Culture is the way of life of a group of people [1] . The concept of cultural commodities stems from cultural industries [2] , which argue that once culture undergoes mass reproduction through industrial production, it becomes commodified and homogenized, losing its inherent uniqueness. Currently, most cultural products are characterized by imitation of common forms or application of patterns, often neglecting the expression of cultural significance, and thus failing to enhance living culture through design. Daily life products interact closely with people, and aside from solving problems, whether these products can provide users with feedback and reflection beyond functionality challenges designers to touch the inner feelings of users and evoke emotional resonance [3] . As global consumer market products gradually lose their unique identity due to similar functions and forms, products showcasing local characteristics become increasingly important.

Lin [4] explored scenario-based storytelling and product semantics to develop methods for understanding and systematically analyzing cultural features applicable to cultural product design. This study aims to explore the feasibility of integrating tourism emotional experiences with cultural product design. Through clear and logical procedures, the Mandala thinking method [5] was employed to derive appropriate design elements. Additionally, the Osborn checklist method [6] was used to assist designers in developing cultural themes and concepts. By conducting comprehensive reviews and brainstorming, a list of problems and potential directions for improvement was established, stimulating opportunities for multifaceted problem-solving.

Taiwan Region’s indigenous culture has distinct ethnic characteristics. Unlike the mountainous cultural characteristics of most Taiwan Region’s indigenous groups, the Yami culture on Lanyu Island possesses rich and unique humanistic qualities. Their clothing, crafts, architecture, cuisine, festivals, and economic production methods are all centered around maritime characteristics. Due to the island’s geographic isolation and being surrounded by the ocean, the culture has experienced minimal external influence, making it highly suitable for cultural design development. The purpose of this study is to establish a feasible cultural product design process that allows users to associate the product with the beauty of the connected culture and to raise awareness of cultural preservation. Consequently, this study focuses on designing cultural products based on the Yami culture of Lanyu, Taiwan Region. Upon completing the design, functional prototypes were produced to demonstrate and evaluate the effectiveness of this cultural design method.

The traditional warriors of Lanyu are masters of fishing and boat-building, which are symbols of the maritime cultural heritage of the Yami people. In the year-round heat, they wear silver helmets, sleeveless tops, and breechclouts as formal attire. Lanyu is also known as the “Island of People”. This study takes “Lanyu Warriors” as its cultural theme and implements the following design steps.

In this phase, we invited two designers with three years of experience in cultural product design to create concept designs for plank boat cultural products. Before the design activities, a five-day trip to Lanyu Island was arranged to allow the designers to experience the local cultural environment, the daily life of the Yami people, and the actual plank boat. After the trip, the designers were introduced to the previous analysis of cultural elements and the simplified diagrams obtained from the checklist method. They were then invited to express their impressions of the Yami people and the plank boat culture in their designs. A total of four concept designs were completed, and the related concept sketches and design ideas are shown in Figure 3 .

In this phase, three experts from the fields of design education, design marketing, and practical design were invited to discuss the evaluation criteria. The criteria were categorized into four dimensions: “cultural product attributes”, “product identity”, “conveyance of cultural message”, and “manufacturing”. Ten evaluation criteria and their inherent meanings were derived, as shown in Table 1 . The experts used these ten evaluation criteria as a basis to conduct compliance assessments of the four concept design proposals. The evaluation results are presented in Table 2 .

From the evaluation results shown in Table 2 , it is evident that among the four design concepts, two (the flying fish paperclip set and the face-changing makeup bag) fully meet the established evaluation criteria for cultural products. This indicates that they possess market competitiveness and development potential. Experts also provided recommendations on mass production and cultural conveyance for these two design concepts. Considering the applicability to the mass market, the functionality of the face-changing makeup bag was changed to a stationery pencil case, and the name was revised to face-changing pencil case. Further details are provided in Table 3 .

Based on the expert design recommendations, computer design drawings were created, and 1:1 scale functional prototypes were produced for user inspection. The final results of the two designs are described as follows.

Unlike typical recreational tourism, this approach respects local culture and encourages deeper experiential engagement, promoting the sustainable preservation of the culture. This aligns with the concepts of “design for feeling” and “form follows emotion”, both of which aim to satisfy inner emotional needs. Culture develops in conjunction with the environment and can be preserved and passed down through products and their contexts in various forms. Products can evoke memories and inspiration in users, spreading the product’s ethos to a wider audience.

The Yami culture of Lanyu Island, located on an outlying island of Taiwan Region, is one of the most well-preserved indigenous cultures in Taiwan Region today. However, the tide of the capitalist market is encroaching upon this cultural land. “Seeing the product” marks the beginning of a conversation between the designer and the user, as well as the user’s awareness and concern for this land. The cultural products of Lanyu Island designed in this study aim not only to satisfy users in terms of functionality and consumerism but also to serve as a medium for promoting cultural tourism [7] . Through these products, we hope to showcase the essence of Yami culture and contribute to the sustainable preservation of this vulnerable culture.

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support provided to this study by the NSTC in Taiwan Region under Grant No. MOST 103-2622-E-327-003-CC.