Designing a Unified, Flexible Brand System for China’s National Subsidy Campaign

Project Overview

National subsidy marketing on Taobao required a systematic visual design that conveys the subsidy flow, reduces user effort, and supports rapid iteration.

Design Objectives

Mind‑symbol definition : create a clear mental model of the subsidy.

Modular visual system : encode frequently changing information into reusable blocks.

Efficient user experience : enable “one‑look‑understand, one‑click‑receive”.

Business Logic & Visual Mapping

The subsidy flow consists of three sequential steps:

Government issues subsidy.

Consumer obtains a qualification coupon on Taobao.

Platform rights are added and the subsidy is redeemed.

These map to three design dimensions:

Subject dimension : government authority.

Platform dimension : Taobao’s trust and transaction guarantee.

Rights dimension : combined value of government and platform coupons.

Visual guidelines derived from the dimensions:

Color : green (energy‑saving) + orange (Taobao vitality) to convey official credibility without heaviness.

Structure : large‑percentage figures for rights, modular blocks for hierarchy.

Dynamics : page‑turning animation to illustrate coupon stacking.

Mind Extraction – Symbol to System

The brand mind is expressed in three layers:

Theme layer : activity theme.

Rights layer : constant core benefit.

Product layer : the purchased item.

Adjusting the proportion of these layers allows rapid adaptation to different scenes and sizes.

Off‑site Propagation – Modular Templates

To handle diverse media formats, a “building‑block” system with four template families was created. The production workflow is:

New activity → Determine activity type → Select matching template → Fill content → Export

Example: during the 618 shopping festival a long‑screen metro ad used a “multiple‑coupon rain” layout to communicate benefits quickly.

On‑site Marketing – Venue Types

Within Taobao three venue patterns were designed to guide users from recognition to deep understanding:

Big‑promotion arena : segmented interaction waves present theme and rights; users see staged rights composition and can claim with a single click.

Category arena : vertical product focus with immersive presentation highlights selling points and lets users instantly grasp category supply and selectable dimensions.

City arena : combines subsidy coupons with local landmarks and regional mascots to add locality while preserving official messaging.

Conclusion

The project demonstrates a three‑step pipeline—mind extraction, modular visual system, and experience reconstruction—that turns a complex subsidy business into a visual, operable experience. The modular approach supports rapid iteration across offline and online channels while maintaining brand consistency.