国潮Brand strategy · Case study · Brand Playbook · C+I Fellowship
Authoredin China
A playbook for cultural branding in the Guochao era, built from fieldwork in 5 cities and 20+ brands.
The Brief
The NYU Shanghai Creativity + Innovation Fellowship gives each fellow one semester and a 6,000 RMB grant to investigate an idea at the intersection of creativity and innovation in China, then turn it into something tangible to share.
Most conversations about Chinese innovation stop at AI, electric vehicles and supply-chain speed. I chose a subtler one: the evolution of China's brand identity. What does it take to translate "Chineseness", a concept layered over 5,000 years, into a product, a store or a brand?
The Insight
When I arrived in China in 2022, "Made in China" meant what it means to most outsiders: cheap, low-quality, copycat. Four years later, I kept walking into local brands with distinct Chinese aesthetics, from embroidered fashion to courtyard-inspired shops and fragrance houses rooted in Oriental scents.
That shift has a name: Guochao (国潮), the "national wave". 75% of Chinese consumers say they like products with cultural design elements, the trend reaches 80% of Gen Z, and by 2024 domestic C-beauty brands held 55.2% of their market.
The same consumers who reward cultural depth punish cultural carelessness.
Nike learned this in 2016, when two lucky characters on its New Year sneakers read together as 發福, "getting fat". Adidas got it right in 2025 with a Tang jacket designed in and for China, which sold out across major cities. Guochao doesn't reward brands that quote Chinese culture. It rewards brands that author it.
Sources cited in the magazine: WARC, Mintel (2022), Statista (2024).
What I Did
Sole researcher, writer and designer.
- Fieldwork in Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Shenzhen and Huangshan: store visits, conversations with locals and interviews with store managers
- Case analysis of 20+ Chinese and international brands, from Florasis, Songmont and Documents to Nike, Burberry and Adidas
- Synthesized the patterns into five principles for cultural branding
- Wrote and designed the 22-page magazine Authored in China (Issue 01, 2026)
- Presented the playbook at the fellowship's final showcase at NYU Shanghai
The Magazine
Scroll inside the box to read all 23 pages, or open it full screen.
The Fellowship
The project grew inside a semester of looking closely: an opening retreat in the Huangshan region, an innovation trip to Shenzhen, and a cohort shaped by different cultures, disciplines and life paths.
The Result
A finished playbook, presented at the fellowship showcase: a framework for new Chinese brands integrating cultural elements, and for international brands entering China without the costly missteps.
