Postcard from Shanghai
Sam Yang, Labbrand’s VP and executive creative director, explores the world of brand design in Shanghai. He discusses how branding has evolved in China over the past 10 years and where Labbrand fits into the city’s design scene.
How does Labbrand’s Shanghai office approach brand design projects?
In Shanghai, it’s difficult to treat design as a final layer. For me, design is more like a multiplier, it makes a brand’s strategy, ambition and cultural intent tangible. We often align projects around three simple questions: is the brand shaping its category, is it building real connections and can it activate a wider ecosystem? Design translates these into something people can see and feel. In a fast-moving market like China, we focus less on one-off executions and more on building systems that are consistent, scalable and able to evolve over time.
Tell me about a recent project that reflects your agency’s philosophy.
A recent project with Teijin’s high-end oxygen concentrator brand, Silent air, reflects this well. The real challenge wasn’t visual, but a shift from strong B2B credibility to almost no presence in China’s consumer market. We redefined its leadership by moving away from generic medical cues to “medical-grade professionalism with a silent experience.” Then we reshaped the experience, introducing a softer, more human visual language. Finally, we built influence by creating a system that works across e-commerce, offline channels and strict medical compliance. For me, it’s a case where design genuinely drives transformation.
What do you find distinctive about Shanghai’s brand design scene?
What I find unique about Shanghai is its constant duality. It is highly international, yet deeply local at the same time. Brands here are benchmarking globally while redefining what a contemporary Chinese expression can be. Designers are also very business-aware, they rarely treat design as purely visual. The pace is fast, and experimentation is widely accepted. But what’s changed in recent years is a stronger focus on building lasting brand assets rather than short-term campaigns. That balance between speed and long-term thinking makes Shanghai particularly dynamic.
How have you seen the city’s attitude towards branding evolve over the last decade?
Ten years ago, branding was often treated as a layer added at the end. Today, it has become a core business asset. More companies are investing earlier in defining who they are and what they stand for, not just what they sell. There is also a clear shift from competing on product features to competing on meaning, relevance and experience. Another important change is the global ambition — many Chinese brands are now built with an international perspective from the start. This shift has raised the overall expectations for branding in the market.
How is localisation an important element when working with clients based in the city?
Localisation here goes far beyond language or visual adaptation. It’s really about understanding people, their values, behaviours and emotional expectations. Chinese consumers are highly dynamic and perceptive, so generic solutions rarely work. For us, localisation is a form of translation: taking a brand’s core idea and expressing it in a way that truly resonates in the local context. When done well, it allows brands to feel both globally consistent and locally meaningful, which is essential for building strong connections and long-term influence.
This article was taken from Transform magazine Q2, 2026. You can subscribe to the print edition here.
