Design concept of the exhibition space of the Henan State Museum (China)

Abbasov Iftikhar Balakishi ORCID: 0000-0003-4805-8714 Doctor of Technical Science Professor of the Department of Engineering Graphics and Computer Design at Southern Federal University, Engineering-Technological Academy 347905, Russia, Rostovskaya oblast', g. Taganrog, ul. Chekhova, 22 iftikhar_abbasov@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Du Ifei Master's Degree Student, Department of Engineering Graphics and Computer Design, Southern Federal University, Engineering-Technological Academy 347928, Russia, Rostovskaya oblast', g. Taganrog, ul. Chekhova, 22 igkd@sfedu.ru

Relevance of the study

A museum is a place that spreads culture and demonstrates it to people in a unique way. Museum space is a way of reflecting the culture of society within a single space. The museum space is created with the help of certain exposition techniques, materials, designed to reveal the meaning, the message of the exposition ^[1],[2]. In general, this space unites not only the architectural basis, but also the visual shell of museum expositions. The components of the museum space include their digital support in the form of a website, a virtual tour for remote access.
The design of the museum space is one of the most important ways to attract visitors. Moreover, the design of the museum space can bring a unique artistic atmosphere to the museum so that the museum continues to develop. The design of the museum is based on the demonstration of cultural relics and samples in a certain space. Thanks to further intelligent planning and special design of the space, cultural relics can be more closely integrated with the environment, creating a more accessible cultural atmosphere.
The main object of maintenance of the museum space are visitors, tourists. It is necessary to create a functionally convenient environment for tourists to visit, attracting their attention as much as possible, arousing the desire to explore cultural relics, exhibits. The museum is also a public place where people receive cultural education and spend leisure time, but some exhibition spaces still have problems meeting the needs of the masses, which leads to a gradual decrease in the number of visitors ^[3].
Currently, there are many museums in China that use corporate image as part of their brand. In such conditions, it is necessary to actively develop all aspects of the museum brand to meet the needs of museums in modern society ^[4]. In this work, the key area of research is the introduction of brand culture in the Henan Province State Museum, a museum with a long history should keep up with the times.

Purpose, objectives of the study

This work is devoted to the development of a new design concept for the Henan Museum space, the hall of musical instruments of the Great Silk Road, in order to develop recommendations for further brand promotion in the field of tourist attractiveness and the development of the local economy. The object of the study is the museum of Henan Province, China, the subject is the influence of the museum's brand on the popularization of ancient Chinese culture.
To achieve this goal, it is necessary: to analyze the current state of the brand of some Asian museums of history and culture, to determine the features of the development of the museum of Henan Province, to identify historical aspects of the existence of the culture of the Great Silk Road, to identify and develop components of a new design concept for the museum space of Henan province on the example of the hall Musical Instruments of the Great Silk Road. As part of the new design concept, it is planned to create a museum logo, advertising, printing products, design and modeling of the exhibition hall of Musical instruments of the Great Silk Road.
The scientific hypothesis of the study suggests that the updated brand of the museum, created on the basis of modern technological requirements, will promote and popularize the history and culture of China.
This paper mainly considers methods of analysis and synthesis based on historical data and information obtained from professional literature. The following research methods are used in the work: historical approach, logical approach, system analysis. A situational approach to the organization of the environment was used when developing the design of the museum space. Based on stylistic and comparative analysis, the components of the brand of some similar museums in Southeast Asia are described.
The scientific novelty and theoretical significance of the research lies in the analysis of the brand of the South Asian museums of history and culture in order to rebrand this museum, in the development of the project of the original design concept of the hall of the exhibition space of the Henan Museum.

Henan Provincial Museum

Henan Province is located in the central part of China with its capital in the city of Zhengzhou. Henan is located at the junction of the coastal open area, central and western regions and is an important transport hub in China. As of the end of 2021, the permanent population of Henan Province was 98.83 million people. Located in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, Henan Province is one of the birthplaces of ancient Chinese civilization ^[5].
Crafts such as agriculture, animal husbandry and pottery originated here during the Paligan culture period about eight thousand years ago. During the Middle and late Longshan culture, more than four thousand years ago, the Central Plains entered the era of combined use of stone and bronze products. More than 20 orthodox dynasties, such as the Xia Dynasty and the Shang Dynasty, successively founded or moved their capital to Henan. Henan is home to four of the eight ancient capitals of China, namely Luoyang, the ancient capital of the thirteen dynasties, Kaifeng, the ancient capital of the eight dynasties, Anyang, the ancient capital of the seven dynasties Zhengzhou, the ancient capital of Xia and Shang.

Historical stages of the creation of the Henan Provincial Museum

Founded in 1927, the Henan Museum is one of the oldest and largest museums in China. The museum is located in the city of Zhengzhou, with a built-up area of 55 thousand square meters ^[6],[7]. In 2009, it was selected as the first batch of national museums built jointly by central and local authorities. Currently, the Henan Museum houses a collection of more than 170,000 cultural relics, the most distinctive of which are prehistoric cultural relics, Shang and Zhou bronzes, ceramics, jade and stone carvings of past dynasties. The choice of this particular Chinese museum is due to the fact that one of the authors of the article is a native of this province, and this work will help popularize the culture of his native land.
Most of the cultural relics were obtained in the early twentieth century from archaeological excavations in Shangqiu, Luoyang, Anyang, Kaifeng, Sichuan, Sanmenxia, Huixian, Xinzheng. Among the collections there are more than 5,000 copies of first-class national cultural relics of high historical, cultural and artistic value, and some collections are known as national treasures. During the anti-Japanese War, some of the valuable cultural relics from the Henan Museum were preserved in the Taiwan Historical Museum. From 1930 to 1937 was a period of unprecedented development for the Henan Museum, the collections contained the most numerous and exquisite historical relics with local characteristics of Henan.
In 1948, the People's Liberation Army of China liberated the ancient capital of Kaifeng. The Party and the government attached great importance to cultural education and cultural events, and the museum began to flourish again. In 1961, the Henan Museum was moved from Kaifeng to Zhengzhou, the provincial capital, with the best exhibition center. However, when the museum was organized and carried out various activities, an unprecedented cultural revolution began. During the 10 years of the Cultural Revolution, the work of the museum was paralyzed, and its activities were abandoned, later the museum gradually began to recover, and entered a new period of historical development. Especially in the 1980s, the popularity of the museum continued to grow, with the deepening of the reforms of the 1990s and openness, international cultural exchanges and the rapid development of tourism further contributed to the development of national museums.
The main building of the main exhibition hall of the Henan Museum resembles the ancient observatory of the Yuan Dynasty (the earliest surviving observatory in China, located in Denfeng, Henan (Fig.1, left). The museum is interpreted as a "Pyramid with a crown", the crown has the shape of a rectangular vessel, symbolizing the Central Plains of China (Fig. 1, right). The main hall has blue transparent windows from top to bottom and a transparent glass belt, which looks very majestic ^[8].

Fig.1. The Observatory of the ancient Yuan Dynasty (Denfeng, Henan) and the modern building of the Henan Museum

Exhibition activities of the museum

At the beginning of the creation of the Henan Museum, great importance was attached to the collection of cultural relics. However, due to lack of experience, the work of the museum was random, often they simply collected rare collections, and the collections themselves were quite complex: the good and the bad were mixed.
It is particularly worth noting that the museum also took the initiative to conduct several field excavations and received a large number of excavated cultural relics. Collections have become not only numerous, but also high-quality and valuable. Such as a square pot with a lotus and a tap, a nine-handed ruyi jade in Denfeng County (Fig.2). It is thanks to the large number of cultural relics that it has significantly increased its status in the national museum circle, and has also been highly appreciated abroad. 

Fig.2. Cultural relics in the museum, exhibition hall "Ancient jade of Henan province"

The period from 1977 to 1997 can be called the 20th anniversary of the great development of the Henan Museum, the exhibition work was carried out vividly and gradually established itself as a museum of national cultural relics. Over the past ten years, with the constant deepening of work with cultural relics, long-preserved cultural relics have finally been exhibited again. Departments of culture of various regions and cities have collected a large number of beautiful cultural relics. These exquisite relics, such as pearls encrusted on the land of the Central Plains, emit a sparkling radiance and certainly attract countless tourists from China and abroad with their endless charm ^[9],[10].
The Henan Provincial Museum is not only a place for collecting cultural relics, cultural enlightenment, but also an important place for scientific research ^[11]. Between 1931 and 1938, the Henan Museum published more than 100 volumes of catalogues and research papers on cultural relics. In 1977, with the support of the Henan Provincial Museum, the first provincial-level cultural magazine "Henan Cultural Newsletter" was published. Gradually, academic journals with local features and unique styles have been formed, which attract more and more attention from cultural and museum circles. Next, we will consider as an analogue some museums of Southeast Asia of historical and cultural profile.

Historical Museums of Southeast Asia

Ten major specialized museums of Southeast Asian countries were selected for comparison and analysis. Tables were compiled with the logo, exterior, interior, brand carriers, and corporate colors of these museums. Figures 3, 4 show comparative data of these two museums.
1. The Tokyo National Museum of Japan is located in the northern part of Ueno Park in Tokyo, founded in 1938, 87 items of Chinese treasures, 634 items of important cultural relics are in trust here.
2. The National Museum of Nature and Science is the largest natural history museum in Japan. Located in Ueno Park in Tokyo, founded in 1871, the collection fund consists of more than 89,000 exhibits.
3. The National Museum of Korea is the largest historical and art museum and cultural center in the Republic of Korea, founded in 1945, located in the capital city of Seoul, the collection fund consists of 220,000 exhibits.
4. The Seoul Historical Museum is located in one of the northern districts of Seoul – Jeongnogu, established in 2002.
5. The National Museum of Bangkok is the Central National Museum of Thailand, the largest museum in Southeast Asia, founded in 1874. The museum has a collection of works of Thai art and history.

Fig.3. Museums of Southeast Asia, part I

6. Siam Museum – located on Sanamchai Street in Bangkok, Thailand, established in 2007.
7. The National Museum of Singapore is the oldest museum in Singapore. The history of this institution begins in 1849, it is one of the sections of the library of the Singapore Institute.
8. The National Museum of Malaysia, founded in 1963 in Kuala Lumpur in a building that looks like a traditional Malay house.
9. The Asian Civilizations Museum is a Singapore museum that tells about the historical roots of the country through a description of the culture of Asian peoples over the past five thousand years. The collection fund consists of 1,500 historical and cultural artifacts.
10. The National Museum of Indonesia is the central museum of the history and Culture of Indonesia in Jakarta. Founded in 1778, the collection fund consists of 140,000 exhibits. 

Fig.4. Museums of Southeast Asia, part II

Regarding the brand analysis of these museums, we are mainly interested in the logo (brand name), brand carriers and corporate colors. The presented logos contain both the font part (mostly chopped fonts) and the graphic part (except for the National Museums of Singapore and Tokyo). The graphic part is based on silhouettes of flora and fauna (National Museum of Nature and Science of Tokyo, National Museum of Bangkok), based on religious symbols (National Museum of Korea), petroglyph (Siam Museum), geometric sign of rhythmic spots (National Museum of Indonesia), also with abbreviations (Tokyo National Museum, National Museum of Malaysia, Museum of Asian Civilizations).
On all logos of museums, national names are duplicated by English-language versions. In the exterior of most buildings, European style can be noted, some have an ethnic basis. The interiors mostly differ in accordance with the content of the exposition, the corporate colors support the national symbols and brand carriers (black, gray, red, terracotta, shades of azure and yellow-green). You can notice that the brand colors are quite muted, there are no bright shades (blue, light blue, yellow). The noted features of the museums under consideration demonstrate rather the features of their industry affiliation to the museum business.

Rebranding of the Henan Provincial Museum

Over the past few years, the corporate image of the Henan Museum has not undergone major changes. The main reason is that the logo at that time was inspired by the appearance of the museum building. When developing a new brand, the main attention should be paid to classical cultural relics, as well as historical sources on which the culture of the Central Plains is based.
It should be noted that a new corporate logo has been proposed, and it is inspired by the shape of classical cultural relics in the museum. Therefore, in order for people to understand the historical origin, it is necessary to focus on this cultural relic.
When designing an exhibition hall, it is necessary to take into account the design to improve the image, including general and corporate impact. At the same time, it is also necessary to take into account the color design of the entire space: the colors should be in harmony with each other, there should not be too detached and not corresponding to the theme of the exhibition ^[12],[13].
In the text introducing cultural relics, the font should be unified, the text should be written in an easy-to-read font. You also need to pay attention to the harmony of the font color with the background. This is an important aspect of visiting the exhibition by the viewer. Special attention should also be paid to posters and billboards, and the exhibition should maintain a uniform style with the brand image ^[10],[14].

Logo development, branded media

The first step in creating and developing a brand is the creation of various logo design solutions. Below is an associative series of images (Fig.5). Bronze products are the oldest type of Chinese art. With its variety of shapes, types of jewelry and the level of casting technique, Chinese bronze is a brilliant contribution to world art. Traditional Chinese ornaments refer to patterns with unique national artistic styles passed down from generation to generation. 

Fig.5. Associative row: a bronze glass in the shape of a bird, a traditional Chinese ornament, an image of a bird

Based on the illustrative material, the following search options for logo sketches were proposed (Fig.6).

Fig.6. Search options for the logo

As a result of the discussions, the following final version of the Henan Museum logo was chosen, which is shown in Fig. 7, on the left. The new logo is mainly based on the famous collection of cultural relics of the Henan Museum, on a stylized glass in the shape of a bird. A packaging ornament based on a logo in the style of traditional Chinese patterns has also been developed (Fig.7, right). The use of repeating ornaments and their combinations creates a beautiful background that can be used for the production of branded graphics and packaging.

 Fig.7. The final version of the logo and the pattern for packaging products

The shades of terracotta were chosen as the brand colors: C:29, M:99, Y:100, K:0 and C:59, M:81, Y:100, K:44. The shades selected for the brand correspond to the colors used in the unified shades of the museum interior. Running Hand and Source Serif Variable were chosen as branded fonts, which will be used in the development of branded printing products.

The booklet is a carrier of corporate identity, with the help of lines, images and text it can be combined into a creative and exquisite work to display the brand of the museum and the content of the exhibition (Fig.8).

 Fig.8. Museum booklet

Regardless of the form in which the poster is presented, it must have a strong visual impact and artistic appeal. Museum posters should express the theme, the name of the exhibition, the time and place of the event (Fig.9).

 Fig.9. Posters of the museum's exhibition dedicated to musical instruments of the Great Silk Road

The design of the Henan Museum's website was also proposed, which is now an important direction for the development of digitization of exhibits, and subsequent acquaintance with the museum's collection.

Design concept of the exhibition hall "Musical instruments of the Great Silk Road"

The Silk Road is broadly divided into the Land Silk Road and the Sea Silk Road. The overland Silk Road originates during the Western Han Dynasty (202-208 BC), when the emperor of the Han dynasty Wu sent an envoy to the western regions, through Gansu and Xinjiang to Central and Western Asia and connected the Mediterranean countries with access by land ^[4],[5].
The Maritime Silk Road mainly passed through the South China Sea, so it is also called the South China Maritime Silk Road. The Maritime Silk Road was formed during the Qin and Han dynasties, developed and flourished under the Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties. The traditional Silk Road starts from the ancient capital of China Chang'an, and reaches the Mediterranean Sea through the countries of Central Asia, ends in Rome, with a total length of 6440 kilometers. This road is considered the crossroads of ancient civilizations of the East and West, and silk was the most representative cargo. For thousands of years, nomads, tribes, traders, believers, diplomats, soldiers and research scientists have traveled along the Silk Road.
Over time, the Silk Road became a collective name for all political, economic and cultural exchanges between ancient China and the West. The main contribution of the Silk Road to the development of ancient Chinese society was economic, it allowed the inhabitants of the Central Plains to conduct commodity trade with their western neighbors. In addition to the economic contribution, another contribution of the Silk Road was the cultural aspect to the development of ancient Chinese society. Many rulers of the Central Plains have begun to adopt an open diplomatic strategy towards neighboring countries in Central and Western Asia. Mutual absorption has significantly contributed to cultural exchange between China and the countries of Central and Western Asia.
At the Henan Museum, many exhibitions are open at the same time, among them "Musical Instruments of the Great Silk Road" – the last exhibition. This allows visitors to immerse themselves in history and culture, thanks to musical instruments that were traded on the Silk Road, and acquaintance with historical information. The exhibition aims to tell people about the historical aspects and the significant influence of the Silk Road. Figure 10 shows traditional musical instruments, typical temple architecture, ethnic drawings and national ornaments of Southeast Asian countries in the form of a table ^[6]. By visual comparison, one can notice the national peculiarities of the culture and art of these countries. They have something in common, unifying, at the same time they have their own nuances, signs indicating ethnicity.

Exhibition hall design

The exhibition space should have many functional areas, such as an exhibition area, a meeting area, storage, passage, recreation area, etc. The recreation area for tourists is an integral part of the interior space of exhibitions and public service areas ^[14],[15]. When planning various exhibitions, it is necessary to take into account the audience, control the route of the visit to enhance the effect of the exhibition.
The main forms of organization of the flows of the internal space of the museum building include: sequential, radial and tunnel. Sequential implies a step-by-step transition through exhibition spaces. With a radial organization, the exhibition space is gathered around a single center. The tunnel organization refers to the presence of a passage between the exhibition spaces. Usually these trajectories are intertwined within the same museum space. The Henan State Museum mostly uses a radial scheme for organizing the flow of visitors, the four main exhibition halls form the central part of the museum space.
When designing, it is also necessary to take into account the density of the placement of exhibits of cultural relics, which is the most important issue in the design of exhibitions. The shape of the exhibition hall is square, the floor plan is shown in Fig. 11, the display cases with cultural relics are placed according to the principle of symmetry. 

 Fig.11. Plan of the exhibition hall "Musical instruments of the Great Silk Road"

The color design of the museum space should be closely related to the theme of the exhibition in order to attract the attention of the audience. The color scheme should reflect the theme of the exhibition hall and the expectation of visitors.
The design style of the exhibition hall should be simple and original, as well as take into account unique national and cultural characteristics. The location of the display cases of cultural relics in the exhibition hall should be regular, they should not interfere with people's visits due to the incorrect location of the display cases ^[16],[17].
Based on the above criteria, a three-dimensional model of the room was created, showcases and exhibits were placed taking into account the route of visiting the exhibition. In the future, materials, textures were assigned to the objects of the hall, lighting sources were installed ^[18]. Figures 12, 13 show visualizations of various angles of the exhibition hall, which clearly show the exhibits, musical instruments and cultural relics ^[19].

Fig.12. Visualization of the exhibition hall "Musical instruments of the Great Silk Road"

 Fig.13. Visualization of the exhibition hall "Musical instruments of the Great Silk Road"

Based on the created three-dimensional model, a video flight of the exhibition premises was taken, which complements the possibilities of a virtual tour, remote access. Further, within the framework of the results obtained, we will discuss some modern trends in the design of museum space on the example of domestic and foreign museums.

Discussion: museum space in modern conditions
Usually, the physical boundaries of the room are considered to be under the museum space, but this has not been true for a long time. Today museums have become not only a cultural and educational organization, this factor must be taken into account when developing the design of the museum space. The paper ^[20] discusses the design features of museums in Novosibirsk in modern realities. Museums are becoming venues for teaching classes that develop interest in modern folk art and science. Therefore, there is an increasing need for a universal, easily transformable space for educational purposes. And the original museum room, as a shell of collections, plays a high socio-cultural role.
The article ^[21] is devoted to the transformation of a modern museum into a promising center of multicultural communication. It is necessary to determine the response of museums to the challenge of intercultural communication in the modern world. It is noted that at the moment there has been a shift in the functional structure of the museum from its custodial functions to communication functions.
Visitors are increasingly posting their photos online while visiting museums. This is especially evident in the social network Instagram, in the work ^[22] the issues of creating posts by visitors of immersive digital spaces (spaces with the effect of immersion in the environment) are investigated. Combining these spaces with visual social media platforms is becoming commonplace in the modern world.
The key audience among visitors is the family, which requires a special form of participation. The article ^[23] presents the results of research conducted at the large international art museum Tate Modern (London) on the study of family needs in the museum space. For a family visit, the usual needs become important: playing, sitting, talking, eating and relaxing. While the social purpose of museums continues to be discussed, it is necessary to better understand the possibilities of modern museums.
The article ^[24] is devoted to the analysis of available museum technologies for people with sensory impairments. A small amount of research suggests tactile telepresence robots, multi-sensory works of art, 3D multimedia, multilingual devices and augmented reality applications. These new technologies can change the museum experience for people with sensory impairments and disabilities.

Museum space design issues. Design covers all spheres of human activity: architecture and landscape, interior, clothing, objects, expositions, etc. It reflects the lifestyle, worldview, aesthetic tastes of society ^[25]. Difficulties in developing the design of the museum are explained by the versatility of the form and content of museum expositions.

The paper ^[26] explores the importance of the process of design design of museum expositions, as it changes over time, therefore, it is a dynamically developing field of museology.

The work ^[27] is devoted to the analysis of modern trends in museum identity and identifies the reasons for museum rebranding. Innovative, creative activity in the field of museum branding creates new directions in visual identity. The branding of the museum is understood as a set of measures aimed at building visitors' confidence in the new image of the museum.

The article ^[28] discusses the issues of designing the interiors of the museum space. It is necessary to show each exhibit in a unique way while respecting the integrity of the entire exposition.

Currently, not much attention is paid to the issues of illumination in the design of museum premises. The combination of daylight and artificial lighting affects the perception of museum expositions. The article ^[29] describes the process of designing daytime lighting for the museum premises, its external facades in order to support an interesting spatial atmosphere.

Multimedia technologies in the museum exposition. The article ^[30] describes the process of rethinking the current state of the museum, regarding the use of multimedia technologies. When creating expositions with multimedia technologies, it is also necessary to take into account the visual shell of the room, so as not to cause disharmony with the overall design of the museum space.

The review ^[31] explores the use of virtual and augmented reality in the museum space for social learning. Examples of using virtual/augmented reality for learning are described, while attention is paid to accessibility, interaction between physical and virtual environments.

The article ^[32] is devoted to the application of a very interesting modern museum technology - the use of museum guide robots with artificial intelligence in the space of the science museum. Forty-seven museum guides were interviewed, who described their impressions of robot training. This research will help to substantiate the debate about machine learning paradigms in the spaces of modern museums.

Conclusion

To implement the plan, it is necessary to draw inspiration from cultural legends and turn to historical sources, as they carry the experience and knowledge passed on by ancestors. Each graphic and symbol presented at the exhibition is designed to convey meaning. Therefore, in the developed design it is necessary to combine individual and combined meaning of symbols. As a result, it can be noted that the analysis of the current state of the brand of South Asian museums was made, the features of the history of the creation and subsequent development of the museum of Henan province were described, historical aspects of the existence of the culture of the Great Silk Road were revealed. The components of the rebranding of the museum have been developed, a new design concept has been proposed, the room of the hall "Musical Instruments of the Great Silk Road" has been modeled, visualizations have been made and a video flight of the hall has been created, with a visual representation of the exhibits for remote access and viewing. Modern trends in the design of museum space were also discussed, noting the growing influence of multimedia technologies.