Peking University, Dec. 4, 2014: The “New Youth” exhibition of creative stationery design took place in the eastern exhibition hall of the Peking University Library from November 20 to November 26. The exhibition was co-organized by Peking University Resource Group and the university library.

Entrance to the exhibition hall / Photo: Dong Zhihui

The principal designers of the exhibits are members of the “New Youth” designer team from Beijing. The team is named after New Youth, an influential magazine founded by Chen Duxiu, a revolutionary who worked as a lecturer at Peking University in the 1910s and the 1920s. The magazine had played a decisive role in the New Cultural Movement and the May Fourth Movement. The designers want to inherit the notions of revolution and creation in the cultural sphere and infuse these ideas into their own design. They aim to kindle the students’ enthusiasm for creative industry and encourage innovative thinking in everyday life, since they share the common belief that life of the young should feature poetry, color and fantasy. Some exhibits on view are produced by a designer team from Taiwan.

Highlights of the exhibition included the 1.2-meter-high statue of the Scholar Cat and a series of adornments based on the image of the cat. The Scholar Cat is a campus stray cat who used to appear repeatedly in the lecture rooms of philosophy and art courses. It has become hugely popular among the PKU students since a student posted a photo in which the cat seemed to be musing in a classroom on the university BBS. Some electronic gadgets were also on display, such as the bright-colored macaroon-shaped hand warmers and a multifunctional music player named “music garden”, which could also be used as a lamp and a flower pot.

The organizers said that the exhibition had evoked an encouraging response in the visitors. Some visitors put down messages on the feedback sheet, saying that they were inspired by the philosophy of simple life embodied in the exhibits. Some provided sensible suggestions as to how to improve the design from the users’ perspective.

Reported by: Li Chen & Li Xiaowei

Edited by: Chen Jiayu