Guangming Yuandi Brand Upgrade: Three Strokes of 光 Turned into Rays of Light

Three strokes of 光 became light

In 2021, Xinming Design upgraded the brand of Shandong Guangming Yuandi Children's Furniture Technology Co., Ltd., refining its existing logo. The logo is a white rounded square in which the four characters 光明园迪 are arranged in two rows of two; the three short strokes at the top of 光 (guang, "light") are drawn as three yellow bars, like rays coming out of the character, while the other strokes are grey. The same three rays become a supporting graphic, appearing on business cards, envelopes, posters and a rayed letter C. The brand colours are yellow (Pantone 123 C) and grey, with purple, magenta and green as secondary colours. The identity covers stationery, brand applications and advertising layouts, and remains in use today in the header of the Guangming Yuandi website.

A name meaning "bright", a product that cares for eyes

According to its official website, Guangming Yuandi entered the children's furniture industry in 2002. Its products include study desks, posture chairs, eye-care lamps and spine-support backpacks, and it aims to create a healthy learning system for school-age children, with study equipment for correct posture and eye care. It has more than 1,600 sales and service points in China covering more than 600 cities, and promotes a healthy learning approach it calls "three preventions and one control".

The brand has a rare coincidence: its name, 光明 (guangming), means "bright", and its products take care of children's eyes. Eye care, lamps and light are already part of its product language.

The project was called a brand integration: the logo was not replaced but refined. So the question was: how can the "light" in the name be seen, and carried across the whole brand, while keeping the existing logo?

Four characters, one square

The refined logo is a white rounded square holding the four characters 光明园迪 in two rows: 光明 above, 园迪 below. The strokes are even in weight with rounded corners, giving the friendliness a children's product needs.

The change is concentrated in one place: the three strokes at the top of 光 are drawn as three short yellow bars radiating outwards, like rays of light. All other strokes are grey. Only these three strokes among the four characters carry colour, and they are seen at once.

The proposal draws the logo and wordmark on a grid and provides square, horizontal and vertical versions, with rules for use on yellow, grey, white and black.

Three rays, everywhere

The key to the integration is letting the three rays leave the logo:

· Business cards and envelopes: three enlarged rays in white or yellow on a white or yellow ground;

· Posters: at the bottom of the STUDY MORE HEALTHY poster, three rays rise above a letter C;

· Product images: in the VI manual, the rays appear above a child's head and beside a study chair, like a moment of light.

One stroke has become a mark repeated throughout the brand. The full logo is not always needed; three short yellow bars already say Guangming Yuandi.

A C: the little C notch and centre stage

The supporting graphics include a letter C with rays. The "little C notch" (小C口) is a design feature of Guangming Yuandi study desks. The client's slogan, 小时候坐小C口 长大做C位 ("sit at the little C notch as a child, take centre stage as an adult"), links the C on the product to the Chinese expression for centre stage, C位. Xinming Design drew this C as a supporting graphic with three rays above it, for posters and materials.

Yellow and grey, plus three secondary colours

The standard colours set in the VI manual are:

· Yellow (Pantone 123 C / 109 U, #FFC600): the colour of the rays and the brand;

· Grey (#9F9F9F): the main colour for the logo characters and layouts.

There are three secondary colours:

· Purple (Pantone 252 C/U, #DC55FA)

· Magenta (Pantone 212 C/U, #EB3E9C)

· Green (Pantone 368 C/U, #78C314)

The manual notes that the C references are for gloss paper and the U references for matt paper. The grey is given only in RGB and CMYK (0 0 0 50); the HEX values above are converted from the RGB values in the manual.

The three secondary colours can also form a gradient from purple through yellow to green. In the header of the Guangming Yuandi website, a gradient bar of this kind stands beside the logo.

The colour cards in the second proposal image on this page show proposal-stage colours; the final brand colours are those in the VI manual.

The proposal also sets the brand typefaces: Mark and Galano for English, and Source Han Sans for Chinese.

From business cards to company vans

The applications cover stationery, brand presence and advertising:

· Stationery: letterhead, envelopes, business cards, folders, staff passes, invitations;

· Presence: paper cups, shopping bags, umbrellas, a company van;

· Advertising layouts: the 19 Years of Focus light box and poster series, the STUDY MORE HEALTHY poster and the "little C notch" poster series.

The advertising layouts were designed by Xinming Design; the slogans and product photography in them were provided by the client.

The stationery, presence and advertising images on this page are proposal-stage mock-ups; names and photos on business cards and staff passes are placeholders.

Deliverables and extensions

Logo refinement

· Refined Guangming Yuandi logo (three rays from 光) with grid construction

· Square, horizontal and vertical lockups

Core visual identity

· Standard colours: yellow (Pantone 123 C / 109 U), grey

· Secondary colours: purple (252 C/U), magenta (212 C/U), green (368 C/U) and gradient

· Typefaces: Mark, Galano, Source Han Sans

· Supporting graphics: three rays and the rayed C

Applications

· Stationery: letterhead, envelopes, business cards, folders, staff passes, invitations

· Presence: paper cups, shopping bags, umbrellas, company van

Advertising layouts

· Light box and poster layouts (slogans and photography provided by the client)

Looking back five years on

Three points are worth taking from this project:

1. When refining, find the one stroke. Rather than replacing the logo, the three strokes of 光 were drawn as rays, and the logo gained a focus.

2. Let one element of the logo travel. The three rays move from the logo to business cards, posters and the C, so the brand is recognisable even without the full logo.

3. Name, product and visuals say one thing. The name means bright, the products care for eyes, and the rays in the logo connect the two.

A brand upgrade does not always mean a new logo; sometimes it only needs the light already in the name to switch on.

How to verify

· Client: Shandong Guangming Yuandi Children's Furniture Technology Co., Ltd. (山东光明园迪儿童家具科技有限公司)

· Client website: www.gmyd.com.cn (the logo appears in the header; the site states entry into the children's furniture industry in 2002, 1,600+ sales and service points and coverage of 600+ cities)

· This case page: www.xinming.sg/en/portfolio/3127.html

Further reading

· Cmsemicon: Refining the Identity of a Chip Designer Before Its IPO (www.xinming.sg/en/portfolio/3016.html)

· Growth Assistant Mascot: A Young Eagle That Grows Up with the Child (www.xinming.sg/en/portfolio/3074.html)

· Pearl River Piano Group: From Badge to P/R Monogram, Rebuilding the Identity of a 60-Year-Old Manufacturer (www.xinming.sg/en/portfolio/3014.html)

FAQ

Who designed the current Guangming Yuandi logo?

The current Guangming Yuandi logo was refined from the existing logo by Xinming Design in 2021, together with a core visual identity, applications and advertising layouts. The logo remains in use today.

What are the features of the Guangming Yuandi logo?

The logo is a white rounded square with the four characters 光明园迪 in two rows of two; the three strokes at the top of 光 are drawn as three yellow rays, and the other strokes are grey.

What are the Guangming Yuandi brand colours?

The standard colours are yellow (Pantone 123 C / 109 U, #FFC600) and grey (#9F9F9F); the secondary colours are purple (Pantone 252 C/U), magenta (Pantone 212 C/U) and green (Pantone 368 C/U).

What is the C on the posters?

The C is a supporting graphic that comes from the "little C notch" design of Guangming Yuandi study desks; the client's slogan links it with the Chinese expression for centre stage, C位.

What kind of company is Guangming Yuandi?

Guangming Yuandi, Shandong Guangming Yuandi Children's Furniture Technology Co., Ltd., entered the children's furniture industry in 2002; its products include study desks, posture chairs, eye-care lamps and spine-support backpacks.

Which brands can learn from this case?

Children's furniture, study product and child health brands; companies that want to integrate their brand while keeping an existing logo; and brands that need to take one element from the logo and carry it through all materials.

Xinming Design is a brand systems design firm. Its work centres on systematic judgment, turning brand strategy into structures that can run and be inherited. www.xinming.sg