ADC Awards

ADC Annual Awards is the oldest continuously running industry award show in the world, with an incredible legacy of over 100 years. These awards celebrate the very best in advertising, digital media, graphic and publication design, packaging and product design, motion, experiential and spatial design, photography, illustration and fashion design – all with a focus on artistry and craftsmanship.

2026 ADC Awards - Brand / Communication Design

Fascinating

Agency The Nine / Shanghai

Client Shenzhen Tourism Bureau, China
BACK TO RESULTS

Annual ID

ADC105_BCD056M

Background

Shenzhen, China's most vibrant and international hub for innovation, stands as one of the most important cities in the country. This brand aims to attract more global tourists to experience the "Fascinating" charm of Shenzhen through a series of poster.

Creative Idea

We delved into Shenzhen's architectural wonders, innovative technology, mountain and sea leisure, historical culture, and explored a journey of " Fascinating". Our series of poster designs are presented using postmodern photography, capturing moments of architecture and people based on the concept of "Fascinating". It showcases the blend of modernity and tradition in Shenzhen, integrating natural beauty with futurism, and presenting the city's technology and poetry.

Insights & Strategy

Shenzhen, the forefront of China's reform and opening-up, is home to numerous high-tech brands such as Huawei, BYD Auto, and Tencent, full of miracles and future. We delved into Shenzhen's architectural wonders, innovative technology, mountain and sea leisure, historical culture, and explored a journey of " Fascinating". Therefore, we decided to use "Fascinating" to express the incredible and wonderful feelings that Shenzhen brings us, and to describe this complex and charming, contradictory and unified city.

Execution

We use the minimalism of post-modern photography, the geometric composition design captures the moment of architecture and people. In the bay of Shenzhen Astronomical Observatory, a piano is suspended by a hot air balloon, with an aerial pianist playing a solo for the sea; at MixC World, a Cantonese opera star dressed in ancient attire gazes at a huge statue; at Shenzhen Museum, an astronaut rides a Time Capsule Elevator, shuttling through elevator tracks shaped like piano keys; at Wutong Mountain National Park, male and female Wing Chun martial artists start their moves like still water, engaging in a whirlwind-like duel amidst ancient trees, pavilions, and towers; at the Ming Dynasty Dapeng Fortress, nine acrobats use their bodies as drumsticks to beat a giant drum with a diameter of 18 meters; at the Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning, a calligraphy artist uses a robotic arm to integrate human and machine, painting with ink in the air; at Marisfrolg Pavilion, the Shenzhen Fashion Model Team steps on the spiral T-stage; at South China Sea Beach, an astronaut rides a white horse standing at the center of the circle, while BYD Auto speeds around, stirring up gusts of sand; at Shekou Cruise Center, a group of ballet girls tie their shoelaces in the ship's cabin, resembling Edgar Degas's oil paintings, ect. We have extended this series of brand photography to media such as poster, outdoor billboard and more.

Results

Thisa series of poster has garnered over 60 million impressions.
It has attracted tens of thousands of people from all over the world to experience the "Fascinating" Shenzhen.