Narrative Review on Application of Digital Popular Science Design for the Protection and Dissemination of Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage

With the rapid advancement of digital technology, digital popular science design has shown considerable potential in preserving and disseminating China’s Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). This research conducts a systematic review of relevant domestic and international literature from 2021 to 2025, supplemented by expert interviews, to examine the current applications and representative cases of digital popular science design in the preservation, restoration, display, and dissemination of ICH. The analysis identifies several challenges, including issues related to information integrity, technological updates, the maintenance of cultural authenticity, and multi-stakeholder collaboration. Employing Heeks’s design–reality gap model, the research systematically investigates the implementation gaps between design and practice, and proposes optimization strategies involving technological standardization, deepened cultural integration, expanded dissemination channels, and improved training and management mechanisms. This research aims to provide theoretical and practical insights for the digital popular science design of ICH, ultimately fostering its revitalization in the digital era. Highlights This research systematically reviews the application on Digital Popular Science Design in preserving China’s ICH, highlighting its success in digital documentation, restoration, and dissemination. The study identifies key implementation challenges consist of data integrity issues, and technological upgrade costs, using Heeks’s design–reality gap model. To bridge this gap, the findings propose strategies including technological standardization, deepening cultural integration, and establishing sustainable, multi-stakeholder governance and funding mechanisms. The research benefit is to provide practical insights for ICH revitalization in the digital era.