Intercultural Design - Project 1: Proposal
5/2/2024 - 23/2/2024 (Week 1 - Week 3)
Aisya Diva Anwagodsa
Intercultural Design / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Intercultural Design: Design Proposal
JUMPLINK
LECTURES
Week 1 - Modul Introduction & Task Briefing
Task Briefing:
- Theme for this semester is 'Cultural Sensitivity'.
- Student can chose any culture for this task, except for the students who will go to Osaka study trip must chose Japanese culture for their project.
- Students will work in a group, group will be decided by the lecturers.
- Beside the main idea, student must make preliminary idea for their project.
Class Material:
Culture and design are two things that always related to one another, as a good designer we have to learn both, so we can produce a good design. Generally, design deliver message through visual or appearance, because visuals are powerful persuasive medium to provide most of information about the world we are living.
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| Fig. 1.1 How the Brain Responds to Images |
Graphic visual graphics look exactly like the way they do in order to deliver the message efficiently and effectively as possible. Visuals are everything that can be seen, including nature, but the nature it self is not a culture, except there is meaning and representation attached to it. While everything produced or created by humans that can be seen has a purpose of visual representation that has functions, content and communicative purpose.
Design System: Addressing Cultural Sensitivity
- Identify the social & political sphere where the design elements reside.
- Understanding the significance of the graphics in its cultural studies, philosophy, sociology and origin history.
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| Fig. 1.2 Design System |
As a designer we have to aware of the symbolism, color, anything that related to a culture that we want to use in our design. Here are things that we should consider:
- Symbolism and Imaginary: Certain symbols and images may carry different meanings in different cultures. Designers should be mindful of potential cultural interpretation to avoid unintentional misunderstandings or offense.
- Typography and Language: Fonts and text styles that are culturally appropriate is important.
- Color Considerations: Colors can have cultural significance, and their meanings may vary across different societies. Understanding the cultural associations of color can help designers make appropriate choices.
- Inclusive Design: We have to make sure that our designs are accessible and inclusive for people from various cultural backgrounds, including those different abilities and needs.
- User Research: Conducting throughout user research, including ethnographic studies and user testing across diverse groups, helps designers gain insights into cultural preference and behaviors.
- Localization: Adapting designs to specific cultural contexts through localization can enhance the relevance and acceptance of a product or service.
- Cultural Awareness Training: Design teams may benefit from cultural awareness training to develop a deeper understanding of diverse perspectives and sensitivities.
Week 2 - Research
For the research, students are expected to do online and onsite research to gather all of the data.
Online Research:
- Wikipedia, websites, articles.
- Youtube video.
- Social Media.
Onsite Research:
- Interview locals / people.
- On-site observations
Submission:
- Sketches of the idea with rationale.
- Preliminary ideas.
- All the research are documented in a PPT in PDF format.
INSTRUCTION
- 200-word write-up defining and interpreting the theme in
- relation to the chosen cultural elements.
- Citation is necessary as evidence to the research.
- A minimum of 3 preliminary ideas in detailed sketches, each
- with individual rationale.
- Visual references (visuals that inspire/influence those ideas).
- Reference list
- Picture credits
PROPOSAL
The world is art, the world is diversity, and the world is culture.
As humans, we are born into a society, have ethnicities, and nationalities. As a design student, I learnt that design is something that connects people. Design is something that will follow the revolution, but it is something that cannot be separated from culture, because these two things influence each other. This semester we are being encourage to learn more about this, by raising the cultural sensitivity as a topic for our project.
Cultural sensitivity refers to the awareness and appreciation of the values, norms, and beliefs characteristic of a cultural, ethnic, racial, or other group that is not one’s own, accompanied by a willingness to adapt one’s behavior accordingly (American Psychological Association, 2022).
In this task, we were told to produce products utilizing our knowledge in design and research about the culture that we chose. For this project, I chose Japan as a culture that I will learn about. Since this a group project, me and my group mates have to discuss the topic that we want to chose, I suggested to make a hand fan or named Uchiwa for our group project. But, after a long discussion, me and my group find out that most of the suggestion are around fashion item, so we decided to make a product that inspired by Japanese accessories. Our idea is to combine Traditional Japanese fashion accessories with a different aspect of Japanese culture for the preliminary ideas.
Preliminary idea 1: Japanese fashion accessories + history - Emily & Lizzie.
Preliminary idea 2: Japanese fashion accessories + Art - Tao & Velicia.
Preliminary idea 3: Japanese fashion accessories + Toys - Ying Ying & Aisya.
I will do the preliminary idea number 3, which is to combine Japanese Fashion item and toys. In this matter I would like to make a hand fand with a touch of Japanese traditional doll called kokeshi.
RESEARCH
Kokeshi are wooden dolls that originate from the Tohoku region of north-eastern Japan. Back then, Kokeshi was used as children’s toys, however, the Kokeshi doll itself is the symbol of good luck, fortune, and a great appreciation for craftsmanship. Kokeshi doll has been popular since the Edo Period (1603 - 1868), it used to be a gift for a newborn baby but it began to evolve from being a traditional toy to becoming an ornament and souvenir.
Originally, Kokeshi dolls have different style based on its origin. For this idea I inspired by the Ishinomaki Kokeshi and contemporary Kokeshi. The different between these two is that the Ishinomaki Kokeshi is identic with a sea nuance with blue stripes and red fish, it also has a gentle smile on its face. While the contemporary Kokeshi usually come up with modern look.
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| Fig. 1.1 Ishinomaki Kokeshi (27/3/2024) |
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| Fig. 1.2 Contemporary Kokeshi (27/3/2024) |
As the preliminary idea, I would like to combine the kokeshi doll with a hand fan as a fashion item from Japan. Based on the design, I want to emphasize the Kokeshi doll by putting it as the fan holder. For the Kokeshi’s design, I use the combination of Ishinomaki kokeshi doll (origin from Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture) and contemporary Kokeshi for giving a modern look. Both of them are modern looking kokeshi, while the Ishinomaki is identical with the modern facial expressions and fish pattern on it.
The fashion item that I use is Japanesse traditional fan or known as uchiwa. It is different with the folding fan, it has rounded shape and made from bamboo. It is usually used to create breeze to keep cool in a hot weather, it is also used in summer festival dances. (Wikipedia)
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| Fig. 1.3 Preliminary Idea 3 Design by Aisya (22/2/2024) |
After done designing our preliminary idea, we placed all of our work into one PPT, we also did presentation to explain our idea.
Fig. 1.4 Proposal PPT
(24/2/2024)
Fig. 1.5 Recorded Presentation
(24/2/2024)
FEEDBACK
Week 1
- Introduction to the module week, so there is no feedback.
Week 2
Feedback by Ms. Anis
- Explore Kanzashi for the group project.
REFLECTION
I am pretty much enjoy this group project, even though I find it hard at some parts, especially in combining my idea and the facts/research that me and my group have done. Of course I gained insights about Japanese culture. Because this is my first group project in semester 1.5, it was a little bit awkward since most of us did not know each other very well. But I am sure that we can pass this project and I will do my best.
QUICK LINKS
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