Recently, the winners of the 2026 MUSE Creative Awards, one of the most influential international competitions in the global creative design field, were officially announced. Organized by the International Awards Associate (IAA), the awards are known for their rigorous evaluation system and high judging standards, and are widely regarded as the “Oscars of the design world.”
A faculty-student team from the School of Design at the Communication University of Zhejiang (CUZ) stood out among tens of thousands of global entries. Their project, “Brand Identity Design for Chengxi Village, Wutong Subdistrict, Tongxiang City,” was awarded the Gold Prize.
The project is a key achievement of CUZ’s “100 Villages, 100 Brands” public-interest design initiative. Centered on the cultural IP “Chengxi Youxi” (literally, “Chengxi Has Stories/Drama”), the design creatively reconstructs the Chinese characters for “Chengxi” and “Xi” (drama), integrating them with the architectural silhouette of the village’s cultural hall.
Through a clean geometric style and minimalist line design, the work seamlessly blends local identity, traditional opera culture, and architectural form. The black-and-gold color scheme conveys both elegance and depth, reflecting the village’s cultural heritage while giving its rural identity a more distinctive visual expression.
The project was developed over nearly a year. The design team conducted multiple field visits to Chengxi Village, worked closely with local officials, and refined the concept through more than ten preliminary drafts, four rounds of on-site research, and three formal presentations. The final outcome successfully balances practical application and cultural representation.
Today, the visual identity has been widely adopted across the village’s external communications, becoming not only an award-winning design but also a key element in strengthening the “Chengxi Youxi” cultural brand.
This award is not only a recognition of CUZ’s strengths in professional design and cross-cultural communication, but also reflects the university’s commitment to integrating education, research, and social service, as well as its active role in supporting local cultural development.It also represents a vivid example of how local Chinese culture can reach the global stage.
Looking ahead, CUZ will continue to encourage faculty and students to leverage their professional expertise to serve social needs, tell compelling stories of rural China through innovative design, and present a real, multidimensional, and comprehensive image of China to the world, contributing “CUZ wisdom” and “CUZ strength” to cross-cultural exchange.
Source:Tongxiang Release
