Dali on Paper · Tea-Space Scenery: Reflections and Research on Paper-Media Cultural and Creative Design for a Five-Square-Meter Tea Space

Abstract

As cultural tourism consumption shifts from "purchasing souvenirs" to "participating in cultural experiences," regional cultural and creative design is gradually moving beyond the replication of isolated symbols toward an integrated construction of scenario, material, behavior, and narrative. Taking "Dali on Paper · Tea-Space Scenery" as its theme and a tea space of approximately five square meters as its application boundary, this paper draws on regional resources including Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake, Bai architecture and tie-dye, Jiama prayer culture, the Tea-Horse Road, and Heqing Bai handmade paper to explore cultural translation and product-system construction for paper-media cultural and creative design in a small-scale tea setting. The study proceeds through five dimensions: semantic extraction of regional culture, user-behavior touchpoints, material grading, visual systems, and product hierarchy. It also discusses interim practices including the "Shan You Mu" base visual identity, the "Cha You Shen Zhu" Jiama reinterpretation, tea-message tags, coasters, narrative booklets, packaging, and cut-paper works. The study argues that the value of paper media should not be limited to flat printing and tourist souvenirs; instead, Dali culture should be embedded in the tea-drinking process through a chain of products that can be read, touched, used, interacted with, and taken away. The current proposal still requires further verification through physical prototyping, water-resistance testing, and user evaluation.