nianhua-design

nianhua-design（v0.0.1）

Aesthetic Matrix: Dual Sub-Styles × Triple Historical Functions of Nianhua

1. Two Sub-Styles (--style) :
   • nianhua-suoyang (Nianhua Compilation · Synthesis of Tradition and Modernity) : A system of internal ordering catalogs and cover designs from art publishing houses from the 1950s to the 1990s. It is not a single folk painting, but a synthesis of cover design from that era—comprehensive in scope, capable of establishing traditional spirit through meticulous line work, folk paper-cutting serrated lines, color woodblock printing, seal-carving square stamps, and brush-written labels, while also projecting a forward-looking modernity via grid-based color block compositions, generous white space, photographic collage, and hand-drawn non-standard deformed typefaces that break the constraints of contemporary printing.
   • pioneer-book-series (1980s Pioneer Translation Series · Modernist Binding) : The design lineage for literary series, aesthetics translation series, and ideological picture books from the 1980s. It absorbs Bauhaus and Russian Constructivism, relying on generous white space, hard-edge cuts with perfect circles/triangles/solid bands, low-saturation scholarly overprinting, and handcrafted geometric book titles that stand like architectural columns.
2. Triple Historical Functions of Nianhua (--function) : Nianhua historically served three simultaneous functions—festive ornament (festive-ornament), folk belief expression (folk-belief), and mass visual communication (mass-visual). This rule explains why compilation covers naturally combine festive graphic tension, symmetrical ritual order, and large year numerals and hand-painted signboard characters that are instantly recognizable from a distance.
3. Three Contemporaneous Flavor Variants (--flavor , default none) : ikko-geometric (Geometric Eastern Composition) | marber-grid (Triple-Line Frame Book Series) | riso-overprint (Two-Spot-Color Riso Overprint). Both sub-styles can adapt these three variants according to their own semantics.

Orthogonal Dimensions & Period Grammar (Source: assets/blueprints.json)

• Real Historical Decade (decade) : 1950s-60s (plain paper letterpress, old Song/Kai/Li scripts, no pinyin decorative bands) | 1970s (red-bright-high-saturation spot colors, bold/outlined characters, no low-saturation scholarly colors or gold stamping) | 1980s (default highest weight, era of synthesis, compatible with both meticulous compilation and pioneer translation series) | 1990s (offset printing on coated paper, film collage and high-contrast clashing colors, no traditional borders).
• Format & Bound Character Zone Skeleton (format × skeleton) : cover / calendar / poster / pattern-book / book-series × block-cut / window-frame / grid-minimal / bleed-poster (each specific layout is bound to dedicated title_zone, year_zone, and sub_zone).
• Grid & Engagement (cjk_grid × tactic) : 8 types of CJK character layout grids (with horizontal/vertical/diagonal direction validation to prevent extremely wide characters from being forced into vertical writing) × 6 types of character-image techniques (automatic avoidance of diagonal conflicts in grid layouts).
• Metaphor, Medium, Accent & Color Typography : metaphor × medium × accent (fine double-line frames / intaglio seal-carving square stamps / all-caps pinyin decorative bands / two-square continuous meander narrow borders / local matte gold stamping / dark patterned brocade paper) × palette (3–4 color area ratios) × typo (non-standard hand-drawn character bones).

Workflow A: Prompt Generation, Bracket Removal & Zone Character Locking

1. Stripping Principle: All bracketed original titles (e.g., "East Asian Typographic Grid Rules," "Master-Subordinate Division," "#D8432C," and coordinate parameters) are stripped from the prompt body and moved into a separate 【Design Reference & Character Lock Brief】; the prompt body retains only pure, continuous, directly renderable Chinese visual instructions.
2. Generation using scripts/compose_prompt.py :

   # Nianhua compilation route (supports period and triple functions)
   python3 scripts/compose_prompt.py \
     --style nianhua-suoyang --decade 1980s --flavor ikko-geometric --title "Nianhua Compilation" --year "2026"
   
   # 1980s pioneer translation series route (paired with triple-line frame and subtitle)
   python3 scripts/compose_prompt.py \
     --style pioneer-book-series --flavor marber-grid --title "Aesthetics Translation Series" --subtitle "Introduction to Modern Composition"
   
   # Self-test (verify zero bracket and zero jargon residue)
   python3 .agents/skills/nianhua-cover-prompt/scripts/compose_prompt.py --self-test
   

   • Add --no-text for a pure text-free base image for later fine layout; add --era-mode vintage for authentic period folk themes.
3. Output Verification: Confirm that the main body contains no bracket meta-tags or HEX characters, and verify the placement of book title, year, and subtitle in the 【Design Reference & Character Lock Brief】.

Workflow B: Image Review & Targeted Adjustment

When a user posts an AI-generated draft or a reference cover and requests modifications, execute the protocol from Section 4 of references/design-principles.md:

1. Observe First, Then Diagnose (What I See → Main Diagnosis) : First state the actual image proportions, color count, completeness of each Chinese character/number, and character-image occlusion, then pinpoint 1–3 Must-fix issues.
2. Dual-Track Output: Provide local edit instructions that keep intact blocks unchanged, and re-generated upgraded prompts after adjusting --style / --decade / --flavor / --cjk-grid.

Directory Structure

• assets/blueprints.json: v5.1 dual sub-styles, period grammar, sunk character zones, cross-axis constraints, and vocabulary source.
• assets/examples.md: Examples of dual sub-styles, three variants, historical functions, and text-free base images (bracket references already removed from the body).
• references/design-principles.md: First principles, triple historical functions of nianhua, period norms, MECE matrix, and image review protocol.
• scripts/compose_prompt.py: v5.1 zero-dependency prompt composer (includes --self-test regression verification).