zhao ran
Visual Communication MA
Royal College of Art
Specialisms: Graphic Design / Interaction Design / Digital Design
Location: Shanghai, China
zhao ran
First Name: zhao
Last Name: ran
Specialisms: Graphic Design / Interaction Design / Digital Design
Sectors:
My Location: Shanghai, China
University / College: Royal College of Art
Course / Program Title: Visual Communication MA
About
Hello, my name is Zhao Ran. I am a creative practitioner focusing on visual art and interdisciplinary design, with strengths in graphic design, installation design, and traditional Chinese art. My practice explores the connections and possibilities between different artistic disciplines and forms of visual expression.
In graphic design, I pay close attention to the balance between visual language, typography, composition, color, and information. I aim to communicate ideas and emotions through clear, distinctive, and thoughtful visual solutions. In installation design, I am particularly interested in the relationship between space, materials, structure, and audience experience, extending visual concepts from two-dimensional formats into physical and immersive environments.
Traditional Chinese art is also an important source of inspiration in my creative practice. I am deeply interested in traditional patterns, calligraphy, painting, craftsmanship, Eastern aesthetics, and the symbolic language embedded in Chinese culture. I explore ways of combining these traditions with contemporary design approaches, materials, and visual languages.
Through my work, I hope to create meaningful connections between tradition and contemporary culture, graphic design and spatial experience, as well as art and design. I enjoy experimenting with new materials, media, and creative methods, and I continuously expand my practice through interdisciplinary thinking. For me, design is not only a way to solve problems, but also a language for expressing culture, emotion, and personal perspectives.
Contemporary wish-making in China is not simply a religious practice, but is closely linked to social pressure, consumer culture, and the desire for security. This project sees “making a wish” as a process in which anxiety becomes religiousized, commodified, and financialized.Through research into the temple economy, donation-box culture, young people’s prayer practices, and audience interaction tests, I created a mirrored donation-box installation. Audiences write down a wish, place it into the box, receive a receipt-like transaction record, and finally see themselves reflected in the mirror. The project critiques how the contemporary temple economy exploits anxiety and the expectation of external salvation. It also invites audiences to reflect on why they make wishes, what they give in return. In the end, it calls for people to stop relying on outside fixes and start looking inward to find their own strength.
Competitions
