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Animations of Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games’ Mascot “Fu Niu Le Le”

The design of “Fu Niu Le Le” collects shaping methods and design styles of Chinese Folk Print, Chinese New Year pictures and toys, as well as modern cartoon characters, embodies a perfect integration of the nation’s traditional style, the people’s sentiment and contemporary feature. “Fu Niu Le Le” is the image of ambassador of friendship that China presents to the Paralympics and the world. It shows the strong Chinese national character and culture style, explaining the rich spirit of Olympics, accumulating the disabled athletes’ spirits of self-driving and indomitably-struggling, reflecting the harmony coexisting of the human being and the nature. Its designer, Wu Guanying, Professor of Arts and Design Department of Academy of Arts & Design of Tsinghua University, introduces during the interview with VisionUnion: “The design of Fu Niu bases on the care for the disabled. I thought it is alike when any shape is being created that to think as a spectator when facing the spectators. When we were designing the Paralympic Games’ mascot, we thought from the viewpoint of the disabled. They participate into the society and the Paralympics with shiny and normal hearts. Inspired by that, we created a pretty shiny calf. The calf’s character is rather soft, meanwhile, mixed with a little stubbornness. Thus the processing of color is relatively shiny and colorful. My design of the shape came out of such intentions, encouraging and praising.”

Wu Guanying, Professor of Arts and Design Department of Academy of Arts & Design of Tsinghua University