CHIC Harmony

CHIC Group, one of China’s leading companies with a strong focus on agriculture and food distribution engaged IDEAS to help it conceive, design, and develop a new mixed-use development and town on the Yangtze River, 40 kilometers south of the city of Chongqing.

CHIC’s new “Eco-Town”, (English name: Harmony), is blessed with ten kilometers of riverfront along the Yangtze River, and 6,500 acres of hillside and gently rolling country. Harmony is an “exurb” where a new generation of residents will live, work and play with more space, fresher air, less crowded, and a greater sense of “exhale” and relaxation. This breath is accomplished while preserving their urban connections and amenities, along with the vitality of the thriving Chongqing spirit. With wellness, educational, residential, tourism, and business elements carefully integrated, Harmony is a lifestyle system, not a traditional land development.

IDEAS sent a creative team to China for a week-long, intense discovery session, followed by an opening StoryJam™ workshop in Shanghai with CHIC leadership, staff, stakeholders, and regional community leaders. Upon returning to the U.S., a second StoryJam™ session at IDEAS brought together architects, designers, urban planners, and marketers to develop the CHIC story with a Western audience in mind. IDEAS then spent several weeks developing and creating the Harmony brand, including competitive audits, brand architecture, 7-point brand charter, and a complete naming and identity system.

IDEAS was subsequently re-engaged by CHIC to develop a suite of media and communication tools for web, social media, and main-stream television, to assist CHIC in attracting global investors and partners for the Harmony project across the healthcare, education, and tourism industries.