The Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts (GAFA) student and faculty team designed the official mascot, “Lili,” and the complete visual identity system for the 17th Guangdong Provincial Games and 10th Paralympic Games, blending regional Maoming lychee culture with modern athletic branding.
Crafting ‘Lili’ and Building the Provincial Games Visual Ecosystem
Major athletic tournaments rely on sharp, cohesive visual branding to unify venues, digital broadcasts, and merchandise. As the 17th Guangdong Provincial Games and 10th Paralympic Games unfold across the province, the aesthetic anchor of the competition is immediately visible through its official mascot: “Lili.” According to information released by Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts on August 13, 2026, the entire visual system was engineered by the institution’s Visual Arts Design Academy.
The design framework stretches far beyond a single character illustration. The GAFA team conceptualized “Lili” using the distinct profile of Maoming lychee culture as the primary creative catalyst, transforming regional agricultural heritage into an anthropomorphic symbol of youthful vigor and athletic tenacity. But the creative execution did not stop at a 2D drawing. The roster of deliverables includes comprehensive 3D identifiers, 2D standard marks, and extended application assets designed to anchor the tournament’s intellectual property framework.
Fantasy & Market Impact
Translating Athletic Motion Into Dynamic Graphic Systems
A successful tournament identity requires a functional iconography system that communicates complex sports rules at a single glance. To meet this operational demand, the GAFA design squad built a dedicated sports iconographic architecture. Each sport is represented by a concise dynamic symbol that captures the distinct physiological mechanics of the discipline, establishing a seamless identification language for athletes, officials, and spectators alike.
Furthermore, the creative team weaponized the mascot across various athletic poses to expand the IP’s footprint into practical environments. The overarching visual recognition system spans core graphic standards, standardized colorways, auxiliary design elements, and strict application guidelines. This structural discipline ensures that thematic posters, promotional brochures, informational leaflets, and venue display boards maintain identical typographical hierarchy and chromatic balance.
| Design Component | Core Creative Source | Primary Deliverables |
|---|---|---|
| Mascot Identity | Maoming Lychee Culture | “Lili” 2D/3D models, IP extensions |
| Iconography System | Athletic Mechanics | Dynamic sport-specific symbol set |
| Visual Recognition | Regional & Sports Spirit | Core graphics, color standards, layouts |
| Digital Animation | AI-Assisted Production | Hand-drawn promotional video content |
Merging Traditional Hand-Drawn Animation With AI Optimization
Visual storytelling in modern sports governance increasingly relies on multimedia synchronization. Leveraging the animation program’s disciplinary strength, GAFA’s Visual Arts Design Academy collaborated with professional animation studios to produce the official promotional trailer for the Provincial Games. The production pipeline relied primarily on traditional two-dimensional hand-drawn animation techniques, supplemented by artificial intelligence tools to optimize scene rendering and motion sequencing.
The narrative structure of the short film bridges raw athletic effort with urban cultural identity through careful character pacing, frame-by-frame motion drawing, and visual rhythm. School administrators noted that the project exemplifies how academic institutions can deploy core disciplinary advantages to service major civic athletic events, pushing student creators from the classroom straight into high-stakes, real-world production pipelines spanning visual communication, animation, and digital media art.
The Broader Educational and Civic Blueprint
When major regional sports commissions partner with premier art institutions, the objective is to secure an aesthetic standard that outlives the closing ceremony. By deploying cross-disciplinary student and faculty cohorts across Maoming’s cultural motifs and athletic iconography, GAFA has set a definitive benchmark for how provincial competitions construct their public-facing identities. As competition heats up across the board, the visual architecture laid down by the academy ensures that the spirit of the Games remains anchored in sharp, professional design.
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