70 Years of Architecture at Tongji
The architectural discipline at Tongji University was officially founded in the 1952 reorganization of Chinese higher education, combining resources from 13 different relevant programs nationwide with faculty that consists of alumni of a number of world-famous design institutions. As an international academic journal sponsored by Tongji University, Time + Architecture magazine curated a special edition to mark the 70th anniversary of the discipline as a part of the celebration in 2022.
For this special edition, the chief editor wanted a refreshing, well-designed infographic cover based on the existing chronological table of milestones that summarizes the journey of disciplinary exploration over the past seven decades. The editorial team had gone through several rounds of the sketch but had yet been satisfied. In recognition of my previous contribution to an infographic design for a comparable historical survey project as a former student, I was commissioned with pleasure to design this cover.
Initial Sketches
Provided the impending publication date and limited time for design (a week), I was given an initial draft to work from. Despite making a more refined version of the existing rectangular-grid layout, I managed to propose an alternative radial layout inspired by an image of the universe. This new layout had a more dynamic structure and, more importantly, provided a more intuitive demonstration of the discipline's expansion.
The use of concentric circles in the design allowed me to incorporate an additional layer of information into the infographic—the roster of 13 universities that contributed to the establishment of Tongji’s architectural school. As a result, this design successfully combined two early concepts of the team and was well-received by the editors and the dean.
Color Samples
After a series of refinements on details, I explored multiple color combinations for sampling. The initial blue one refers to a blueprint style that aligns with the architectural theme. Then I tried a warmer beige background that better suits the red while also conveying a sense of history and celebration. Before submitting, I came up with another idea of a mint green theme—a lightly unusual color in architectural drawing but surprisingly vibrant and refreshing, which turned out to be the chief editor’s final pick
The final design integrated two layers of information. The story starts at the bottom of the timeline, with a ring containing a list of higher education, identifying the 13 colleges that constituted the new Tongji’s architecture discipline. Moving up, the main body shows the discipline’s institutional expansion from the initial architecture and urban planning programs to a variety of branches. Each branch has an independent axis and distinct color, and its significant organizational changes were marked by solid or empty circles depending on their importance.
Special thanks to: Prof. Hua Xiahong (producer), Xu Yonghao (initial draft). ︎