"Chinese Dreamcore"Aesthetic Style in Daily-use Artifacts within Landscape of Generation Z Cultural Consumption

DING Ling; ZHOU Zihan; WANG Aihong

doi:10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2026.16.042

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Packaging Engineering ›› 2026, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (16) : 473-483. DOI: 10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2026.16.042

Design Discussion

"Chinese Dreamcore"Aesthetic Style in Daily-use Artifacts within Landscape of Generation Z Cultural Consumption

DING Ling, ZHOU Zihan, WANG Aihong^*

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Abstract

Within the context of Generation Z (Gen Z) cultural consumption, the work aims to explore the core characteristics and translation pathways of "Chinese dreamcore" aesthetics in daily-use ceramic design, so as to provide a theoretical and practical reference for innovative ceramic product development. Starting from the consumption characteristics of Gen Z and the generative logic transitioning from "dreamcore" to "Chinese dreamcore", this study delineated the movement's cultural background and aesthetic connotations. It further extracted the core features of Chinese dreamcore aesthetics and categorized their translation pathways into daily-use ceramics across five dimensions: morphological structure, color expression, graphic symbols, spatial composition, and material texture. Finally, the research incorporated three ceramic flower vessel designs and utilized the Semantic Differential (SD) method to conduct user perception verification. The results identified the five-dimensional expressive features and key transformation points of "Chinese dreamcore" in daily-use ceramics. User evaluation data obtained through the SD method indicated that the proposed framework achieved stable style recognition and effective differentiation in terms of subjective perception. In conclusion, the "Chinese dreamcore" aesthetic demonstrates strong feasibility for translation into daily-use ceramic design. The established five-dimensional expressive framework possesses distinct identifiability in user perception, offering a valuable reference for emotional expression and stylistic innovation in ceramic design from the perspective of Gen Z cultural consumption.

Key words

generation Z cultural consumption / daily-use artifacts / Chinese dreamcore aesthetics / nostalgic aesthetics

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DING Ling, ZHOU Zihan, WANG Aihong. "Chinese Dreamcore"Aesthetic Style in Daily-use Artifacts within Landscape of Generation Z Cultural Consumption[J]. Packaging Engineering. 2026, 47(16): 473-483 https://doi.org/10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2026.16.042

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