Research On The Design And Application Of Decorative Pattern In The Old Shanghai Calendar Advertisement

Decorative pattern has a long brilliant history in China. From the pottery in the Neolithic, the bronze ware in Shang and Zhou Dynasties and all sorts of handicraft in Ming and Qing dynasties, it can be seen Chinese people have a deep emotion to the use of pattern decoration. However, the transformation,decorative pattern to the modern design in China, appeared in the period of the Republic of China in Shanghai first.Shanghai was in a revolutionary time from1912to1949. Its special geographical environment and political-economic factors thoroughly remoulded itself from a small fishing village into a metropolis of the Far East overnight. At one time, the neon was shining and the wind of the western culture was blowing. The culture and design from China and foreign countries, had showed up the unprecedented collision and frequent exchanges. It was in this context of the times, the designers did an in-depth study of Chinese traditional aesthetic experience and western popular culture of modern design, and explored the decorative design style with a Chinese flavor. The Xiaojiaochang new year paintings had become a prevail integrated product with national and exotic characteristics-the Calendar Advertisement of the old Shanghai. Moreover it was the prototype of Chinese modern plane advertisement design. The huge response of Calendar Advertisements can be said a kind of success to decorative design style in Shanghai. And the merit of decorative patterns with decorative design styles was undeniable.In this paper, combing through the development of Chinese and Western decorative patterns, using Calendar Advertisements which were the business unique cultural products in the period of the Republic of China in Shanghai as the carrier and the entry point, we analyzed the prosper motivation of decorative pattern in the special historical period. On the basis of a large number of preliminary design research, the performances in the design theme, expression, structure and other aspects of decorative patterns were deeply studied, then how designers carried on the traditional pattern shape and how to integrated the national artistic features into the Western modern design when they faced the violent collision of Western and national design culture were analyzed. Finally, the paper explored and summarized on the artistic value and historical value of decorative design patterns and came out the reproduction and revival of decorative patterns with decorative design motifs in contemporary graphic design.