River & Field Prosperity—IP Image Design for Wuhu

This approachable IP image aims to get the government closer to citizens while popularizing Wuhu’s unique natural landscape and rich human culture.
Wuhu’s iconic cultural sculpture is modelled after Jiuzi birds (the city, once a land abounding with algae, was inhabited by Jiuzi birds, making the birds a symbol of Wuhu). Based on that, the design team has taken the sculpture as the core, and ingeniously incorporated a shawl design (derived from Hanfu, a traditional type of Chinese clothes), creating the male bird Jiu Xiaoli & the female bird Jiu Xiaowen.
Jiu Xiaoli mainly adopts the cyan color, representing Wuhu’s abundant water resource and long history of water transportation; the feather fan in his hand resembles the tail of the Juzi sculpture, which symbolizes wisdom and agility, embodying Wuhu people’s diligence and innovation. When he gently waves the fan, peace will come to the city, and people will enjoy a happy life.
As one of the four leading producer of rice in ancient times, Wuhu features profound cultivation culture and rich agricultural products. Therefore, orange as the main color is applied to Jiu Xiaowen to represent bumper harvests in Wuhu, highlighting the city’s wealth and prosperity.
To further enrich the IP image and enhance its recognition, the design team has developed an image system composed of Jiu Xiaoli & Jiu Xiaowen with various clothes, and expanded the application of Jiu Xiaoli & Jiu Xiaowen to the field of emoji expressions, contributing to a more vivid and interesting IP image with a distinctive individuality.