What happened between 1960 to 1980
After 1960, Chinese graphic design start to affected by other cultures, and 1978 was an important tipping point for Chinese design. The reform and opening up of China after 1978 can be interpreted in some ways as the beginning of “China’s Modern Design.” After the cultural revolution ended in 1976 and prior to the official announcement of China’s Open Door Policy in late 1978, some art and design institutions began to interact with overseas organizations.
The main direction of the design education system in mainland China, in today’s context, is still based on a skill-training curriculum from the 1960s Russian model.
China had been cut off from the outside world, and there were hardly any commercial art activities there for almost three decades. Under such circumstances, the modern Chinese design movement started in the 1930s by Shanghai designers was not able to keep pace with the international design trends throughout this period. With the introduction of the latest design trends through an increasing number of international exchanges, very little influence of the older generation of mainland designers was passed on to the younger generation in the 1980s and 1990s. The main direction of the design education system in mainland China, in today’s context, is still based on a skill-training curriculum from the 1960s Russian model.19 Creative and conceptual thinking have not been emphasized in design education. Thus, the influx of overseas design concepts, in which Hong Kong initially was significant, played an influential and inspirational role for young people and students such as Wang Xu and Wang Yue-fei, who later became a pioneer in graphic design in mainland China.
Exhibition in Guangzhou Institute of Arts in 1979
The late 1970s marked the beginning of cultural exchange activities between Hong Kong designers and institutions in mainland China. After the cultural revolution ended in 1976 and prior to the official announcement of China’s Open Door Policy in late 1978, some art and design institutions began to interact with overseas organizations. Activities such as Kan Tai-keung’s lecture on pack- aging and graphic design at the Guangzhou Institute of Arts in 1978, 17 and the visit of the First Institute of Art & Design Association of Hong Kong to the Central Arts and Crafts Academy in Beijing in 1979,18 stimulated new developments in graphic design in mainland China. These two visits were followed by exhibitions. The first, the Hong Kong Designers Show, was held in 1979 at the Guangzhou Institute of Arts. The second, Design ‘80, was held both in Hong Kong and Beijing in 1980. These two events were some of the activities that introduced outside influence into the development of contemporary graphic design directions in mainland China.