Creative Minds: How Chang Wang made a comic book that responds to nature

Name: Chang Wang

Origin: Yunnan China

Places lived/worked: China

Pronouns: She/her

CV:

• Havas Creative China Shanghai Senior Art Director 2024-now
• Fever Group Shanghai Senior Designer 2020-2022
• Ogilvy Shanghai Intern 2020-2020

1. How did you end up being a creative?

It’s a natural choice. I majored in advertising and visual communication when I was in university.

2. What's your favourite piece of work in your portfolio?

My favorite work is the one that won the 2025 Young Lion China Gold Award. It’s under the design category. The brief challenges us to create a comic story that supports the China Rural Development Foundation and calls on the public to pay more attention to the rural communities, agriculture, and farmers.

Our creative journey began with a fundamental question: What is the final connection between urban dwellers and agriculture? We began by asking ourselves: What truly connects city people to the land? Even if we no longer farm, the 24 Solar Terms still mark the rhythm of our daily lives.This ancient calendrical system, embedded in our culture, is a rare remaining bridge between urban life and agricultural tradition.

We saw this as our creative breakthrough. Rather than merely crafting a traditional comic story, we wanted to create an experience—one that uses real physical elements tied to the Solar Terms, such as lightning, fire, and water, to activate and awaken the story. With the forces of nature themselves as participants, readers would feel closer to the essence of agriculture. This led us to our core concept: A book of nature—one that is interactive, playful, and alive.

We designed a comic book that responds to the natural elements of each Solar Term. Readers are invited to interact with it using light, water, heat, or touch. During Rain Water, for instance, you sprinkle water on the pages; during Summer Solstice, you shine light to reveal the content. With more than ten different interactive experiences, each tied to a seasonal phenomenon, this book becomes a tangible, sensory journey. Through this fun and engaging format, we aim to show how the ancient wisdom of our ancestors has now merged with modern agricultural technology. It’s not just a comic book—it’s a living dialogue between the past and the present, nature and technology, city and countryside.

3. What's your favourite piece of work created by someone else?

My favorite work is "The Train of Memories" by Japan’s Sotetsu Railway Company, which was awarded the Film Craft Gold Lion at Cannes in 2023. What I admire most about this piece is how it compresses 25 years of a father-daughter relationship into the physical length of a single train. The concept is both visually arresting and layered with emotional and philosophical depth. It evokes empathy effortlessly through the quiet, universal power of familial love.

The entire film is captured in a single continuous shot, with 25 pairs of actors representing different moments across the 25 years—all shown simultaneously. Every element, from costumes and props to the characters’ expressions, subtly shifts with the seasons and the passage of time. The level of craftsmanship is exceptional, making it a work that invites repeated viewing and deep reflection.

4. What/who are your key creative influences?

My biggest creative sparks come from live music performances, my closest creative collaborators, and the streets of Shanghai.

5. What career did you think you'd have when you were a kid?

I wanted to be an art dealer—surrounded by fascinating artworks and interesting artists all day.

6. What advice would you give to 10-year-old you, if you could?

Don’t spend your entire summer watching Harry Potter. Beg Mom to sign you up for painting and electric guitar lessons instead.

7. How would your co-workers describe you?

A low-key worker with a childlike spirit.

8. What’s the last song/artist you listened to?

Robert Grace, a singer-songwriter from southern Ireland. His viral videos (making music with his son and dad on social media) led me to his debut China live—his sound hooks you instantly. Exactly my kind of music: global pop.

9. What’s your favorite music / film / TV show / book / other of the past year, and why?

Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days—I loved everything about it: the structure, cinematography, soundtrack, acting……

10. Tell us about an artist (any medium) that we've never probably heard of.