Analysis of the Development of Lacquerware in Chengdu and the

Demand for Cultural and Creative Product Design

Ying Zhang and Jiaxing Wei

School of Art and Design, Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin, China

Keywords: Culture and Art, Product Design, Demand Analysis, Big Data.

Abstract: Chengdu lacquerware, as a traditional Sichuan handicraft, is one of the national intangible cultural heritages

with great regional characteristics, and it carries the wisdom of the Sichuan people, and it is our unshirkable

responsibility to pass on and develop these traditional folk handicraft skills. With the rise of the economy, the

consumer philosophy and needs of users have changed, no longer just to meet the functionality of the product,

but to pursue the individuality of the product. Under the economic development trend, User participatory

design is the inclusion of the user in the design, in which all participants have equal status and power.

1 INTRODUCTION

The Historical Development and Aesthetic

Characteristics of Chengdu Lacquerware China is the

"Land of Lacquerware" (Duan, 2022). Dating back to

the ancient Shu period, more than 3,000 years ago, the

art of lacquer was already well developed in Chengdu

during the Warring States period, when it was used

all over China. During the Western Han period, the

lacquer art of Chengdu was supplemented by the

invention of the needle scratching and gold filling

method, and the pile lacquer method of using thick

substances to fill in the patterns. In particular, the top

of the vessel inlaid with metal flowers and leaves, to

agate or glazed beads for the button, the mouth of the

vessel body inlaid with gold and silver buckles and

hoops and other techniques very popular. The

lacquerware produced in Chengdu, Pixian and the

northern part of Guanghan County in Sichuan has

formed its own style and is self-contained. This paper

summarises the development of lacquerware in

Chengdu and the design needs of creative products in

Chengdu, from the development of lacquerware in

Chengdu to the participatory design of actual users

(Niu, 2022).

2 OVERVIEW AND

DEVELOPMENT OF

LACQUERWARE IN

CHENGDU

2.1 Overview of Chengdu Lacquerware

Chengdu lacquerware, also known as "halogen

lacquer", was included in the first batch of the

national intangible cultural heritage list in 2006

(Yang, 2022). Chengdu lacquerware is made from

wood, porcelain, linen and paper, and is repeatedly

painted with natural lacquer and lacquer, then

polished and varnished to create a glorious craft. In

addition to the carving and colouring process, in

recent times Chengdu lacquerware has developed a

variety of techniques, such as concealing, concealing,

depicting and carving, making it a richer and more

diverse product range. Nowadays, there are more than

100 kinds of lacquerware products, including

scholar's houses, jars, plates, tea sets, screens and

boxes, which are sold locally and even at home and

abroad (Huang, 2022).

2.2 The History of Chengdu

Lacquerware

Sichuan is rich in raw lacquer and cinnabar, providing

a wealth of raw materials for the production of

lacquerware in Chengdu (Liu, 2022). The lacquer art

348

Zhang, Y. and Wei, J.

Analysis of the Development of Lacquerware in Chengdu and the Demand for Cultural and Creative Product Design.

DOI: 10.5220/0011736600003607

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Public Management, Digital Economy and Internet Technology (ICPDI 2022), pages 348-353

ISBN: 978-989-758-620-0

 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

of Chengdu was one of the earliest lacquer crafts in

China and reached a high level of sophistication

during the ancient Shu civilisation. The earliest

lacquerware found in Chengdu to date is a lacquer cup

with the words "Ba Shu Tu" unearthed from a

Warring States tomb in Xindu. In his "Shudu Fu",

Yang Xiong, a literary scholar of the Western Han

Dynasty, praised Chengdu lacquerware for its

"carvings and buttons, a hundred tricks and a

thousand works". During the Three Kingdoms period

(Du, 2022), the lacquer ware excavated from Zhu

Ran's tomb, a chessboard with children on sticks, also

came from Chengdu; during the Han and Tang

dynasties, Chengdu lacquer ware was known as the

'treasure of Shu'. In recent years, most of the lacquer

artefacts excavated from Han tombs in Changsha

Mawangdui, Jiangling in Hubei and Pingba in

Qingzhen, Guizhou, are clearly marked with the

words 'Shu County' and 'Chengchengcao'.

3 DEMAND ANALYSIS OF

CHENGDU LACQUERWARE

CULTURAL AND CREATIVE

PRODUCT DESIGN FOR USER

PARTICIPATION

3.1 Definition of User Participatory

Design

The concept of Participatory Design, PD, is a modern

approach to design that is user-centred, includes the

user in the design process, respects the user's

background, abilities and ideas, and ensures design

equality while meeting the diverse needs of the user.

Compared to traditional design methods (the

differences are shown in Table 1), this approach is

more flexible and open, allowing the user to

participate in the design process to the greatest extent

possible, so that the user has the best possible

interactive experience. Participatory design is now

being used in a number of research areas.

With the rapid development of social and

economic standards, users' needs for products are not

only functional and practical, but more spiritual in

nature (Chen, 2021). The aim of this study is to open

up the design and production rights to users, allowing

lacquer enthusiasts, designers and the general public

to give full play to their own strengths and

characteristics, and to participate in the design and

production of lacquer products with the assistance of

relevant personnel. This will enhance the user's

participation and experience, thus better promoting

and passing on traditional culture.

3.2 Forms of User Involvement in

Design

User participatory design can be used at all stages of

the design process, and its role varies. Before the

design process begins, it helps the user to choose the

direction of the design and there is no set form or

standard for user participatory design, as there are

different levels, needs and types of participant (Liu,

Kou, 2021). In the process of user participatory

design, users should choose the appropriate form

according to their actual needs. A comparative

analysis of the three forms is shown in Table 2.

Table 1: Differences between traditional and user-involved design methods.

Design features

Traditional design

methods

Participatory design

methods

User power Choice Right to choose, create, design

Inclusivity None Inclusivity (no goal)

Main output Product Experience

Value Objective Low production costs Creative needs

Key claims Fast, mass production Open, independent creation

Technical advantages Low

cost

,Short

roduction cycle, high

efficiency High output

,originality and diversity

Difficulties in shaping and

decoration

Determined by the designer

Determined by the user's

design ability

Analysis of the Development of Lacquerware in Chengdu and the Demand for Cultural and Creative Product Design

349

Table 2: Forms of user involvement in design.

Format Features Strengths Difficulties

One to One

Only 1 user can

communicate directly

with the designer

Higher operability and

user motivation Better

and more efficient

User thinking is

limited

Group style 6-8, in small groups

Design more in line with

demand

Users vary from

one user to another

Online Open Everyone More convenient

Conduct

Interaction

3.3 User involvement in the Design

Process

User involvement design starts from user analysis, by

analysing the user's physiology, behaviour and

psychology to establish the user'sneeds, such as

interaction needs, self-fulfilment needs, usage needs

and cultural needs.

Then, we analyse the data of user needs, design

and develop product shapes and decorative elements

to meet the needs of users, and allow users to fully

develop their creativity through user participation in

design.

Through user participation in the design process,

users can give full play to their own creativity and

finally complete the design and production of the

product. The user participation design process is

illustrated.

Step 1: User analysis.

Step 2: Requirements acquisition.

Step 3: User needs analysis.

Step 4: Design element development and user

involvement.

Step 5: Design realisation.

3.4 r Demand Acquisition for Chengdu

Lacquerware Cultural and

Creative Products

Today, the number of different types of cultural and

creative product designs is increasing, and the

demand for cultural experiences is growing, with both

users and designers expecting the product to enhance

the spiritual experience through cultural implantation.

By accurately tapping into information about user

needs, translating them into specific elements of

product design, and presenting external factors such

as the shape, ornamentation and colour of the product

in the design of Chengdu lacquerware cultural and

creative products, the transformation between user

needs and the characteristic elements of the product

is further completed. User needs are categorised in

order to better understand the needs of the target

users. The first step in acquiring user needs for

Chengdu lacquerware cultural and creative products

is to identify the target user group and clarify who the

product is designed for. In determining the target

users, this can be done by analysing the background

information of the user’s identity and through

questionnaires to locate them (Liu, 2021). The user

portrait is a way of standardising the target user group

through questionnaires and user interviews to better

capture the target users and their real needs, to ensure

that the product development process does not deviate

from the user needs, and to use the Kano model user

needs taxonomy to analyse the target user’s needs

preferences and measure the user’s satisfaction with

a certain attribute of the product (Huang, 2021). The

Kano model was used to analyse the preferences of

the target users and to measure their satisfaction with

a particular attribute of the product. This helped the

designers to accurately position the style, function

and shape of the Chengdu lacquerware product

design.

4 EXTRACTING AND

RECONSTRUCTING

ELEMENTS OF CHENGDU

LACQUERWARE PRODUCT

DESIGN FOR USER

PARTICIPATION

As one of the pearls of intangible cultural heritage,

Chengdu lacquerware is of great artistic value in

terms of its production techniques and aesthetic

characteristics. This chapter first analyses the

characteristics of the appearance, decorative elements

and compositional forms of Chengdu lacquerware,

analyses the data collected on ancient and existing

products of Chengdu lacquerware, combines the

regional cultural characteristics of Chengdu

lacquerware and other factors, and constructs an

analysis chart of Chengdu lacquerware cultural and

creative product design. Based on user needs and

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350

Table 3: Analysis of the stylistic features of Chengdu lacquerware.

Type of object Name of object Stylistic features Use/function

Catering

Lac

uer cu

s One- and two-eared cu

s Holdin

wine

Lacquer bottle Cylindrical Holding wine

Lacquered plate Roun

Serving foo

Lacquer Goblet Cylindrical To hold wine or wate

Lac

uered tri

The base is threele

edrounded, Servin

foo

Lac

uered box various sha

es, Containin

ects

lac

uer

ot Dee

bell

, Servin

foo

Lacquer pot Square, round or flat jug For wine or wate

Grooming

Lacquered trousseau single, square,round,oval, crescent cessories and and foo

Lacquered wash Round with widemouth Washlet

Lac

uered table

aneled le

s Place settin

Lac

uered case

rated le

s Place settin

Etiquette

Lacquer gui wide mouth and rounded bell

Food/giftware

Lacquer bells francium Two types of lacque

ritual vessels

lacquered tripo

with a rounded base and a flat or rounded foot Ritual vessel

lac

uered horse carved from a sin

iece of woo

Burial Ob

ect

Table 4: Characterisation of the decorative elements of Chengdu lacquerware.

Decorative element categories/themes

Characteristics of decorative

elements

Plant motifs Leaf veins, curly grasses, etc. Embellishment

Animal prints Fish, butterfly, sheep, etc. Exaggerated shapes

Natural landscape motifs Clouds, water ripples,etc. Variety of shapes

Geometric patterns

Dots, straight lines，etc.

Richly layered

Inscriptions "Shu County", "Shi Fu", etc.

Words or symbols conveying

information about an artifact

perceptual imagery, the elements of the Chengdu

lacquerware creative product design are identified.

Using shape grammar, the elements of the Chengdu

lacquerware product were extracted and deformed to

produce a preliminary design solution.

4.1 Characterisation of Chengdu

Lacquerware

4.1.1 Analysis of Exterior Styling Features

There is a wide range of lacquerware in Chengdu,

mainly in the form of everyday objects and

ceremonial objects, and the specific features are

shown in Table 3.

4.1.2 Characterisation of The Decorative

Elements

The decorative elements not only enhance the

overall artistic effect of lacquerware, but are also an

important element of the art of lacquerware (5)

Participation in the production experience.

decoration. The specific characteristics of the

decorative elements on Chengdu lacquerware are

shown in Table 4.

4.1.3 Analysis of The Characteristics of The

Composition Form

The formal characteristics of the composition of

Chengdu lacquer ware are categorised by the type of

object to which they belong, as shown in Table 5.

4.2 User Involvement in The Design

Process

The design of the Chengdu lacquerware product for

user participation is divided into five parts:

(1) Identifying design elements.

(2) Reconstruction of design elements.

(3) Generate design solutions.

(4) Design solution evaluation.

(5) Participation in the production experience.

Analysis of the Development of Lacquerware in Chengdu and the Demand for Cultural and Creative Product Design

351

Table 5: Characterisation of the composition of lacquerware forms in Chengdu.

Type Name of the object Composition

Catering

Lacquer cups Smooth one piece

Lacquer bottle Smooth, concave and convex pattern in one piece

Lacquered plate Smooth one piece

Lacquer Goblet Smooth one piece

Lacquered tripod Smooth, concave and convex pattern in one piece

Lacquered box Smooth one piece

lacquer pot Smooth one piece

Lacquer pot Smooth, concave and convex pattern in one piece

Lacquer cups Smooth one piece

Lacquer bottle Smooth one piece

Grooming

Lacquered trousseau Smooth one piece

Lacquered wash Smooth one piece

Lacquered table Smooth and dimpled in one piece

Lacquered case Smooth and dimpled in one piece

Etiquette

Lacquer gui Smooth, concave and convex pattern in one piece

Lacquer bells Smooth, concave and convex pattern in one piece

lacquered tripod Smooth, concave and convex pattern in one piece

lacquered horse Smooth, concave and convex pattern in one piece

Figure 1: User involvement in the design process.

5 SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK

This study adopted a mapping approach to extract

design elements from ancient and existing samples of

Chengdu lacquerware products and reconstructed

them. The workload was relatively high. Therefore, it

is important to consider how to extract design

elements from a large number of samples, develop

more shapes and patterns, and improve design

efficiency. This study used questionnaires and user

interviews in the process of obtaining the actual needs

of users. Due to the number of questions involved in

the questionnaires, some of the respondents may find

it tedious and ultimately the data obtained may not be

accurate enough. In this regard, there is a need to

further enhance the participatory experience of the

respondents in the future research process. Finally, as

this study is based on user participation in the design

of Chengdu lacquerware products, the study is still a

bit unconventional in terms of the form, materials and

techniques of the products themselves, and needs to

be further strengthened and deepened in future

research.

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