The Hangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee on Monday launched the first set of kinetic sports pictograms in the history of the Games to highlight the concept of a smart Hangzhou Asian Games.

Following the Games' theme color of purple, the kinetic sports pictograms make use of motion capture technology to bring out the dynamic essence of each sport.

The background music of the pictograms is rendered by drums andsizhu, traditional stringed and woodwind instruments popular in Hangzhou, integrating the charm of water towns in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River with the power of sports competitions.

The pictograms were designed by professors from the Chinese Academy of Art and will be widely used in stadium signs, media broadcasts, urban landscape decorations, and promotional media activities, extending the aesthetic culture of the Asian Games to audiences from different cultural backgrounds.

Kinetic Sports Pictograms for the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022

The 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 Organising Committee has launched one of the major components of its visual image for Hangzhou 2022, the static and kinetic sports pictograms, to showcase our upcoming Smart Asian Games—a fitting theme in today's digital media world. The static pictograms were previously unveiled at the Two-year Countdown Ceremony.

The kinetic sports pictograms just released are a first for an Asian Games. The works are an integration of the latest digital technologies, including motion capture, while games engines have been utilized to produce fluid animations of the pictograms in rainbow purple, one of the official colours. Each pictogram goes through three stages when being displayed: motion development, inserting the background and fixing the pose, with each composition clearly, accurately and fluidly presented. The accompanying soundtrack features jiangnan sizhu, traditional Chinese instrumental music, and drum. The soundtrack combines the essence of the river towns of the southern Yangtze River region and the power of competitive sports, evoking the rhythmic beauty of sport and celebrating its fusion with the unique Chinese culture.

The completed project is the work of a team led by Professors Yuan Youmin, Xuan Xuejun and Chen Shenfu, from the China Academy of Art. With guidance from HAGOC, the designs underwent several rounds of reviews and revisions over the past year and a half. We are confident that the kinetic sports pictograms, dynamic and energetic, embody contemporary life and the sporting spirit and will be very well received.