马上快乐
Delivering Instant Happiness This Chinese New Year
A playful take on tradition, designed to deliver instant happiness.
For the Year of the Horse, I designed a series of Chinese New Year red packets around the phrase “马上快乐” (Mǎ Shàng Kuài Lè) — a playful twist on “instant happiness.”
In Chinese, 马上 can mean immediately, but literally translates to on a horse. I brought this wordplay to life by placing characters quite literally on horseback, turning the festive greeting into a playful visual narrative.
A familiar blessing, interpreted literally.
Rather than approaching the Year of the Horse through conventional zodiac imagery, I wanted to create something that felt unexpected, joyful and memorable.
The idea started with the dual meaning of 马上:
马上快乐 → Instant happiness → Happiness on a horse
This became the foundation for the entire visual language, with each character riding a horse while experiencing a little moment of happiness associated with Chinese New Year.
THE CONCEPT
CONCEPT EXPLORATION
Tradition, with a playful contemporary twist.
The illustrations draw inspiration from traditional Chinese painting and decorative motifs commonly seen on Chinese porcelain and tableware, creating an immediate sense of cultural familiarity.
Characters are dressed in traditional clothing and hairstyles, while their poses, activities and objects introduce more contemporary moments of humour and relatability.
Bright, energetic colours were layered against the traditional illustration style to create contrast and give the overall design a more youthful and celebratory character — reflecting the happiness behind 马上快乐.
Designing Moments of Happiness
Each character carries or interacts with something associated with the Chinese New Year experience.
From steamboat and festive snacks such as kueh bangkit, to traditional symbols like gold ingots, Chinese coins and 发 (prosperity), every detail connects back to familiar festive rituals.
Alongside these traditional elements are more contemporary behaviours — taking selfies, shopping for new clothes and celebrating together.
These aren't simply decorative details. Each represents a small source of happiness during the festive season: sharing food brings people together, dressing up creates anticipation for the celebrations, selfies capture moments with loved ones, while prosperity symbols reflect the wishes we exchange for the year ahead.
Together, they turn 马上快乐 from a festive greeting into a collection of relatable moments of instant happiness.
Giving Blessings, Receiving Instant Happiness.
The final red packets combine traditional Chinese visual references with bright colours, humour and contemporary behaviours, creating a festive identity that feels culturally familiar without feeling overly conventional.
Since the central message is 马上快乐, I wanted receiving the red packet itself to feel like part of that idea — a small, colourful moment of happiness passed from one person to another.
The visual identity was subsequently extended into Chinese New Year hamper tags for clients, allowing the concept to remain consistent across the company's festive gifting.
The Story Continues
马上快乐 didn't stop at the red packets.
The same concept is extended into another familiar part of Chinese New Year gatherings — playing cards.
The illustrated world of 马上快乐 was adapted into a physical deck of poker cards, bringing the characters and festive humour into an object commonly used during CNY gatherings. The cards were also extended into festive office decorations, allowing the campaign to move beyond gifting and become part of the celebratory environment.