After reading the design of the Year of the Rabbit around the world, the most impressive thing is the blue rabbit
Welcome to the first push of Aifaner in Guimao, and I wish you a "big show" and "flying rabbit" in the new year.
At the beginning of the new year, I will send you a lot of rabbits. The jade rabbit welcomes the spring, and the life of the fat rabbit is extended.
If you want to say that the most impressive rabbit in the past year, there is a high probability that it is the blue rabbit that does not meet the traditional aesthetics. When it was printed on the Year of the Rabbit zodiac stamp, whether the onlookers liked it or not, the appearance of this blue rabbit was telling everyone that there is not only one kind of rabbit.
The same two long ears, this cute little animal has made thousands of shapes in the hands of artists from different regions, which can be seen from the design of the Zodiac stamps.
A cold knowledge – not only China can make zodiac stamps.
American zodiac stamps have always been very popular. This year's Year of the Rabbit stamps did not change the design style, but redesigned the rat, ox, and sheep animals from previous years.
"Stamp Kingdom" Liechtenstein also produces zodiac stamps. This year's Rabbit stamp is the last of their first round of zodiac stamps.
Gold foil hot stamping and laser hollowing imitate the effect of Chinese paper-cutting. At first glance, it looks full of Chinese style. When you look closely, you will find that the appearance of rabbit eyes in the stamp is a little different from the traditional rabbit paper-cutting.
Korean rabbit stamps are very recognizable. This dreamy and cute style is very different from the traditional Chinese rabbit design.
Japan’s zodiac stamps are very distinctive. There are two stamp patterns that are local toys drawn by the Japanese painter Kawasaki Koizumi. This kind of woodcarving pattern can show the more common design style in Japan.
French rabbits are drawn a little differently, but the design is still close to the style of previous Chinese stamps.
The design of New Zealand stamps can be seen to have drawn inspiration from traditional Chinese woodblock New Year pictures. The picture of Fuwa and Futu playing can remind you of New Year picture dolls.
Many regions will also design continuous stamps specifically for the zodiac.
This is the case for the Åland Islands in Finland. They have only one stamp for the Year of the Rabbit this year.
The stamps of Hong Kong Post are crafts in the shape of rabbits.
The rabbit on the Macau Zodiac stamp is in ink style, which is beautiful and auspicious.
The rabbit stamps launched in Taiwan are very similar to the paper-cut style, using traditional design elements.
This is just a small microcosm of the annual zodiac festivals. There are not too many designs for the Year of the Rabbit. In many countries and regions in East Asia, this kind of zodiac festival symbol is common.
Even when Apple launched the Year of the Rabbit special AirPods Pro in China, it also launched a limited edition AirTag for the Year of the Rabbit in Japan.
▲ Year of the Rabbit limited edition AirTag
Stamps and commodities are just canvases during the Chinese New Year, and the zodiac patterns drawn on them are more like a new era of "New Year flavor". In the Year of the Rabbit, there used to be a child-rearing custom of giving rabbit paintings. In the Year of the Rat, 12 mice without eyes would be kneaded from dough in the Year of the Rat, begging the mice to only eat grass roots and not damage crops.
Now, our Chinese New Year habit has become to look at the design of stamps of the Chinese zodiac, to buy newly designed Chinese New Year red envelopes and greeting cards, as well as merchants’ New Year’s joint names. For businesses, this is a business opportunity.
▲ Hermes Year of the Rabbit design
For designers, they can also use their works to communicate directly with fans during the Chinese New Year and send sincere New Year wishes.
Studio Ghibli, which created many people's childhood memories, drew a new rabbit. The cute rabbit that looks a little happy is paired with Totoro and the coal ball elf that appeared in the two cartoons. A fan drew a greeting card.
Takashi Murakami, who is frequently active in the Metaverse, also sent New Year greetings. His work this time has nothing to do with sunflowers, but a simple wish-getting rich. On the mosaic-style picture, the little rabbit with red eyes can be recognized at a glance, and the gold coins around the little rabbit are probably irresistible to everyone.
Of course, these blessings are fairly standard and reserved, and they can catch the eyes of the spectators directly and make people unable to move their eyes. A greeting card with an animated picture of a crystal rabbit has successfully become popular. It's not that the design of the rabbit is so special, but the visual effect of radiance is really shocking.
Twitter user @motionist_ae, a visual art designer, posted a GIF of his Crystal Rabbit in celebration of the Japanese New Year. The rabbit made of crystal keeps running forward, and as it leaps forward, the crystal reflects a beautiful and dazzling light.
Imagine adding a sentence on Weibo: "Retweet this crystal rabbit, and everything will move forward this year." It feels like you can easily get tens of thousands of retweets. Although there is no unique design language, it is also a skill to be so beautiful that it can catch people's attention at a glance.
The designs of Hokkaido artist Maeda Mai and the over 100-year-old shop Takeo Mimoto are also very special, but they are not like Crystal Rabbit, which allows people to understand the blessings conveyed by the design at a glance.
Maeda Mai's rabbit design looks very "inwardly rolled", with windy feet, fire eyes, and endless struggle. It looks like a rabbit that burns everything. But this is just my understanding. Everyone can have their own interpretation of the pink background and green flame, but the contrast of this color is enough to remember.
Takeo see this post is to make a New Year's card by combining the 4 colors of colored paper "NT Lasha" and "Mermaid" with letterpress ink in the way of ink calligraphy of the zodiac rabbit.
This is very in line with the design of a paper company, but the black silhouette of the rabbit may not be easy to recognize. Users need to understand the story behind it to understand the meaning of this design. It is a completely different design style from Crystal Rabbit.
Designers in Taiwan also gave good answers to the design of rabbits and festivals. In the "Maotu 52 Designer Greeting Card Creation Joint Exhibition" hosted by MIDNIGHT DESIGN , you can see the designers' different understandings of the zodiac rabbit.
Lin Jianhong of Simu Design is good at observing the gestures of animals and integrating them into the design. In the greeting card he designed, the rabbit is no longer a docile one grazing, but an enterprising rabbit galloping forward. Paired with gentle pink, the bunny is running and jumping in the flower field – it also means "welcoming spring".
The cute and cute rabbit greeting card also has a better meaning. One by one, the little rabbits are stacked together softly, and a cone is added to make ice cream that is about to melt. Lin Tinghan, the designer of Rotary Design, named it "rabbit much" with a homophonic stalk, hoping that in the new year, there will be more wealth, good things, health and happiness, and more.
The design of the greeting card for the Year of the Rabbit does not necessarily have to have a rabbit. The biggest feature of the rabbit is the two long ears. Malaysian designer Lin Qifeng turned the number 3 90 degrees counterclockwise to represent the rabbit ears. Small rabbit ears spread all over the card like dark lines. There are a total of 2023 rabbit ears of different colors. After changing colors at special positions, they form a simple blessing of "Happy Year of the Rabbit".
A rabbit can have thousands of painting methods, and it can present completely different feelings through different craft combinations.
But after seeing so many rabbits, perhaps the one that is easiest to remember is the one that is special enough, such as the "Blue Rabbit in the Underworld" printed on the Zodiac stamps this year.
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