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For three consecutive issues, SIGNED has followed the main theme of conserving and transmitting cultural legacy, aiming to explore cultural innovation in the scopes of lifestyle, art and in this issue – digitisation. We have gathered various use cases of conserving and innovating culture.

Interestingly and coincidentally, our search in these three areas at home and abroad has unveiled a common first step - a technology-enabled digital platform to conserve and to innovate. All our interviewees have leveraged different digital technologies to rationalise, preserve and reimagine their cultural treasures. Their creative approaches have been made possible by lightspeed technological advancements and exponential increase in computing power.

Indeed, the Palace Museum in Beijing launched an array of creative branded cultural products inspired from its collections some 10 years ago. These products resulted in a popular trend, which was followed by the introduction of digital technology and subsequently revolutionised the public's experience with "cultural heritage" of Chinese traditions. No wonder the museum's success is now a textbook case much discussed in design schools. These show us that cultural heritage has in fact been passed on and innovated from a tangible aspect to a virtual one – a transformation that is in line with the increased amount of time we are spending on digital platforms every day.

Now that the new era of AI and big data is here, we can foresee that every aspect of our lives – including the conservation and innovation of cultural heritage – will be affected qualitatively and quantitatively. Indeed, there have been many debates about whether AI will replace humans. However, as long as we stay true with our design mindset, we will be able to always consider the needs of humans first, and not lose track or be bounded by digital technology.

Leveraging empathy, the first and foremost attribute of the design mindset, we could underscore the a unique qualities of humans. Cultural heritage is an experience co-created and co-experienced by humans, design ideas based on human bonds will bring about enriching imagination. It also explains why many countries are invested in the transmission and innovation of cultural heritage.