Being Cute on the Imperial Order

Derivative Product Design of The Palace Museum—A Limited Collection of the Year of the Rat

Designer

Dec. 2019

This is a series of derivative product designs for the Palace Museum, which utilized the method of pattern redesigning. The products include a tote bag and a group of T-shirts.

Part I: Design Inspiration

Inspired by a collection from the Forbidden City Museum, the second piece of the triptych that themed three Rat Paintings by Zhu Zhanji, Xuanzong emperor of the Ming Dynasty - The Picture of Acorus, Mouse, and lychee. The three pictures were circulated in an orderly manner and were collected by the Qianlong, Jiaqing, and Xuantong dynasties of the Qing Dynasty, and recorded in the Shiqu Baoji Sequel: Chonghua Palace. This group of pictures is a rare masterpiece in China that depicts the cute side of little mice. In the painting, a naughty and naive little mouse is stealing red lychee that is bigger than himself, and lychee, pronounced as “Hongli” in Chinese, is homophonic with “profit”. Lychee also has the meaning of "to make big profits with a small capital", and the painting implies auspiciousness.
The pattern of my work is drawn from the pictures to describe the scene, refined and recreated with modern and concise visual language, highlighting the naughty and cuteness of the mouse. Zhu Zhanji is a king of power but allows the little mouse to "steal" in front of him. Interested in the contras, so I named by series Being Cute on the Imperial Order. Simultaneously, 2020 is the Year of the Rat, and the publication of limited editions in the New Year conforms to market trends and needs.

Design Inspiration

Part II: Pattern Design

The following picture demonstrates the comparison between the original piece and my pattern design. The vivid color and the subtle and gradual change in pigment highlight a more extravagant and contemporary atmosphere. The visual expression of shape is more concise and utilizes geometric forms and illustrated language compared to the original work.

Pattern Design

Part III: Application to Tote Bags

The illustration is placed on the front of the tote bag with a text and pattern design on the back of the accessory, written as the title of the design and decorated with a sequence of footprints.

Application to Tote Bags

Part IV: Designs for T-shirts

There are two versions of designs applied to T-shirts with black and white colors. They are the Ancient Painting and Rat in the Pocket versions from left to the right in the following sketch.