Today’s development focuses on the integration of affective meaning into products and services. Kansei Engineering (KE) is a technology that establishes the relationship between customers’ kansei and design elements to optimize the design for customers. This study aims to identify the research status and emerging trends in KE research by using visualization analysis with CiteSpace. We retrieve 2830 articles from the core collection of the Web of Science (1995–2021). First, based on the chronological distribution and background of research institutions, journals, literatures, countries and core authors, this study analyzes the main contributions, knowledge sources, interdisciplinary characteristics and major research domains of KE. Second, the research hotspots and cutting-edge technologies are intuitively presented and analyzed to reveal the knowledge structure and research frontier. Finally, this research expounds upon the evolution and developmental process of each stage and proposes the emerging trends of KE research, which are the use of big data in the Internet era, multidisciplinary cooperation, and the integration of multiple mathematical algorithms to serve multiapplication practice. This is also the orientation for further research on KE in the succeeding stages.

This study confronts the ambiguous concept of sustainability within contemporary art and design, seeking to define and operationalize it through an interdisciplinary lens. By synthesizing philosophical, technological, and artistic methodologies, this research utilizes qualitative analysis and detailed case studies to evaluate the sustainable attributes of modern decorative arts. Focusing on the integration of nature and technology, the investigation spans various artistic disciplines, critically assessing their contributions to sustainable practices. The results indicate that an innovative use of materials and avant-garde design approaches significantly advance sustainability, highlighting the role of contemporary art in promoting environmental consciousness and sustainability in policy-making. Conclusively, in this paper, a paradigm shift in art and design education and policy is argued for, advocating for a proactive engagement with sustainability that extends beyond traditional artistic boundaries, thus providing a framework for future sustainable development strategies in the arts. This study offers a comprehensive model for understanding and implementing sustainability that could influence future artistic and educational practices globally.

The convergence of cultural and aesthetic elements in timber structures from China’s Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD) and traditional Japanese architecture provides a rich tapestry of architectural evolution and cross-cultural exchanges. Addressing the challenge of distinguishing and understanding the intricate styles of these structures is significant for both historical comprehension and preservation efforts. This research introduces an innovative approach by integrating the Multi-Head Attention (MHA) mechanism into the YOLOv8 model, enhancing the detection of architectural features with improved precision and recall. Our novel YOLOv8-MHA model not only demonstrates a notable improvement in recognizing intricate architectural details but also significantly advances the state of the art in object detection within complex settings. Quantitative results underscore the model’s effectiveness, achieving a precision of 95.6%, a recall of 85.6%, and a mean Average Precision (mAP@50) of 94% across various Intersection over Union (IoU) thresholds. These metrics highlight the model’s superior capability to accurately identify and classify architectural elements, especially within environments rich with nuanced details, utilizing the enhanced YOLOv8-MHA algorithm. The application of our model extends beyond mere architectural analysis; it offers new insights into the intricate interplay of cultural identity and adaptability inherent in East Asian architectural heritage. The study establishes a solid foundation for the meticulous classification and analysis of architectural styles in timber structures within an expansive cultural and historical context, thereby enriching our understanding and preservation of these traditions.

The effects of a restorative environment on attention restoration and stress reduction have received much attention in societies, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Interior materials are a crucial environmental element influencing people’s perceived restorativeness at home. Nevertheless, few studies have examined the links between interior materials and the restorativeness of home environments. To address this gap, this study aimed to investigate the restorative potential of interior materials among a sample of adults in China. Cross-sectional data from 85 participants whose professional majors were related to interior design were selected. The measures of the restorative potential of each interior material were obtained by a questionnaire adapted from the semantic differential method. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the restorative potential of interior materials. We found that glass material had the best restorative potential in home environments. Doubts were raised regarding wood material’s restorativeness, and more consideration should be granted for designing a restorative home with wood material. In contrast, metal is not recommended for restorative home design. These findings contribute to the evidence of the restorative effects of home design.