FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Heritage Spark: Empowering Creative Exploration of Intangible Cultural Heritage Through Collaborative Design Tools

Heritage Spark is a pioneering toolkit developed by Hou Liang and his multidisciplinary team to bridge the gap between traditional Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) and contemporary creative practices. Recognizing the challenges posed by rapid technological advancement and declining awareness of ICH, the team designed Heritage Spark to provide an accessible, engaging entry point for students and designers unfamiliar with this vital cultural domain. The toolkit combines ICH cards, character role cards, technology integration cards, and collaborative thought canvases to foster empathy, inspire innovation, and support the preservation and reinterpretation of ICH in modern contexts.

Unlike conventional educational materials, Heritage Spark employs a collaborative role-playing analysis method, enabling users to explore ICH from multiple perspectives and generate creative solutions for its protection and transmission. The toolkit's carefully crafted cards introduce ten representative ICH forms, offer diverse technological options for integration, and facilitate both individual and group ideation through thoughtfully designed canvases. This approach not only accelerates the learning process but also encourages users to identify challenges, define problems, and apply divergent thinking to develop meaningful, innovative design concepts rooted in cultural heritage.

Produced with high-quality materials and refined through user research and workshop testing, Heritage Spark is both durable and adaptable, making it suitable for a variety of educational and creative settings. The project began in Hangzhou, China, in January 2024, and has since demonstrated significant impact in raising ICH awareness and empowering new generations of designers, educators, and cultural practitioners. The Iron A' Design Award recognizes Heritage Spark's excellence in design, functionality, and its contribution to a more culturally connected and innovative world.

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