Winning designs. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The winners of a major nationwide creative design competition based on traditional Chinese patterns were announced in Beijing on Tuesday.

The competition "Unveil the Beauty of Chinese Symbols" was organized by the Palace Museum, the Chinese Society of the Forbidden City and the software developer Kingsoft in March.

More than 10,000 symbols collected from cultural relics were used as inspirations for modern design in decorative patterns, computer software, and typefaces. About 1,200 entries were received, and 224 were chosen for the final round.

Judges from Tsinghua University, Southeast University, the Central Academy of Fine Arts and other institutions picked the 33 winners. Their designs will be developed into products later.