Overview

The Toronto Chinatown Business Improvement Area (CBIA) is a not-for-profit, community-based City of Toronto agency established in 2007. CBIA was formed by the area’s commercial property owners and tenants, along with Trinity-Spadina’s City Councillor, Ceta Ramkhalawansingh. In addition, CBIA works closely with all three levels of government, area residents, community groups, other BIAs, and the private sector to build a strong Chinatown community.

As a graphic designer, I was in charge of creating the posters, flyers, banners and red envelopes for the Toronto Chinatown Lunar New Year Celebration. The event was designed to celebrate Lunar New Year, a vibrant and joyous occasion that marks the beginning of the lunar calendar. Embraced by various Asian cultures, this festive occasion is a time for family reunions, elaborate feasts, and colorful displays of tradition. Each year in the lunar calendar is named after an animal, with this year named after the dragon. Therefore, the key visuals of this project are based on the dragon and other Chinese motifs and symbols.

Lunar New Year, also known as Spring Festival, is the most important festival in China and a major event in some other Asian countries. Lunar New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar. It was traditionally a time to honor deities and ancestors, and it has also become a time to feast and visit family members. 2024 also marks the transition between zodiac signs from the Year of the Rabbit (2023) to the Year of the Dragon (2024).

Growing up, Lunar New Year has always been a huge celebration for my family, and this project helped me express a part of my ethnic identity. In particular, this year is even more special because I was born in the Year of the Dragon.

Fun fact: I used to volunteer for Lunar New Year Celebrations

The Challenge

How can we use graphic design to help promote, celebrate, and encourage participation in the cultural event of Lunar New Year?

This is not the first Lunar New Year Celebration held by the organization Toronto Chinatown Business Improvement Area. This means that there are designed posters from past years that we can learn from. By looking at previous designs made by other designers, I bring what works and what can be improved into my new design.

Toronto Chinatown Lunar New Year Celebrations Poster 2023

Symbols and Colours

By studying the previous Toronto Chinatown Lunar New Year Celebrations posters, I was able to determine that a red and gold color scheme would work best for the new poster. Simultaneously, I drew inspiration from the small visual motifs and symbols, such as flowers, clouds, ribbons, and stamps featured in each poster.