FROM SACRED SYMBOL TO DIGITAL AVATAR: THE “BUTTERFLY MOTHER” IN MIAO-INSPIRED IP AND GAME SKIN DESIGN

Abstract

This study focuses on the pattern culture and art of the Miao ethnic group in Leishan County, Guizhou, and its surrounding areas, exploring the cultural connotations embedded in their color and graphic characteristics. Within the interdisciplinary context that integrates intangible cultural heritage protection, semiotics, communication studies, and digital media design, devising new interpretive pathways for traditional pattern culture has become an important issue. Through literature review, field research, case analysis, and questionnaire surveys, this study systematically examines the evolutionary patterns of Miao patterns, aiming to remedy the "signifier-signified" symbolic rupture faced in the digital age and to enhance audience cultural cognition and emotional identification. To this end, this study constructs a four-stage translation model of "Cultural analysis → Design translation → Media expression → Emotional identification," forming a complete transformation chain from the deconstruction of cultural semantics to the construction of audience emotions.Quantitative data show that respondents' overall familiarity with Miao patterns is at a moderately low level (M = 2.65/5). While 34.9% of respondents were able to correctly identify the cultural association between Miao patterns and ancestor worship, 34.5% had seen the patterns but did not understand their meanings, confirming the objective existence of symbolic rupture. In terms of acceptance willingness, game skins ranked the highest (M = 3.64/5), followed by digital IP characters (M = 2.65/5) and cultural creative products (M = 2.99/5).Qualitative interviews further corroborated these findings.The research demonstrates that, via digital innovative design, Miao patterns can be reconstituted as a cultural narrative system that integrates cultural transmission and emotional mobilization. IP characters and game skins effectively repair the symbolic chain and enhance emotional resonance, offering a replicable pathway reference for the digital transformation of ethnic minority intangible cultural heritage.

Keywords: Miao Patterns, Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection, Innovative Media Design, Digital IP Character, Game Skins