Logo, slogans, songs, uniforms, and the design of work stations for Expo volunteers… Elements reifying the image of Expo volunteers are now everywhere in Shanghai. While we are all riveted to aspiring volunteers, the talents and minds toiling behind the pleasant image system of Expo volunteers should never be forgotten.

The omnipresent volunteer logo featuring “Volunteer heart”

The logo of the Expo volunteers featuring the Chinese character of “heart” can now be seen everywhere across the streets in Shanghai. The structure of the character is simple, but its underlying meaning is far reaching.

Huang Yuanyuan(right)

Li Xiaohai, designer of the Expo volunteer logo, lives in Jinan (capital of Shandong Province). He had read and studied all the graphic materials for volunteers at previous Expos before starting his design. Li was quite desperate after churning out several dozens of stereotypical drafts. All of a sudden, the idea of using Chinese calligraphy in the design popped up into his mind.

When he noticed that the Chinese characters of “志” and “愿” (together they mean “volunteering”) both consist of a “心” (heart) component, the idea of using this component in designing the logo for Expo volunteers flashed into his mind. He looked up all the variations of that Chinese character in calligraphy, and finally made up his mind to use the cursive writing, which looks like a flying ribbon, radiating with vigor.

After several rounds of revision, the final product of the logo came into being.

Slogans of Expo Volunteers: buzzwords in Shanghai

“At your service at Expo” has already become a “motto” of all the Expo volunteers.

Its designer is Huang Yuanyuan, a junior student majoring in advertising at the School of Journalism and Communication of Ji’nan University, Guangdong Province. Below she shared with the reporter how she created the main slogan for Expo volunteers.

Huang’s teacher of advertising copy writing gave the assignment of designing a slogan for the volunteers of Expo 2010 in the second semester of her sophomore year. Students were required to submit the homework in a week. “At that time, my mind is preoccupied with a picture showing volunteers standing at the Expo site, but what have they noticed and what will they do next?” said Huang. While visualizing the scenes of volunteers, she put down several sentences immediately, among which there is the “At your Service at Expo” slogan. The product won the recognition of the teacher and fellow students, and they encouraged her to submit her product to the organizer of the Expo, which was soliciting slogans nationwide for the Expo volunteers.

Embracing the world with a big smile

When “By your side”, one of the theme songs of Expo volunteers was released on March 27 last year, it became a hit immediately. The composer and the lyricist of the song are Zhang Yadong and Chen Shaoqi respective. Its tune was performed by Hong Kong singer Eason Chan Yik-shun. It’s a hugely inspiring song with its melodious rhythm and motivating lyrics. On Jan. 20 this year, another song of Expo volunteers, “World”, was also released, which further boosted the morale of all Expo volunteers.

The composer of “World” is He Muyang, and the lyricist is Wang Pingjiu. Famous pop singer Tan Jing performed the tune. It is a song with plain and warm lyrics and easy-to-remember melody, and the song further echoes the theme of the Expo with lines such as embracing and smiles, representing the aspiration of human beings for world peace and harmony among each other.

With respect to the volunteerism expressed in the song, Tan Jing, lead singer of the song said: “Chinese volunteers have been involved in serving the Beijing Olympic Games, rescuing victims of the Sichuan earthquake, and serving the Shanghai World Expo. They are gradually moving towards the world, and winning international recognition with their efforts. They show the sunny and aspiring side of the Chinese people to the world, and visitors will have a direct experience of the kindness and cordiality of Chinese people from volunteers.”

Lyricist Wang Pingjiu said the words express his understanding for the world and the relationships between human beings. “In my opinion, hug and smile should be the two prerequisites for volunteers.” Wang added.

He Muyang, the composer, has worked out different drafts for the melodies of the song, and he finally selected the current version after carefully performing them one by one.

Uniforms of volunteers: a floating scene

“From the standpoint of image, Expo pavilions are quite important, as they represent the fixed manifestation of images of the Expo, whereas the uniforms, closely related to human beings, are equally important in the sense that they display the floating image of the Expo,” said Liu Xiaogang, chief designer of the uniforms for Expo volunteers and vice dean of the clothing department at Donghua University, Shanghai.

After careful research, “The world in my heart” has been selected as the theme for designing uniforms for volunteers working inside the Expo site. The general principles for the design are “running the Expo in a thrift way, being scientific and supporting environment protection, joy and fashion, and harmony and diversity”. Meanwhile, the uniforms should also reflect underlying ideas of seeking harmony, happiness and displaying etiquettes and modern technology.

Fleshing out the concepts into specific uniforms is a long process of incessant self-denials and innovations. Uniforms for Expo volunteers are carefully designed with specific attention paid to the details. “The uniforms feature a combination of long and short components, and a match of interior and surface parts. We have taken into consideration the weather conditions in Shanghai, and a set of uniforms has been designed to cope with scorching, rainy, and cold weathers,” said Liu.

It takes the design team one and a half years to work out the uniforms for volunteers. “At the business time, we have 50 people working together, which is quite spectacular.” said Liu.

Colorful Service Stations add color to Shanghai

Starting from the end of March, colorful new scenes will be found across the streets of Shanghai, which are the service stations for Expo volunteers. A total of 1,000 service stations will be placed at important scenic spots, commercial areas, landscape roads, and transit hubs in Shanghai.

After more than a half year of solicitation, the entry of “heart-shaped building painted in seven colors” emerged as the winning design. The structure and building materials place particular emphases on stability and the ability to survive terrible weathers. For structure, it focuses on particular functions such as being windproof, sun-proof, rainproof and theft-proof. And for building materials, the design highlights the utilization of safe and durable materials in line with the long duration of the Expo and the specific requirements of being fire-resistant, pressure-resistant, wind-resistant and corrosion-proof. In terms of the function, it takes into account the fact that volunteers will be manned here to offer information, translation and interpretation, promotion of etiquette awareness and first-aid services to visitors and citizens.

Xie Hua, designer of the service station, said that he drew inspirations from the logo of the Expo volunteers, which marks its main body with the Chinese character “心”(means the heart). In the designing process, Xie has also taken into consideration various factors relating to the service station.

As a designer, Xie has been always concerned with the World Expo. “Expo 2010 will be another grand international event hosted by China after the successful Beijing Olympic Games. I think it is quite meaningful for me to participate in the Expo regardless of the form of involvement. The service stations are not big in terms of their sizes, but as the Chinese saying goes, small as the sparrow is, it possesses all its internal organs. Therefore it is quite challenging for the designer to weigh carefully the reification of the concepts and the design of fine details.” said Xie。