An Overview Of How Ran Zheng Succeeded In Her Path On Becoming A Famous Designer

The professional designer Ran Zheng’s sincere and warm tea packaging design is a perfect ending to her 2021. By the end of last year, the director Benjamin Cleary presented a beautiful story to the public that discussed whether this loving husband and father who was diagnosed with a terminal illness should go with the option of sparing his family grief by having him replaced with a clone–Swan Song. In this movie, this tea box design is featured in many classic scenes.

（Teabox Design—Scene from Swan Song, Ran’s Work at Pentagram)

With Ran’s extensive experience in the design field, she was in charge of the tea box packaging design through the use of clashing colors as well as lines and graphics. This sincere and warm packaging design that fits well with the theme of the film has received wide acclaim. For Ran, this is another great work in her career as an artist.

Ran did her undergraduate at Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA)—one of the best art schools in China. It was selected as a member of the design team for projects related to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. CAFA is an art academy managed by the Ministry of Education of China and is awarded as “China’s most prestigious and renowned art academy” by The Manila Bulletin. 

After graduation, Ran joined a Master Program at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), majoring in graphic design. Ran began her career in design immediately after she completed her studies in 2016 and has worked on a wide range of projects since then. She has honed her skills to become an expert in both visual design and animation. 

Starting with her thesis project LOOK/HEAR, Ran Zheng, this talented young artist from China, has been receiving adequate attention. For fresh graduates, very few people have achieved as much with their thesis project as Ran did. LOOK/HEAR is her unique understanding toward different structures and how she turned life and technology into art. The project created an original system that connects graphic elements with ambient recordings made in New York City.

(LOOK/HEAR, Exhibited at Cooper Hewitt Museum)

This fantastic personal work was exhibited in the 2018 Cooper Hewitt Museum Exhibition and made Ran the winner of 7th Annual Typography Competition of Communication Arts Magazine and SEGD Global Design Merit Award, etc. In the meanwhile, LOOK/HEAR has also become a teaching resource that’s included in graphic design classes for Graduate Programs at both MICA and University of the Arts to shape the next generation, helping students to learn and see the possibility of motion graphic and interactive design.

As a designer, Ran has worked with many brands and institutions after she joined Pentagram. Her design style is not set in stone, nor does she stick to a specific type of artwork. The rebranding of Van Leeuwen, an artisanal ice cream brand from Brooklyn, New York, and Waze, one of the most popular navigation apps in the world, would unquestionably be the two milestones in Ran’s career path.

Additionally, the logo Ran designed for Meow Lab—an international art product design group, as an independent art director has also become one of her own masterpieces. The Idea of Meow comes from the Chinese word “妙” (pronunciation: meow), which stands for “beautiful and magical” and the sounds made by cats.  Ran drew the character “妙” in the ancient seal script style from the history of Chinese fonts. Its structure is centered and symmetrical and visually very balanced with the addition of a 3D lantern effect, making it lovely and special. Ran soon helped Meow to earn a good brand awareness through wide media exposure on social platforms like Little Red Book App and TikTok. 

（Logo of Meow Lab, Designed by Ran in 2021)

The design of Ran has included a rare skill set that combines identity, iconography, illustration, and animation in 2D and 3D. In the future, this young multi-dimensional artist will keep bringing more surprises to the public. 

For more information about Ran’s projects, please visit https://www.ranzhengdesign.com/