Digital Interaction Design for Mianzhu New Year Painting: Enhancing Cultural Heritage Engagement through Mobile Applications

Abstract

This study develops and evaluates a digital interaction design approach for enhancing engagement with Mianzhu New Year Painting, an intangible cultural heritage of China. Adopting a research-through-design approach, we created an interactive framework through participatory workshops involving cultural practitioners and target users. The application integrates gesture-based interactions aligned with traditional craft techniques, along with structured cultural content inspired by symbolic motifs. A mixed-methods evaluation with 300 participants assessed usability, knowledge retention, and emotional engagement. Results indicate that the interactive interface significantly improved users' understanding of craft techniques and strengthened their emotional connection to the heritage compared to conventional display methods. The prototype demonstrates how mobile interaction design can create immersive, culturally-grounded digital experiences. This study highlights the potential of digital interaction design as an effective strategy for revitalizing cultural heritage, offering transferable design principles for similar contexts.

Keywords: Mianzhu New Year Painting, intangible Cultural Heritage, digital Interaction Design, User Engagement

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1007627