Press Release
Heritage Spark Design Inspiring Toolkit by Liang Hou Wins the A' Design Award in Education, Teaching Aid and Training Content Design
Liang Hou acknowledged for education, teaching aid and training content design by the international grand jury of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 18, 2025 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the A' Design Award in the Education, Teaching Aid and Training Content Design category for Heritage Spark Design Inspiring Toolkit by Liang Hou, designed for Zhejiang University. The award was conferred within the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
The A' Design Award Explained
The Iron A' Design Award is awarded to good designs that meet the rigorous professional and industrial standards set by the A' Design Awards. This recognition is reserved for works that demonstrate a solid understanding of design principles and show creativity within their execution. Recipients of the Iron A' Design Award are acknowledged for their practical innovations and contributions to their respective fields, providing solutions that improve quality of life and foster positive change. These designs are a testament to the skill and dedication of their creators, showcasing their ability to address real-world challenges through thoughtful design.
More About Heritage Spark Design Inspiring Toolkit
Heritage Spark is a teaching toolkit for design work based on Intangible Cultural Heritage. The toolkit contains three sets of cards. Heritage cards introduce ten forms of Intangible Cultural Heritage for quick understanding. Character cards allow each heritage form to be studied from different roles. Technology cards suggest technical options that can inspire new ideas. Two thought canvases, one personal and one for teams, support collaborative work. The cards are digitally printed on coated paper and die-cut. Heritage Spark is intended for students with no prior knowledge of the subject.
About Liang Hou
Hou Liang is a graduate student pursuing a master's degree in industrial design at Zhejiang University. He loves design and education. His research focuses on design thinking and design tools. He believes that design may not be able to change the world, but it can warm the world.
Award Record
This recognition makes Liang Hou a winner of 2 A' Design Awards. All of the awards belong to the 2024 - 2025 edition of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Education, Teaching Aid and Training Content Design Award
The A' Education Design Award is an international competition recognizing good education products and projects by leading designers and brands worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to education designers, teaching aid designers, training content creators and curriculum developers from all countries. Entries typically include textbooks, e-learning platforms, educational games, training manuals, instructional videos and interactive whiteboards. Awarded education designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/education
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/170646
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/170646
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!170646
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/360999
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Heritage Spark Design Inspiring Toolkit
- Function
- Design Inspiring Toolkit
- Category
- Education, Teaching Aid and Training Content Design
- Discipline
- Service Design
- Industry
- Education
- Colors
- Snow, Linen, Peru, Gainsboro and Sandy Brown
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Zhejiang University
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Liang Hou
- Country
- China
- Recognition
- A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2024 - 2025
- Design ID
- #170646
Credits
- Team
- 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.
Design Details
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Realization and 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.
- Operation and Interaction
- 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.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in Hangzhou, China, in January 2024.
- Specifications
- 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.
- Keywords
- ICH Design, Inspiration Inspired, Design Assistance, Toolkit, ICH
