The majority of China’s intangible cultural heritage is rooted in rural areas, and the integration of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) with rural resources has potential for sustainable development. This study develops a theory of sustainable livelihoods for ICH rural areas, employing design intervention strategies to strengthen core capital, thereby promoting the protection of ICH and the sustainable development of rural areas. Through a case study of China’s ICH, specifically Luanzhou shadow play, this study focuses on core livelihoods capital: design capital and cultural capital. The key elements of the two were analyzed through the use of interviews and questionnaires. The Luanzhou shadow play was redesigned for cultural and creative products and digital application innovation. This approach effectively meets the needs of the target groups and meets the requirements of rural revitalization and ICH, thereby enhancing the adaptability and resilience of rural areas. This study offers a new development path for the heritage of Luanzhou shadow play and local rural areas while also providing a reference for the differentiated development of other non-legacy rural areas.

The ability of AI to process vast datasets can enhance creativity, but its rigid knowledge base and lack of reflective thinking limit sustainable design. Generative Design Thinking (GDT) integrates human cognition and machine learning to enhance design automation. This study aims to explore the cognitive mechanisms underlying GDT and their impact on design efficiency. Using behavioral coding and quantitative analysis, we developed a three-tier cognitive model comprising a macro-cycle (knowledge acquisition and expression), meso-cycle (creative generation, intelligent evaluation, and feedback adjustment), and micro-cycle (knowledge base and model optimization). The findings reveal that increased task complexity elevates cognitive load, supporting the hypothesis that designers need to allocate more cognitive resources for complex problems. Knowledge base optimization significantly impacts design efficiency more than generative model refinement. Moreover, creative generation, evaluation, and feedback adjustment are interdependent, highlighting the importance of a dynamic knowledge base for creativity. This study challenges traditional design automation approaches by advocating for an adaptive framework that balances cognitive processes and machine capabilities. The results suggest that improving knowledge management and reducing cognitive load can enhance design outcomes. Future research should focus on developing flexible, real-time knowledge repositories and optimizing generative models for interdisciplinary and sustainable design contexts.

The increasing demand for efficiency, brand consistency, and sustainability in automotive design has led to the exploration of innovative methods. This study investigated the impact of the V-shaped Dynamic Morphology Curve (VDMC) on design efficiency, brand consistency, and sustainability outcomes in automobile wheel design. A total of 24 designers took part, divided into an experimental group using VDMC and a control group using traditional CAD methods. VDMC uses parametric modeling to accelerate design iterations while maintaining brand identity. The experimental group completed the design task 31.5% faster, achieved significantly higher brand consistency (9.1/10 vs. 7.8/10), and reduced the number of design iterations by 53.2% compared to the control group. Furthermore, the experimental group made 50.9% fewer design changes, indicating higher design stability. These results show that VDMC significantly improves design efficiency and sustainability by reducing both time and resource consumption while ensuring greater alignment with brand guidelines. This study highlights the potential of VDMC to transform traditional design practices and offers notable benefits for both creative processes and environmental impact. The results suggest that integrating VDMC into design workflows could lead to significant improvements in efficiency and sustainability in the automotive industry and beyond.

To design an asymmetric supercapacitor device with high capacitance, high energy density, and excellent cycling stability, a NiCo₂O₄@NiWO₄/MXene ternary composite cathode and a hydrophilic carbon nanotube (H-CNTs) anode were constructed and matched for device assembly. The NiCo₂O₄@NiWO₄/MXene cathode with a “nanowire@nanosheet” core-shell hierarchical structure was prepared through a two-step hydrothermal method combined with high-temperature annealing, while hydrophilic carbon nanotubes were obtained by concentrated nitric acid modification. The microstructure, crystal structure, elemental valence states, and pore characteristics of the electrode materials were systematically characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD, XPS, and nitrogen adsorption–desorption measurements. The results showed that the introduction of Ti₃C₂T_x MXene formed an effective conductive network, while the core-shell hierarchical structure provided abundant electrochemically active sites and increased the specific surface area of the ternary composite to 156.4 m²/g. In a three-electrode system, the NiCo₂O₄@NiWO₄/MXene electrode exhibited a specific capacitance of 1830 F/g at 1 A/g and retained 983 F/g at 15 A/g, while the H-CNTs anode delivered a specific capacitance of 774 F/g at 1 A/g. Based on the working potential windows, specific capacitances, and charge balance relationship of the positive and negative electrodes, the active material mass ratio was optimized to approximately 1:2.8. An asymmetric supercapacitor was subsequently designed using a “cathode–separator–anode” laminated configuration with NiCo₂O₄@NiWO₄/MXene as the cathode, H-CNTs as the anode, glass fiber as the separator, and 6 M KOH as the electrolyte. The assembled NiCo₂O₄@NiWO₄/MXene//H-CNTs device operated stably within a voltage window of 0–1.6 V and achieved a specific capacitance of 256 F/g at 1 A/g. The device delivered an energy density of 91.0 Wh/kg at a power density of 800 W/kg and maintained 97.3% of its initial capacitance after 12,000 charge–discharge cycles. These results demonstrate that the proposed electrode matching and laminated structural design can effectively improve the capacitive performance, energy storage capability, and cycling stability of the asymmetric supercapacitor, providing a useful basis for the design and performance optimization of high-performance supercapacitor devices.

Motivation：Rural revitalization is a development strategy proposed in 2017 to solve the issues relating to agriculture, rural areas and farmers in China, and the redesign of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) with Chinese characteristics can maintain the sustainability of rural revitalization. Purpose：This study attempts to construct a development framework for rural-based ICH redesign through the sustainable livelihood theory in order to realize rural revitalization. Methodology: Taking Luanzhou Shadow Puppetry as an example, this study examines the factors that affect livelihood capital using questionnaires, investigates the hierarchy of cultural and design capital, and identifies effective design strategies to support the economic, social, and cultural development in rural areas. Conclusions: The findings demonstrate how the development of ICH and rural rehabilitation can be facilitated by combining cultural capital with design capital. Such a combination is also applicable to the creative transformation of ICT resources in other villages, and can thus offer some insights to the study on rural revitalization