PROJECT INFORMATION
Nurture talents for the community
"Ms. Tsang attached great importance to education. She once served as the supervisor and school director of five middle and primary schools under the Hong Kong Buddhist Association. In 1981, she founded The Buddhist Tsang Kor Sing Anglo-Chinese Kindergarten, a government-subsidized non-profit kindergarten, and became its first principal. Ms. Tsang devoted herself to nurturing talents for the society."
Education Philosophy
Ms. Tsang Guocheng (a Buddhist lay practitioner) valued education deeply and served as the supervisor and school director of five primary and secondary schools under the Hong Kong Buddhist Association, sparing no effort in nurturing young talents.
The Buddhist Tsang Kor Sing Anglo-Chinese Kindergarten (BTKS) is a Buddhist kindergarten located in the Sham Shui Po District. In the past, the public held a stereotypical view of Buddhist schools as overly traditional. However, we were pleasantly surprised by the founders' and principal’s open-mindedness and willingness to embrace innovation and Western design concepts during in-depth communications. The kindergarten attaches great importance to connecting with parents, accepts students from all districts (not just Sham Shui Po), and its excellent school ethos has attracted many students to enroll across districts.
- Brand Goal: To realize Buddhist-based education
- Brand Mission: Upholding the Buddhist spirit of compassion, nurturing young children’s moral character and wisdom under the Buddhist Bodhi tree
- Core Values: Embracing the educational principle of "education for all without discrimination"; fostering the all-round development of children in morality, intelligence, physical fitness, social skills and aesthetics; being open and inclusive, and willing to accept new things
A Single Leaf, a World of Existence
After fully considering environmental factors and cultural backgrounds, we chose a heart formed by interwoven Bodhi leaves as the core design element.
The Buddhist philosophy of "A flower blooms a world, a leaf bears the Bodhi" symbolizes enlightenment and wisdom. It also embodies the idea of seeing the big picture through the small details — a flower blooms beautifully after weathering wind and rain, and a leaf grows into a towering Bodhi tree only through enduring the sun and rain. We believe this is also the profound belief of all staff at the kindergarten.
A Timeless Form, Reimagined for the Modern Age
We aimed to use minimalist lines to create a contemporary aesthetic while retaining Buddhist connotations, achieving a perfect integration of Eastern and Western design and breaking free from traditional stereotypes. This inspired our LOGO design, which features a single Bodhi leaf as the main subject, an iconic symbol of the Buddhist spirit.
The vein pattern of the Bodhi leaf is taken from the real veins of a Bodhi leaf, with the four letters BTKS integrated into a heart shape to form the leaf veins. The delicate, distinct texture looks as if it is naturally formed, symbolizing that BTKS provides nurturing and education for students like a leaf supplies nutrients for a plant. Meanwhile, the leaf veins also represent a connection network, reflecting that BTKS students come from all districts of Hong Kong.
Orange yellow is chosen as the main color — it symbolizes the color of Buddhist monk robes, and also conveys a sense of vitality and sunshine, implying the meaning of educating and nurturing children.
We further optimized the design of banners and printed materials: creating a series of patterns that transition from a neat, uniform appearance to rhythmic lines. This design expresses uniqueness and individuality, embraces multiculturalism, and adds a wonderful and warm atmosphere to the brand visual.
For the consistent style of the kindergarten’s stationery, we pursued elegance in minimalism, elevating the overall texture of the design and hoping to guide people to focus on the intrinsic value of education itself.
With the LOGO concept finalized, the focus of our second phase was how to extend this core idea to the entire kindergarten, allowing more children to connect with the Bodhi leaf symbol. Thus, the heart shape from the visual identity system became the most important element in the stationery design.
Seeking a Haven for the Soul
In Buddhist thought, "Wisdom (Ming Zhi)" symbolizes the enlightenment that dispels ignorance and darkness. Every living being possesses the same wisdom as the Buddha, which is only obscured by ignorance and delusion. A correct understanding of the law of cause and effect and the principle of dependent origination is the foundation of wisdom. Corresponding to this, the kindergarten’s responsibility is to inspire students’ wisdom, enabling them to distinguish right from wrong, cherish karmic connections, and make sound judgments. For students, it means cherishing themselves, studying diligently, and grasping the key to wisdom.
On the other hand, "Compassion (Xian Bei)" means to recognize and alleviate the suffering of others. People should learn the importance of respect, harmony and cooperation. Understanding others’ feelings and perspectives, as well as communicating, caring and forgiving one another, is crucial. Compassion should be based on empathy and the idea of universal oneness. When we show compassion and relieve others’ suffering, we can realize the harm of selfishness and the benefits of harmony and mutual care. The character "Xian (reveal)" is associated with blue, a color that usually symbolizes stability, trust and calmness, indicating that the meaning of "Xian" is clarity, transparency and credibility.
Color Connotations: "Ming (Clarity)" is associated with red: symbolizing vitality, passion, strength, brightness and clarity. "Zhi (Wisdom)" is associated with green: symbolizing life, growth and peace, representing wisdom, understanding and tranquility. "Bei (Compassion)" is associated with pink: symbolizing love, warmth and sympathy, standing for empathy, care and compassion for others’ suffering.
We drew layout inspiration from Bodhi leaves, constructing the kindergarten’s visual landscape system in imitation of leaf veins and shaping the campus into a thriving "Bodhi leaf". With the colorful visual of "a single leaf, a world of existence", we highlight the vibrant side of the kindergarten. The colorful images blend harmoniously with the natural beauty of leaf textures, and childlike cartoon elements are added to enhance a joyful and relaxed atmosphere.
A tiny leaf contains the endless mysteries of the universe; different combinations create unique and exquisite embellishments. We are also honored to have won the Silver Award at the Graphic Annual Design for this BTKS project.
Creative Statement | Sharing Multicultural Values, and a Common Pursuit of Education and Art
Ms. Tsang Guocheng valued education and spared no effort in nurturing young talents. In fact, this aligns perfectly with CForest’s collaborative philosophy.
For us, creation is a form of education — it is deeply emotional and even inspires people to reflect. One must consider how to interact with design; as time changes, design directions evolve and are expressed in different ways, and these factors bring us extensive creative possibilities. Just like the meaning of children’s education, guiding multicultural values and embodying them in the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of a child plays an equally important role.
Both education and design are disciplines that serve people. We must always strive to educate, improve people’s lives, and potentially bring about revolutionary changes for the better.
