Digital technology in cultural and creative products: an experimental study on cultural identity and emotional resonance

Abstract

This dissertation mainly focuses on whether and how digital cultural and creative products (CCPs) can strengthen users’ cultural identity and emotional resonance. The aim of this research is to uncover how experience design, when integrated with digital technology, can effectively translate cultural symbols into meaningful user experiences, fostering cultural identity and emotional resonance and reshaping users’ deeper connections with culture. Follow the research aim, the objectives of this research are list in following: 1) Integrate cultural narratives, augmented reality interaction, and visual experiences in CCPs design to systematically analyze effects on cultural identity and emotional resonance in the user experience process; 2) Identify key design factors that influence the formation of cultural identity and emotional resonance; 3) Summarize a digital CCP design guidelines that take into account both user experience and cultural depth, providing theoretical and methodological support for future design practices.
For clarity, this research process is summarized here in four major stages. First, a literature review established the theoretical foundation by analyzing cultural and creative industries and products, emotional design theories, and digital technology applications to product development. Second, a pre-survey investigated user demographics, purchasing behaviors, preferences, and cognitive attitudes toward CCPs, particularly digital ones, providing a foundation for the design concept. Third, the design and development stage created a digital CCP experimental toolkit based on the Fuhao Owl-shaped Bronze Zun, integrating cultural narratives into physical puzzle assembly and augmented reality interaction, with iterative testing to ensure functionalities. Finally, a formal experiment was conducted incorporating physical and digital CCPs experiences, three phases of questionnaires, and post-experiment interview. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, ANOVA, etc., and correlation analysis, while qualitative responses were coded to identify recurring user perspectives and emotional responses.
The findings reveal that, digital CCPs show clear advantages over traditional physical products. Specifically, participants reported higher levels of multiple indicators, including interactivity, experience interest, cultural understanding and recognition, cultural identity, emotional resonance, and purchase intention, with the interacting with the digital CCP experimental toolkit. For instance, considering the cultural identity and emotional resonance, the indicators in this study, participants reported higher levels of cultural identity (mean = 6.29, SD = 1.013) and emotional resonance (mean = 6.18, SD = 1.118) when interacting with digital CCPs compared to physical products; Among the best performing products for both indicators (CCP1), these values are significantly lower than digital CCP (CCP1_V5_mean = 5.50, CCP1_V5_SD = 1.106, p = .032; CCP1_V6_mean = 4.64, CCP1_V6_SD = 1.013, p < .001). Augmented reality and interactive storytelling were shown to compress the psychological pathway from understanding to identification, thus enhancing users’ sense of cultural connection. Experiment results demonstrated measurable increases in cultural identity and emotional engagement following the hybrid interaction. Interviews analysis further highlighted users’ appreciation of immersive interaction and the novelty of digital features. Participants noted clearer understanding and recall of cultural content (over 70%), expressed strong emotional resonance (71.4%) and purchase intention (85.7%), and in some cases highlighted educational value.
These results carry several implications. For the researchers, the study provides empirical evidence that digital CCPs serve as active mediators of cultural identity and emotional resonance, rather than just mere carriers of heritage. For designers, the study highlights the need to align interaction logic with user habits, integrate narrative elements into product development, and ensure cultural authenticity in digital experiences. It also provides design guidance for future CCP development I by suggesting appropriate digital expression forms for different cultural contents, thereby enhancing users’ cultural identity and emotional engagement. For the broader cultural industry, the findings suggest that digital augmentation can strengthen emotional bonds, and open new channels for cultural dissemination. Overall, the dissertation advances both theoretical understanding and design practice by demonstrating how digital technology reinforces cultural identity and emotional resonance in contemporary CCPs.

Date of Award	15 Nov 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Nottingham
Supervisor	Bingjian Liu (Supervisor) & Xu Sun (Supervisor)