A Small City, A Big Personality

Every city has a personality. Jiaxing’s is the kind that doesn’t need to shout.

It’s my hometown—a small city in southeastern China, full of culture, familiar memories, and the kind of beauty you might miss if you’re always in a hurry. So when I was asked to create a city banner, I decided not to make it feel like a generic tourism poster. I wanted to show Jiaxing the way I remember it.

The challenge? A city is a lot of things. How do you fit its culture, character, and atmosphere into one visual system without making everything compete for attention?

I started exploring different ideas, letting each concept tell a slightly different story. Some were bold, some were playful, and some felt more like a quiet conversation with the city.

Eventually, I began to see a direction: the design needed to feel distinctive, but also connected—like different parts of Jiaxing speaking the same visual language.

That led me to build a design system that could keep the ideas consistent while still giving each application its own personality.

The result is my visual interpretation of Jiaxing: not an official portrait, but a personal introduction.

A small city, seen through my eyes.

And yes, I may be a little biased. But I think Jiaxing looks pretty good.