Estée LauderCNY 2026 | Year of the Horse
Jan 2026 — Mar 2026
I was invited to contribute bespoke artistic design for Estée Lauder’s CNY 2026 – Year of the Horse program.Drawing inspiration from traditional Chinese shadow puppetry, I developed a custom horse silhouette specifically created for the Lunar New Year, alongside hand-crafted shadow puppet elements that informed the visual language of the project.Rooted in the interplay of light, shadow, and movement, the design reinterprets a traditional cultural form within a contemporary brand context.
During the CNY season, the shadow-puppet horse was translated into large-scale sculptural installations and presented across Estée Lauder’s Lunar New Year retail environments nationwide.
The enlarged shadow-puppet forms appeared as monumental art installations within branded spaces, integrated with interior displays and seasonal visual systems.Placed within these environments, the installation transformed the intimate scale of shadow puppetry into an immersive spatial experience, allowing visitors to encounter the motif as both art and atmosphere.
During the CNY season, the shadow-puppet horse was translated into large-scale sculptural installations and presented across Estée Lauder’s Lunar New Year retail environments nationwide.
The enlarged shadow-puppet forms appeared as monumental art installations within branded spaces, integrated with interior displays and seasonal visual systems.Placed within these environments, the installation transformed the intimate scale of shadow puppetry into an immersive spatial experience, allowing visitors to encounter the motif as both art and atmosphere.
The Year of the Horse design was further applied across the CNY limited-edition packaging, extending into product visuals, festive gift sets, red envelopes, and seasonal brand assets.
From physical packaging to online product imagery, the shadow-puppet horse became a unifying symbol throughout the Lunar New Year campaign.Through this multi-scale application, the motif traveled from hand-crafted form to mass-produced design, maintaining its cultural reference while adapting to contemporary commercial formats.
As part of the Lunar New Year campaign, the Year of the Horse visuals were featured in promotional imagery and advertising materials created with Estée Lauder’s global brand ambassador.The imagery brought the shadow-puppet motif into dialogue with the campaign’s visual storytelling, further extending its presence across digital and print platforms during the festive season.
.png)
