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Foshan Nanhai District City Brand and Cultural Creative Design
Reinterpreting a New Nanhai Through Modern Innovation
Innovation Insights
Dual City IP Development
The project created a complete city brand identity system supported by two distinctive IP mascots.
Nanhai’s martial arts culture and traditional Southern Lion Dance were selected as the core cultural elements.
Through contemporary design methods, these traditional symbols were reinterpreted to present a younger, more innovative, and more recognizable image of modern Nanhai.
Cultural Element New Brand Positioning for “Nanhai · Blue Ocean”
Through precise insight into different user groups, the project established clear audience segments and developed a more focused city brand positioning.
The team analyzed Nanhai’s distinctive characteristics across industry, urban development, local communities, and cultural heritage.
Based on these findings, the overall brand identity was planned and positioned to communicate the integrated value of industry, city life, and culture.
The new positioning aimed to present Nanhai as a dynamic urban district that combines traditional cultural foundations with modern innovation and future development.
Design Strategy
Market Research
The project team conducted in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs, town and subdistrict leaders, local residents, and other representative user groups.
Research was also carried out across tourist attractions, residential areas, innovation centers, and other important urban environments.
Through these studies, the team identified Nanhai’s personality, strengths, and distinctive characteristics in relation to industry, urban life, local communities, and culture.
The findings provided a reliable foundation for the planning and positioning of the complete city brand image.
City IP Strategy
The city IP strategy was based on an in-depth exploration of Nanhai’s regional identity, cultural traditions, historical stories, and local characteristics.
The team carefully considered how Nanhai differed from other cities and districts.
A dual combination of recognizable cultural symbols was then developed and transformed through targeted design innovation.
By combining martial arts culture with Southern Lion Dance imagery, the project created a distinctive IP system with strong regional recognition and broad potential for future applications.
💡 Solution
1. Building a Brand from Comprehensive Urban Research
Through extensive interviews with entrepreneurs, government and community leaders, residents, and other user groups, the team developed a deeper understanding of Nanhai.
Research across scenic areas, residential communities, maker spaces, and innovation centers helped define the district’s personality and characteristics in industry, urban development, community life, and cultural heritage.
These insights were used to plan and position the overall brand identity.
The resulting brand communicates Nanhai’s integrated strengths as a place where industry, city life, local culture, and human experience develop together.
2. Modern Interpretation of Martial Arts and Southern Lion Culture
Nanhai’s martial arts traditions and Southern Lion Dance culture were selected as the main creative elements.
These traditional cultural symbols were reinterpreted through a contemporary visual language to create a fresh image of the new Nanhai.
The city slogan was defined as:
“Nanhai · Blue Ocean”
For the first time, the city brand adopted a dual-mascot concept to establish two complementary IP characters.
The dual IP system combines deep traditional cultural heritage with modern creativity and future-oriented innovation.
Together, the two mascots present a more vibrant, approachable, and memorable city identity while supporting cultural promotion, tourism communication, merchandise development, public events, and other city brand applications.
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