Visual Element in China: Lantern
When we think of China, the first several words we come up with definitely include “lantern”. The lantern has become one of many representatives of China. When you see some lanterns hanging beside a Chinese archway, you can tell that you are in the Chinatown.
Some video games and movies also include lanterns as they portray Chinatown or Chinese. When we see lanterns, we can tell that we are in the Chinatown/China.
However, lanterns are also one of the most misused visual elements of China. Why? Because we only hang lanterns on the streets during the Spring Festival. You can only see lanterns around the Spring Festival and the Lantern Festival every year, and for the rest of 11 months, you cannot find lanterns on the streets. Similar to the Christmas tree, the lantern is a type of decoration that we use only for the Lunar New Year. Sometimes, it will be misused to represent China/Chinatown.
But at the end of the day, I am still happy because, as a Chinese, I would like to see that more people are using Chinese visual elements and understanding Chinese cultures. It makes me proud as a Chinese.
CM323 Design Sketchbook 