Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Arts, Design and Contemporary Education (ICADCE 2022)

1. INTRODUCTION

Tourism is one of the pillar industries of China's current economic development. In the context of the rise of shopping tourism, purchasing tourism hand gifts has become an important part of tourism. Hand gifts are not only commodities, but also bridges for people's emotional connection, as well as impressions and memories of a city. Based on the folk elements of Hubei, this paper will expound the present research on the current situation of the packaging design of cultural tourism hand gifts in Hubei folk cities, integrate the visual elements with the regional characteristics of Hubei folk customs into the gift packaging in the form of design, highlight the cultural characteristics of local tourism in Hubei, shape the uniqueness of tourism products, and at the same time promote the development of local tourism and economy, and speed up the spread and promotion of folk customs and regional culture.

2. RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS ON STATUS QUO OF HUBEI FOLK ELEMENTS HAND GIFTS

China is known as the “state of etiquette”. With the rapid development of China's economy, the culture of hand gifts is not purely material enjoyment, nor is it purely spiritual culture, but the ingenious combination of the two to be integrated into people's lives, in order to develop into spiritual and cultural activities. Although these hand gifts are not expensive, they represent a bridge of emotional connection and communication between people. Even a small hand gift represents the heart of the giver, which can be said “trifling gift with profound feeling”. With the needs of the Chinese market economy, the outerwear of packaging as a commodity is also constantly developing. Hand gifts are not only gifts for emotional communication between people, but have become synonymous with commercial products, souvenirs and specialties in some tourist destinations, and also provide more choices for those who choose hand gifts. Tourist souvenirs convey different cultural information to people in visual design and they often carry distinct regional culture and national characteristics [1]. However, the design of hand gift packaging is similar in visual performance and most of them lack regional culture and national connotation. With the continuous improvement of people's spiritual connotation, this also affects the purchasing desire of some consumers.

As a major tourism province, Hubei has rich cultural tourism resources, various scenic spots and historical sites, and different folk customs and regional culture, but there is a lack of publicity, and tourists can't deeply understand the local folk customs and regional culture. Hubei presents the characteristics of diversity, uniqueness and innovation in the protection, inheritance and development of folk culture. Against this historical background, it is an important task for people to study the folk elements of Hubei, formulate corresponding scientific and reasonable measures, and properly protect and utilize them so that they can be well inherited and developed [2]. For example, “Han embroidery” is a national intangible cultural heritage. Located in the areas of Jingzhou-Shashi, Wuhan and Honghu in Hubei Province, Han embroidery is bold in conception, rich in colors, and full of pictures and strong in decoration, showing the remaining unique charm of Chu style everywhere. Han embroidery's artistic expression methods are rich and diverse, fully demonstrating the distinctive characteristics of Hubei's traditional culture, and it is also of great significance in the dissemination of visual culture.

Hand gift packaging should continuously enhance the communication function of national culture, emphasize regional characteristics and national culture, and convert them into visual symbols for reasonable use in the packaging of tourism products, to stimulate consumers' desire to buy and arouse consumers' sense of belonging and identity through regional culture. With the improvement of people's quality of life and the influence of multiculture, modern and international folk-style packaging gradually occupies the stage of packaging design. But gift packaging is not only a carrier of commodity circulation, but also carries the attributes of disseminating information and conveying folk culture [3]. Through the visual element characteristics of Hubei region and national culture, this paper focuses on the research and analysis of the packaging design of Hubei folk tourism hand gifts and creates a modern packaging with Hubei folk characteristics while promoting the national culture. It is hoped to carry forward the Jingchu culture and show the Yangtze River civilization through the “research on the packaging design of urban cultural tourism hand gifts based on Hubei folk elements”, allowing more foreign tourists to appreciate the local folk customs.

3. PROBLEMS AND CORRESPONDING SOLUTIONS OF HUBEI FOLK ELEMENTS HAND GIFTS

How to reflect Hubei folk elements in urban cultural tourism hand gifts packaging design to better display the unique national personality and traditional culture and inherit the design elements of the Chinese nation has become a historical mission and an important topic for contemporary designers. As designers, the authors mainly start from the analysis of various elements of traditional culture, study the traditional cultural elements in folk festival gifts, summarize the design principles to analyze how to apply traditional cultural elements to the packaging design of urban cultural tourism hand gifts, and form Chinese-style packaging style design concept [4].

Firstly, through understanding of modern packaging design and cognitive psychology theory, this paper summarizes the relationship between modern packaging design and cognitive psychology, and analyzes the characteristics of modern packaging. Secondly, it defines and categorizes regional graphic elements and analyzes the cognitive relationship between regional graphic elements and regional culture, mainly focusing on Hubei folk elements.

Thirdly, it also summarizes the design principles and design methods of Hubei folk elements in packaging design of urban cultural tourism hand gifts. Fourthly, it refines the design principles that the design and expression of urban cultural tourism hand gift packaging should be novel, the way of expression should be diverse, and the brand culture should be unique. The extraction method of Hubei folk elements is also introduced: from whole to part, from abstract to concrete, from deconstruction to redesign. Finally, it introduces in detail the characteristics of each element of packaging design of urban cultural tourism hand gifts. It also verifies the methods and theories summarized above through Hubei folk elements and urban cultural tourism hand gift packaging design.

4. RESEARCH STATUS OF FOLK ELEMENTS HAND GIFTS

At present, foreign research on packaging design mostly focuses on theoretical research, generally more on the appearance and brand design of packaging design. In the article “Packaging Design: Brand Building — from Design Conception to Shelf Display” translated by Li Huijuan and published by Shanghai People's Publishing House, it describes the refining process of packaging works and how the packaging products play a promotional role. It also introduces various aspects that affect packaging design, such as design elements and design principles, from conception to production process and other factors. “Packaging the Brand” by Gavin Ambrose and Paul Harris from Britain published by China Youth Publishing House points out that packaging should be treated in an important position to improve brand image, from the initial research design, to the formation of the brand concept, to the implementation of the design theory, and finally to the completion of the entire packaging design process [5].

Theoretical research on packaging design is described above. At present, application research on packaging design in foreign countries mainly emphasizes that foreign packaging design has been developed relatively completely, forming its own unique design style, and design of featured product packaging is a collection of local cultural characteristics and customs [6]. When it comes to excellent cases of regional specialty packaging design, one has to talk about Japan. Japanese packaging design has its own unique aesthetic. Influenced by Buddhism, most packaging designs in Japan are concise, beautiful and simple. In terms of design, Japan can be said to be a master. Japan knows very well to learn the design methods of some developed countries and introduce new design ideas. However, Japan is also a country that will not abandon its national culture and its design has strong local characteristics [7]. It cannot only learn the cultures of other countries in an all-encompassing manner, but also is good at absorbing the essence of beauty from nature. These two have become the most distinctive features of Japanese packaging. One may well say that Japan has attached great importance to local culture for a long time. From the packaging design works of Japan, it can be seen that they attach great importance to regional culture [8].

The development of the industrial revolution has greatly improved the commodity economy and people's material life. Packaging design formed against the background of the industrial revolution pays more attention to the practical functions of packaging. Therefore, packaging design in European and American countries, which has been impacted by the industrial revolution, pays more attention to the use function and is more rational than other packaging designs. The packaging design style of European and American countries is not as obvious as that of Japan, but it has its own characteristics. For example, America is a country that yearns for freedom, so the packaging design reveals a sense of randomness and freedom, and there is a sense of fun in it. In Germany, a country known for its rigor, most of its packaging designs are rigorous and functional.

The theory and application of packaging design in foreign countries are described above. At present, Chinese packaging design also focuses on the application theory of packaging design graphic elements. For example, Bai Yang's master thesis from Kunming University of Science and Technology “Application Research of Regional Cultural Characteristics in Pu'er Tea Packaging Design — Taking the Packaging Design of ‘Najie Tea’ as an Example” analyzes the regional culture and characteristics of Pu'er tea from the modern packaging design theory and summarizes it. It also summarizes the design principles and design forms of Pu'er tea under the influence of regional culture [9]. Wang Tian's master thesis from Wuhan Textile University “Application of Huizhou Graphic Art in Packaging Design of Anhui Native Products” mainly introduces the extraction of various Huizhou graphic elements contained in Huizhou folk art through the understanding of local culture, and emphasizes that while connecting specialty packaging with contemporary culture, Huizhou culture must be integrated. Wang Lin's master thesis from Jiangnan University “The Application Research of Regional Culture in Central Plains Specialty Packaging Design” points out that the way to increase the economic value of specialty packaging is by adopting traditional local culture. This is a good reference for packaging design in the Central Plains. Ling Jie's master thesis from Guangxi Normal University “The Application Research of Guangxi Zhuang Brocade Graphic Elements in Modern Design — Taking Wuzhou Liubao Tea Packaging Design as an Example” verifies the various forms and objectivity of graphic elements through examples. It also summarizes the inherent laws of the various shapes of local traditional handicrafts in Guangxi to form the beauty of form. Peng Lin of Sichuan University of Arts and Science's paper “A Study of Packaging Design for Local featured products of East Sichuan” introduces that the packaging design of native products should conform to ergonomics, and should also inject the traditional style of regional culture to achieve market segmentation. In addition, it is necessary to implement green packaging in line with international standards.

Pan Afang's “On the Regional Design of Local Specialty Packaging” mainly introduces that local featured products should be selected from local materials, whether it is material, shape or color. It can be said that China's specialty packaging has made great progress. For example, the bottle design of Jiugui Liquor is an excellent case of local specialty packaging design. However, most local specialty brands have no obvious personality and there is no significant difference from other products. Although many specialty packages use regional graphic elements, use of graphic elements lacks refinement and re-creation. There is nothing new in the way of expression [10]. Even many still take the photographic picture as the main picture in the packaging design. Packaging design only satisfies the function of use, but fails to consider from an aesthetic point of view. It lacks the design of packaging from a multi-sensory perspective and doesn't reflect the connotation of regional culture.

5. IMPORTANT ROLE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF HUBEI FOLK ELEMENTS IN PACKAGING DESIGN OF CULTURAL TOURISM HAND GIFTS

By sorting out relevant historical information, this paper researches the visual guidance system of urban commercial space from the longitudinal perspective of time and the lateral perspective of space, and analyzes the important role and status of the visual guidance system in the commercial space of Wuhan, a city with rapid commercial development. To begin, the authors obtain theoretical understanding and thinking from relevant literature reading, then personally design the packaging of Hubei folk elements urban cultural tourism hand gifts, from inspection, analysis to design practice, and summarize the design method from the process of discovering, analyzing and problem solving which is a process from theory to practice and then back to theory. The paper also analyzes the important role and status of folk elements in packaging design in the process of rapid commercialization.

Through a questionnaire survey of people of different ages and occupations in Wuhan and interviews with consumers and commercial space staff, it analyzes the influence and research of Hubei folk elements on urban cultural tourism hand gifts from the perspective of design practice. In terms of questionnaire survey, it randomly selects 50 tourists in Wuhan Optics Valley Commercial Street to investigate the packaging design of Hubei folk elements urban cultural tourism hand gifts. 84.21% of tourists feel that the packaging design of Hubei cultural tourism hand gifts lacks Hubei folk elements and is not perfect (Fig. 1); 80% think that the sense of design in the packaging of Hubei folk elements urban cultural tourism hand gifts is not enough; as many as 89.47% of tourists believe that it is necessary to design a set of relatively complete packaging designs for urban cultural tourism hand gifts according to the characteristics of Hubei and carry forward the spirit of traditional Chinese culture.

Figure 1

Pie chart of the investigation on Hubei folk culture in Wuhan Optics Valley Commercial Street.

In terms of interview research, in Wuhan Optics Valley Commercial Street, it randomly selects 10 business owners to investigate the impact of Hubei urban cultural tourism hand gift packaging design on the flow of daily visitors of business owners of Hubei urban cultural tourism hand gifts. 8 business owners believe that there is currently a lack of Hubei folk elements in the packaging design of Hubei cultural tourism hand gifts in Wuhan Optics Valley Commercial Street and the application and design of folk elements need to be improved. A complete set of Hubei folk elements cultural tourism hand gift packaging design can not only improve the artistic sense and uniqueness of the product, but also promote the local culture of Hubei and promote the development of local cultural tourism.

Through theoretical research and analysis of modern packaging, cognitive psychology, and graphics, and through the process of problem discovery, problem analysis, and problem solving, it summarizes the principles and methods of urban cultural tourism hand gift packaging design. It takes Hubei folk elements and urban cultural tourism hand gift packaging design as examples to carry out the design practice, hoping to provide reference for packaging design of urban cultural tourism hand gifts in Hubei or other places, in order to improve the taste of urban cultural tourism hand gifts, build a better local image and establish a distinctive regional brand design style. Good packaging design can not only enhance the connotation and aesthetics of the packaging design of cultural tourism hand gifts in regional cities, but also help to promote the sales and operation of regional featured products. More importantly, it presents regional culture in the form of graphic elements in the packaging design of urban cultural tourism hand gifts, which is also a kind of protection and inheritance for regional culture, making regional culture deeply rooted in the hearts of the people through the visual form of packaging design.

6. CONCLUSION

Through the research and investigation of Hubei folk elements, this paper analyzes the influence of folk elements on gift packaging design and understands that Hubei urban tourism hand gift design lacks the sense of design and folk regional characteristics. The reason is that local enterprises and relevant cultural tourism departments lack attention to the packaging design of tourism hand gifts and fail to integrate local regional culture and folk characteristics into the design of urban tourism hand gifts. This paper systematically analyzes the wholeness and systematization of Hubei folk elements to the packaging design of urban cultural tourism hand gifts, conducts in-depth research, refines traditional design elements, and puts forward the guiding principles of the concept of Hubei folk elements gift packaging design. Through “the design and application of urban tourism hand gift packaging design with Hubei folk elements”, it strengthens the regionality of tourism commodities in Hubei and skillfully integrates Hubei folk culture into it, allowing people to know more about China's traditional culture and cultural characteristics of different regions and create modern packaging with Chinese characteristics and national trends. Finally, on the basis of wholeness and systematization, this paper believes that the principle of national design and culture should be given priority to, and traditional culture should be combined with modern tourism, in order to promote the inheritance and development of folk customs and regional culture, fully tap folk culture, and then achieve the dual realization of commercial value and cultural value.

REFERENCES