{ "_description": "Generated from data/ — edit the sources, not this file. The agent access guide explains the evidence boundary of every field.", "schemaVersion": "1.0.0", "kind": "entry", "locale": "en", "id": "papercut", "name": { "zh": "纸雕层叠风", "en": "Papercut" }, "page": "https://designvocabulary.com/en/entries/papercut/", "self": "https://designvocabulary.com/en/entries/papercut.json", "alternates": { "zh-CN": "https://designvocabulary.com/zh/entries/papercut.json", "en": "https://designvocabulary.com/en/entries/papercut.json" }, "site": { "catalogSchemaVersion": "0.1.0", "entries": 158, "index": "https://designvocabulary.com/en/entries/index.json", "query": "https://designvocabulary.com/api/query?lang=en", "guide": "https://designvocabulary.com/en/agents/", "llms": "https://designvocabulary.com/llms.txt" }, "provenance": { "sourceBacked": [ "entry.definition" ], "editorial": [ "entry.boundary", "entry.signature", "entry.when", "entry.when_not", "entry.tradeoff", "entry.comparison", "entry.rules", "entry.relations", "entry.implementationNote", "entry.visual" ], "scope": "Definitions reference these sources. Digital specimens, selection advice, relationships, and recipes are editorial work and have not been validated through user research.", "editorialStatus": "drafted", "specimenData": "fictional", "specimenNote": "Original fictional specimens. Definitions cite sources; usage advice and recipes are editorial.", "sources": [ { "id": "papercut-wikipedia", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papercutting", "title": "Wikipedia · Papercutting", "checkedAt": "2026-10-20", "archive": { "status": "available", "confirmed": true, "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20261020075758/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papercutting", "capturedAt": "2026-10-20T07:57:58Z", "lookupUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20261020*/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papercutting" } }, { "id": "papercut-unesco", "url": "https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/chinese-paper-cut-00219", "title": "UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage · Chinese paper-cut", "checkedAt": "2026-10-20", "archive": { "status": "pending", "confirmed": false, "url": null, "capturedAt": null, "lookupUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20261020*/https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/chinese-paper-cut-00219" } } ], "lists": [], "ordered": false, "listDisclaimer": "Seat numbers are editorial positions, not scores, rankings, or popularity measurements. A list that is not filled is left as it is." }, "entry": { "id": "papercut", "type": "visual", "name": { "zh": "纸雕层叠风", "en": "Papercut" }, "aliases": [ "Paper Cut Style", "Layered Paper", "Paper Art Style", "剪纸风", "纸艺风" ], "granularity": "experience", "intents": [ "express-brand", "organize-content" ], "tags": [ "paper", "layering", "soft shadow", "cutouts", "illustration" ], "definition": "A graphic language that breaks a picture into several sheets of flat-colored paper stacked layer on layer and separated front to back by soft shadows: each layer has a clean, knife-cut edge, and shadows and cutouts reveal the layers beneath, giving shallow but legible depth. It is common in illustration, banners, and parallax motion.", "boundary": "This entry covers only the digital graphic language that imitates layered paper cutting in interfaces and brand imagery. It does not summarise papercutting as a craft and folk tradition — Chinese jianzhi, Japanese kirie, Swiss and German Scherenschnitte — with their techniques, motifs, and ritual roles, and it does not treat this style as a reproduction of those traditions. The test is the combination of flat-colored layers, knife-cut outlines, soft shadows between layers, and cutouts revealing what lies beneath — not \"paper-like colors\". It differs from collage, which joins fragments of different origin and keeps the seams visible, whereas papercut layers usually share one palette and one outline language. It also differs from skeuomorphism: it borrows the layering of paper, not a physical object that explains an interface function.", "signature": [ "The picture is built from three to six flat-colored layers, one color per layer", "Layer edges are clean curves or zigzags, like edges cut with a knife or scissors", "Short, soft shadows separate the layers, and cutouts let the lower colors show through" ], "when": [ "The brand needs an illustration language that feels gentle and handmade yet stays tidy", "A banner, empty state, or onboarding screen needs shallow depth and a light parallax", "The content hierarchy maps onto a few front-to-back layers" ], "when_not": [ "Dense tables, forms, or dashboards, where layered shadows get confused with the real hierarchy of controls", "Setting text directly over areas where several layers of shadow overlap", "Borrowing specific motifs and auspicious symbols from a folk papercutting tradition with no connection to the content or context" ], "tradeoff": "Flat layers with soft shadows create clear depth and a friendly handmade feel from very few colors. The cost is that every layer must be drawn and maintained separately, which makes redesigns hard once the layers multiply, and decorative layer shadows are easily confused with the interface's real interactive hierarchy.", "comparison": { "focus": "Shallow, friendly depth from stacked colored paper", "mechanism": "Flat layers, knife-cut outlines, soft shadows between layers, and cutouts", "cost": "Layer-by-layer drawing is costly to maintain, and decorative shadows blur the interactive hierarchy" }, "sources": [ { "id": "papercut-wikipedia", "title": "Wikipedia · Papercutting", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papercutting", "claim": "The article describes papercutting as an art of paper designs that developed in many cultures, typically cut from a single sheet rather than assembled from several pieces as in collage, and lists traditions including Chinese jianzhi, Japanese kirie/kirigami, Swiss and German Scherenschnitte, and Slavic wycinanki, the last described as bright, multilayered work. This entry uses it to draw the craft-tradition side of its boundary; the guidance on the digital layered-paper style is editorial.", "checkedAt": "2026-10-20", "archive": { "lookupUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20261020*/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papercutting", "status": "available", "checkedAt": "2026-10-20T07:57:52.435Z", "jobId": "spn2-8426c72dd14ab412992e2e2bee4cd27722e26062", "url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20261020075758/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papercutting", "timestamp": "20261020075758" } }, { "id": "papercut-unesco", "title": "UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage · Chinese paper-cut", "url": "https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/chinese-paper-cut-00219", "claim": "The page records that Chinese paper-cut was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009, explains that the paper can be cut or engraved with a chisel and left plain or colored, and describes its use to decorate interiors such as windows and in celebrations such as weddings and birthdays, as well as in prayers. This entry uses it to note that folk paper-cut carries ritual and social meaning, so borrowing its motifs in an interface calls for respect for context.", "checkedAt": "2026-10-20", "archive": { "lookupUrl": "https://web.archive.org/web/20261020*/https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/chinese-paper-cut-00219", "status": "pending", "checkedAt": "2026-10-20T07:57:54.580Z", "error": "save-request-failed", "jobId": "spn2-a913e680e0203ba1b30a727f647791cc97f716ef" } } ], "relations": [ { "target": "collage", "kind": "alternative", "condition": "A picture language with the feel of paper is wanted", "reason": "Collage joins fragments of different origin and keeps the seams and jumps in scale; papercut stacks layers drawn in one palette and one outline language, aiming at tidy depth rather than heterogeneous juxtaposition.", "basis": "editorial" }, { "target": "flat-design", "kind": "related", "condition": "Color is applied flat, but a little depth is still needed", "reason": "Each layer is itself flat color; papercut reintroduces shadow only between layers, so it can be read as flat design with a limited amount of depth added.", "basis": "editorial" }, { "target": "figure-ground", "kind": "informs", "condition": "Layering is used to separate the foreground subject from the background", "reason": "Shadows and cutouts between layers make it obvious which layer is in front; the figure-ground principle explains why that separation reads quickly.", "basis": "editorial" }, { "target": "contrast-legibility", "kind": "conflicts_when", "condition": "Text runs across several layers of shadow and cutout edges", "reason": "The color behind the text changes from layer to layer, so the effective contrast is set by the least favorable layer.", "basis": "editorial" } ], "rules": [ { "when": "Text or clickable controls sit on top of a layered illustration", "instruction": "Give the text a solid backing independent of the layers beneath it, and check contrast against the least favorable background layer so that it meets WCAG requirements for text and non-text contrast.", "strength": "must", "basis": "editorial" }, { "when": "The layered illustration is animated with parallax on scroll", "instruction": "Limit the parallax shift to a few layers with small amplitude, and fall back to a static stack when the user has asked for reduced motion.", "strength": "recommend", "basis": "editorial" }, { "when": "The design borrows motifs or auspicious symbols from a folk papercutting tradition", "instruction": "First confirm what the motif means and where it is used; when it has nothing to do with the content, use original abstract outlines instead.", "strength": "recommend", "basis": "editorial" } ], "visual": { "tokens": { "surface": "#f4ecdc", "ink": "#2f3a45", "accent": "#c4653f", "radiusPx": 0, "shadow": "0 2px 6px rgba(47, 58, 69, 0.18)" }, "tokenScope": "This sample recipe — cream paper ground, slate ink, terracotta accent, and one short soft shadow to suggest the gap between layers — shows one direction only. Real work must define a color and shadow strength for each layer and verify contrast wherever text sits." }, "demo": null, "version": "0.1.0", "editorialStatus": "drafted", "requirements": [], "demoCapabilities": [], "implementationNote": "This entry has no runnable specimen; the illustration is an editorial sketch, and its layered outlines are original abstract shapes that copy no traditional paper-cut motif. Before shipping, confirm that layer shadows are not confused with the hierarchy of interactive elements, and test contrast in text areas and behavior under reduced-motion settings.", "image": { "src": "/images/papercut.webp", "alt": "A fictional FIELDNOTES web banner: several layers of slate-blue, terracotta, and cream paper stacked front to back like hills, with soft shadows between them; a cream card on the front layer holds grey placeholder text bars and a button shape." }, "searchTerms": [ "纸张", "层叠", "柔和投影", "镂空", "插画" ] } }