After the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympics, the mascot "Bing Dwen Dwen" has been loved by people all over the world, and the mascot's peripheral products have also been sold out. Residents lined up in front of the Olympic licensed merchandise stores to buy "Bing Dwen Dwen", and Chinese netizens have been asking the official flagship store of the Winter Olympics to replenish "Bing Dwen Dwen" peripheral products. Surprisingly, this panda was designed by a team from the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts.
How was this much-loved panda created? GDToday interviewed the design team of "Bing Dwen Dwen" and took you to recall the interesting story of its birth.
Guangzhou is a city with almost no snow, so how did they design the mascot for the Winter Olympics? "Maybe children who have never seen snow will have special imagination and creativity about snow and winter sports." Cao Xue, person in charge of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics Mascot Design Team responded to this most curious question.
In the initial vision, the design team used Tanghulu as a prototype. This prototype has been well received, but the main worry was that as a snack, it cannot best represent China. Therefore, they started looking for new elements to replace Tanghulu, but still kept the ice crust. This is also the origin of "Bing Dwen Dwen"'s characteristic ice crust.
"Bing Dwen Dwen" at the Snow Fair in Beijing. (Photo: Xinhua)
As for the use of pandas as mascots, they were apprehensive at first. "Both the 1990 Asian Games and the 2008 Olympics used pandas as mascots. Can we use pandas again?" It turned out to be possible. In order to create a new panda mascot, they formed a data collection group, found all the panda images in the world and posted them on the wall of the studio, reminding themselves that they must make a different panda image.
Liu Pingyun believes that the pandas in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics should reflect the characteristics of this era. Therefore, the team used 3D rendering to complete the creation of the panda at every design stage. The design team also incorporated the shape of the National Speed Skating Stadium, and buckled the stadium's multicolored ring belt to "Bing Dwen Dwen"'s helmet.
In the end, "Bing Dwen Dwen" became the final winning bidder among 5,816 works from 38 countries around the world, and became a gorgeous part of the Winter Olympics.
Cao Xue in an interview with GDToday. (Photo: GDToday)
Cao Xue pointed out that in the post-Internet era, it is necessary to use more innovative designs to help the world understand Chinese culture and the way of life of modern Chinese people. "This is my eternal wish as a designer, and the Beijing Winter Olympics is an opportunity."
The design team hopes to warm the hearts of people around the world during the pandemic through "Bing Dwen Dwen", a cute panda. "I hope everyone will not forget love, peace, and the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind. We must work together to create a better world."
It is worth mentioning that "Bing Dwen Dwen"'s ice crust is also produced by a company in Dongguan, Guangdong. This is also the first time that a silicone shell is used for the mascot of the Winter Olympics. Dongguan is the toy capital of the world, which is why the Beijing Winter Olympic team chose the Dongguan company. Finally, the R&D team from Dongguan developed the exclusive large-size silicone case for "Bing Dwen Dwen" in less than 24 hours.
In addition to "Bing Dwen Dwen", other peripheral products of the Winter Olympics, such as badges, keychains, custom ornaments and other commemorative gifts, are also produced in Dongguan.
According to the manufacturer's response, since the mascots are very popular among consumers, they have started full-scale production work after the Spring Festival holiday to ensure the supply of Winter Olympics commodities and do their best to meet the needs of consumers.
Author | Alice
Video | Eastbrook
Editor | Monica, Jerry
