Heritage Spark 设计思维工具包 by Liang Hou is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 A' Design Award 铁奖 in 教育、教学辅助与培训内容设计 Competition Category.

铁教育· 2025

Heritage Spark 设计思维工具包

by Liang Hou

Client: Zhejiang University

A' Design Award 铁奖 Winner in 教育 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 设计思维工具包

"遗产星火"(Heritage Spark)是一套以非物质文化遗产为основ础的设计教学工具包。工具包包含三组卡片:遗产卡介绍十种非物质文化遗产形式,便于快速理解;角色卡让使用者能够从不同角色视角研究每一种遗产形式;技术卡则提供可激发全新创意的技术选项。两张思维画布(一张供个人使用,一张供团队使用)为协作工作提供支持。卡片采用铜版纸数码印刷并模切成型。"遗产星火"专为此前对该主题毫无了解的学生而设计。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 铁奖

Heritage Spark 设计思维工具包是 A' Design Award 铁奖得主，这是授予满足人们对设计精良的创作所期待的专业与工业要求的优良设计的声望认可。铁奖得主展现出其创作者的高超技艺、高度专业化、专家级的理解力和创造能力。预计Heritage Spark 设计思维工具包将成为一件备受推崇、令人钦佩且被珍爱的创作，既实用又创新。这件赢得 A' Design Award 铁奖的设计整合了行业最佳实践，并拥有与专业知识和才华相结合的称职技术特性。Heritage Spark 设计思维工具包因其严谨而受到尊重，旨在提供有助于让世界变得更美好的生活品质改善。

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.