Heritage Spark Design Thinking Toolkit by Liang Hou

Heritage Spark Design Thinking Toolkit by Liang Hou is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 A' Design Award nga Puthaw in Disenyo sa Edukasyon, Gamit Pangtudlo ug Sulod sa Pagsanay Competition Category.

PuthawEdukasyon· 2025

Heritage Spark Design Thinking Toolkit

by Liang Hou

Client: Zhejiang University

A' Design Award nga Puthaw Winner in Edukasyon Category

22,874

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #170646

View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Heritage Spark Design Thinking Toolkit

Ang Heritage Spark usa ka toolkit sa pagtudlo alang sa buluhaton sa disenyo nga gibase sa Intangible Cultural Heritage. Ang toolkit naglangkob og tulo ka set sa mga kard. Ang Heritage cards nagpaila sa napulo ka porma sa Intangible Cultural Heritage alang sa dali nga pagsabot. Ang Character cards nagtugot sa matag porma sa panulundon nga tun-an gikan sa lain-laing tahas. Ang Technology cards nagsugyot og mga teknikal nga kapilian nga makapadasig og bag-ong mga ideya. Duha ka thought canvas, usa personal ug usa alang sa mga team, ang nagsuporta sa kolaboratibo nga pagtrabaho. Ang mga kard digital nga giimprinta sa coated nga papel ug die-cut. Ang Heritage Spark gitumong alang sa mga estudyante nga walay bisan unsang kahibalo sa hilisgutan.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award nga Puthaw

Heritage Spark Design Thinking Toolkit usa ka mananaog sa A' Design Award nga Puthaw, usa ka dungganon nga pag-ila nga gihatag sa maayong mga disenyo nga nakatagbo sa propesyonal ug industriyal nga mga gikinahanglan nga gipaabot gikan sa maayo ang pagkadisenyo nga mga paglalang. Ang mga mananaog sa Puthaw nagpakita og dakong kahanas, taas nga espesyalisasyon, eksperto nga pagsabot, ug mamugnaon nga abilidad sa ilang mga tiglalang. Gilauman nga ang Heritage Spark Design Thinking Toolkit mahimong gipabilhan, gihangaan, ug gihigugma nga paglalang nga praktikal ug bag-o. Kini nga disenyo nga nakadaog og A' Design Award nga Puthaw naghiusa sa labing maayong mga praktis sa industriya ug adunay hanas nga teknikal nga mga kinaiya nga nalambigit sa kahibalo ug talento. Heritage Spark Design Thinking Toolkit gitahod tungod sa pagkamaabtik niini ug gidisenyo aron maghatag og mga pagpaayo sa kalidad sa kinabuhi nga makatabang sa paghimo sa kalibutan nga mas maayong dapit.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Heritage Spark is one of the few auxiliary tools for Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) designing in China. It is highly accessible to students unfamiliar with ICH, enabling them to quickly grasp its various types. Using a collaborative role-playing analysis method, it streamlines the design and creative process. Beyond being a design aid, it also plays a key role in promoting ICH.
Dimensions & Packaging: The cards measure 95mm x 133mm with a thickness of 0.3mm. The toolkit includes two thought canvases: a personal canvas (A4 size, 210mm x 297mm) and a team canvas (460mm x 960mm) for collaborative work. The packaging box measures 460mm x 320mm x 80mm, designed for convenient storage and transport. The materials and dimensions ensure durability and usability, making the toolkit suitable for various design and brainstorming scenarios.
Tags: ICH Design, Inspiration Inspired, Design Assistance, Toolkit, ICH
Production Technology: The design was created using Photoshop and Illustrator, then digitally printed on 300g coated paper and die-cut for precision. The process included user research, workshop testing, and design thinking methodologies to refine content and usability, ensuring the toolkit aligns with user needs. The cards were produced in small batches, ensuring quality and adaptability.
Design Challenge: The challenge lies in designing a set of cards that can enable ICH (Intangible Cultural Heritage) novices to quickly understand its value and essence, while also effectively stimulating user empathy to identify pain points from the perspective of ICH bearers. The cards must balance knowledge dissemination with thought stimulation, ultimately encouraging users to contribute innovative ideas for the future of ICH.
Research: Heritage Spark cards are designed to provide a quick entry point for users with no prior knowledge of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). This research explores how card design can effectively convey ICH knowledge, foster user empathy, and encourage users to adopt the perspective of ICH bearers. The cards guide users to identify challenges facing ICH, define problems, and utilize divergent thinking to generate innovative solutions for ICH protection and transmission.
Inspiration: In the era of rapid technological growth, the protection and promotion of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) face major challenges. Our course experience and student feedback reveal a lack of ICH awareness. To foster innovative ICH design, it is essential to quickly grasp its essence, analyze its status from various angles, and explore its fusion with new technologies. Thus, we created Heritage Spark, a toolkit to inspire creative ICH design.
Project Duration: The project started in Hangzhou, China, in January 2024.
Operation Flow: The toolkit includes ICH cards, introducing ten ICH to build a quick understanding. Character cards help users explore ICH from different roles and perspectives. Technology cards offer various tech options to inspire diverse designs through integration. Additionally, two thought canvases support process development and idea exchange, fostering collaborative design.
Team Members: Creative Director: Liang Hou, Researcher: Wenqi Wu, Designer: Qianyu Tang, Designer: Yixuan Gao, Designer: Xiaoran Zhang, Designer: Chongjun Zhong, Designer: Songruoyao Wu; Designer: Yingping Cao; Tutor: Zhibin Zhou and Tutor: Kejun Zhang
Image Credits: The above material comes from our own team.