern. The design boldly chooses the interaction of red and green integrated with gold, featuring a classic and modest style.