Cultural Visual Symbols in Intangible Cultural Heritage Branding and Their Effects on Cultural Identity and Brand Preference: Implications for Cultural Sustainability

With the increasing importance of cultural consumption and the sustainable revitalization of intangible cultural heritage (ICH), visual communication has become a key mechanism for translating cultural meanings into contemporary branding contexts. This study develops a semiotics-informed structural model that integrates semiotic theory with consumer behavior frameworks to explain how cultural visual symbols influence brand preference through cultural cognition and cultural identity. Using Wufangzhai as an empirical case, partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is applied to survey data from 274 consumers. The results indicate that different visual elements exert differentiated effects on cultural cognition, with color and packaging showing stronger influences, while typography plays a more significant role in shaping cultural identity. Cultural identity is also found to mediate the relationship between cultural cognition and brand preference. These findings contribute to cultural branding research and provide practical insights for the design of ICH visual communication systems.