Digital Translation of the Dunhuang Nine-Colored Deer Motif for Wood-Fiber-Based Cultural Product Design

Abstract

To address challenges including high subjectivity, non-reproducible reasoning, and poor compatibility with wood-based material processing in translating Dunhuang mural imagery into modern cultural product designs on wood-fiber substrates, this study proposes a digital workflow combining the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Shape Grammar (SG). An evaluation system was established, focusing on cultural authenticity, artistic aesthetics, geometric transformability, material compatibility, and market resonance. AHP was used to select imagery with the highest translation potential, prioritizing aesthetics and material-process compatibility. Using the Nine-Colored Deer from Mogao Cave 257 as a prototype, generative rules were developed for pattern creation under parametric constraints. An HSB compensation mechanism was introduced to improve color consistency in digital printing and processing. Three practical designs—wooden lamps, apparel, and bags—were evaluated by 20 reviewers, with mean scores ranging from 4.54 to 4.60, demonstrating the robustness and applicability of this workflow in wood-fiber material engineering and cultural heritage translation.