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Heritage Spark Design Thinking-verktøysett by Liang Hou

Heritage Spark Design Thinking-verktøysett by Liang Hou is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 A' Design Award i Jern in Utdanning, læremidler og opplæringsinnholdsdesign Competition Category.


JernUtdanning· 2025

Heritage Spark Design Thinking-verktøysett

by Liang Hou

Client: Zhejiang University

A' Design Award i Jern Winner in Utdanning Category

Colors

The Design

About Heritage Spark Design Thinking-verktøysett

Heritage Spark er et undervisningsverktøy for designarbeid basert på immateriell kulturarv. Verktøysettet inneholder tre sett med kort. Arvekort presenterer ti former for immateriell kulturarv for rask forståelse. Karakterkort gjør det mulig å studere hver arveform fra forskjellige roller. Teknologikort foreslår tekniske muligheter som kan inspirere til nye ideer. To tankelerreter, ett personlig og ett for team, støtter samarbeid. Kortene er digitalt trykt på bestrøket papir og stanset ut. Heritage Spark er utviklet for studenter uten forkunnskaper om emnet.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award i Jern

Heritage Spark Design Thinking-verktøysett er vinner av A' Design Award i Jern, en prestisjefylt anerkjennelse som tildeles gode design som oppfyller de profesjonelle og industrielle kravene man forventer av veldesignede skaperverk. Jernvinnere viser stor dyktighet, høy spesialisering, ekspertforståelse og kreativ kapasitet hos skaperne. Heritage Spark Design Thinking-verktøysett forventes å være et høyt ansett, beundret og verdsatt skaperverk som er praktisk og nyskapende. Dette designet, som har vunnet A' Design Award i Jern, integrerer bransjens beste praksis og har kompetente tekniske egenskaper knyttet til kunnskap og talent. Heritage Spark Design Thinking-verktøysett respekteres for sin grundighet og er utformet for å gi forbedringer i livskvalitet som bidrar til å gjøre verden til et bedre sted.

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.

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