Shén jiào(神轎）
In East Asian culture, there are many Gods. Every God has his/ her festival. In order to travel during the festival, followers will put their gods into Shén jiào as transportation or a mobile house. This special transportation contains certain components, as following shows:
Process of transformation from real thing to icon
01
This vehicle is composed of three main parts-traditional Chinese-style roofs, a cuboid space, and a handle( for people to carry). So I simplified the shape and made it become the combination of two rectangles and a curve shape for the roof with some decoration lines.
02
During the Celebration process, some people will hold the lantern in front of the vehicle of god to lead the whole team to move on. Thus I add this element to my icon and combined it with the roof as the light source for god. Also, the number of lanterns should be even for good luck.
03
Usually, on the main body of this vehicle, there are two windows for god to peek outside. In order to keep the consistency of Chinese culture, I used two different patterns of window decoration, and these patterns also should be symmetrical for good luck.
04
In Chinese culture, the symbol of dragon and phoenix means the extension of god’s authority; however, the dragon is only for the male gods. If Godness wants to have the same meaning, people usually use phoenix instead of the dragon to reach the same purpose. That is why the Crown of the Sea Godness is composed of many symbols of phoenix. Finally, I add a phoenix on the roof to represent this vehicle is not for human-used, but for god-used.
Application of icons
Add patterns to change the meaning
Replace the window decoration to the “喜”(the congratulation of wedding)and the little lantern to the big wedding lantern. Therefore original meaning ,transfers to the wedding.
Combine a word with similar meaning
“廟”(Miào) means temple, the home of the God.
Repeat one part of the icon with dramatic effect
A lot of fake birds fly around the dead Phoenix.
Deconstruct the icon and make the deconstruction meaningful
When the phoenix flies up, it open the roof.