Rakshasa Journey

Background:
"Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" is a collection of short stories in classical Chinese, including legends, strange stories, anecdotes, etc. It is a masterpiece of Chinese classical novels. It successfully created many artistic archetypes, with vivid characters and bizarre plots, which can be regarded as the peak of Chinese classical short stories.
"Rakshasa Sea City" in the book describes two Kingdoms that full of fantasy and imagination: the Rakshasa Kingdom and the Dragon Kingdom. In Rakshasa, ugliness is beauty, and an ugly appearance can lead to an official career; However, in the Dragon Kingdom, a beautiful environment and honest politics formed a stark contrast with the Rakshasa Kingdom. The protagonist Ma Ji travels to these two countries, dressed up as an 'ugly' official in the Rakshasa Kingdom, and marries the 'beautiful and kind' girl in Dragon Kingdom. In his eyes, the "beauty" of the two countries is extremely contrasting, the mysterious atmosphere and contrasting images depicted by the author in the story have also become an important reference for this team's creation. The design team refined and summarized the scenes in these two countries and created a set of illustrations to show the public the advanced thinking about human nature and worldview in "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio".
Design Concept： The discussion about the definition of beauty and ugliness triggered by the story tells people that the world is not only a 'NO-YES' state, and more often we need to look at problems in a diversified and dialectical way. Therefore, in this work, we are committed to showing the public the two opposite "beauties" expressed in this story. The design team brought this concept into the thinking of design aesthetics, sublimated the "ugly" elements in the traditional sense when shaping the characters, and displayed them in ugly and cute images to create "undefined beauty". We also hope that consumers will share their understanding of ugly and cute culture while liking our products, and have a stronger interest in traditional Chinese literature at the same time.
Objectives：
When Ma Ji first entered the Rakshasa Kingdom, he saw a group of ugly monsters with ferocious appearances and sang very strange songs. The design team drew inspiration from them and created a series of characters for the Rakshasa Kingdom. The monsters of various shapes were ugly and cute, singing and dancing, as lively as in the story. In addition, the product is sold in Zhoucun, Zibo, Shandong—Where “Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio” was created. Here is a local culture called "Zhoucun Xinzi", which is a form of Chinese traditional performance (Several people take turns to carry a decorated stage with actors and performances showing historical stories). The design team combines the characters with the local culture and integrates modern design language, which helps to better spread China's intangible cultural heritage and help the local government carry forward the development of traditional culture.
After leaving the Rakshasa Kingdom, Ma Ji went to the Dragon Kingdom. The palace was decorated magnificently and dazzlingly. He won the appreciation of the Dragon King through his literary talent and also gained love with the Dragon Girl. In this set of illustrations, the design team portrayed the image of the Dragon Girl, who is praying for Ma Ji in the Dragon Palace. The color scheme is lively and romantic, creating a dreamy and beautiful atmosphere, symbolizing good luck and happiness.
Means：
To fully cater to market demand and consumer habits, after investigating the comprehensive data of China's tourism cultural and creative products, our team chose to use fridge magnets as a carrier to lower the threshold of cultural acceptance and make it easier for consumers to carry while traveling. Ultimately, through original illustration design, we achieved the combination of traditional culture, works, and scenic spots, allowing consumers to feel the accumulation of culture from the small objects around them.