Intercultural Design - Final Compilation
Siang Huey Yee / 0369549
OUTLINE
- INSTRUCTIONS
- PROJECT 1 - PROPOSAL
- PROJECT 2 - FIELD STUDY
- PROJECT 3 - FINAL PROJECT
- FEEDBACK
- REFLECTION
INSTRUCTIONS
Module Information Booklet
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PROJECT 1 - PROPOSAL
WEEK 1 (5/2/2024) - WEEK 3 (23/2/2024)
A proposal to develop ideas, supported by research, for a final design centred on a specific theme that reflects students' understanding and perception of global challenges and design aesthetics.
- The general theme is “Cultural Sensitivity in Design”
- We are to study a cultural phenomenon or a particular subculture that is perceived as ‘sensitive’, and “frame” our study within the chosen theme.
- The task we are given is to compose a 200-word write-up that defines and analyses the issue in light of the selected cultural elements. A minimum of three preliminary ideas that use design language to graphically represent our understanding of the culture we researched. Each idea must be backed up by a unique justification and thorough sketches.
- 0361521 Janice Marie Eng Chia Hui
- 0350857 Joey Lok Wai San
- 0369549 Siang Huey Yee
- 0366473 Tang Chin Ting
- 0364908 Teh Ming En
- 0360525 Vanessa Kei Kurniadi
Task Delegation
After receiving feedback from the lecturer, we decided to proceed with the topic of "Dragon Symbolism in the East and West". We divided the research into six parts and delegated tasks among ourselves. Each member chose a part they would like to research, ensuring that their section included necessary research, citations, and picture credits. I chose to do research on Similarities and Differences between Eastern and Western Dragons.
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Research Document
The research information was compiled into a Google Docs document for easier input during the research process. Later, this document was summarized and transferred to Canva slides for the Final Proposal presentation.
Final Proposal Slides & Presentation
PROJECT 2 - FIELD STUDY
WEEK 4 (26/2/2024) - WEEK 5 (8/3/2024)
Students will carry out a process of collecting cultural facts relevant to the issue and goals of your research.
- In order to gather information for Project 1's conceptualization, the students were ask to gather visual, oral, textual and tactile artefacts. Every item of artefact or material that is collected needs to be recorded, stored, and documented along with the relevant details, which may include the kind of object or material, its purpose, its symbolism, its cultural or historical context, and more.
- Suggested data collection methods:
Observation study
- Interview of relevant stakeholders
- Online and/or actual physical material *visual research of the selected culture (the people/arts/symbols/architecture/text/calligraphy etc)
Task Delegation
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Data Collection Methods
We used three methods of data collection, including:
- Site visit: Visit Chinese temples around Malaysia to observe Chinese dragons as decorations in architecture
- Online visual analysis: Visual analysis of Western and Eastern Dragons using Google Arts & Culture and museum archives
- Google online survey: Collect information about the public's opinions on Dragon symbolism in design, media or culture between Eastern and Western Dragons
Our group members visited temples in Selangor and Melaka, where they discovered several types of dragons in different parts of the temples and captured images of them. We conducted this field study to observe the decorative dragon architecture of Eastern culture. I was in charge of visiting temples in Melaka since I am from there. I visited 6 temples: Cheng Hoon Teng Temple, Chin San Kong Temple, Guang Fu Kong Temple, San Duo Temple, Teck Kong Temple, and Tua Pek Kong. Additionally, I was responsible for providing the topic overview for this task.
Google Drive Link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1q56Oy9xV-yVqJUBm7dmf4G7CJjLzS_ge?usp=drive_link
2) Online Visual Analysis
We also did visual analysis on both Western and Eastern dragons. Due to the fact we could not find any temples or sites with Western dragons to visit, we found artefacts of them online through Google Arts and Culture and museum archives.
3) Online Survey
We conducted a survey on 'Dragon Symbolism in Eastern and Western Culture' to understand the public's perception of dragons via Google Form. There are 8 questions in the survey and it was promoted on social media. The responses were then analyzed and summarized with explanations.
Google Form link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeP7r_KEMowqFDCs-H0SiFNCVRbKoLHF8FeugKldvEGSOUtQA/viewform?usp=sf_link
Ms. Anis approved of our findings and data collection. Based on the results of the Google Form survey, the majority of our respondents believe that creating a shirt with dragon designs is a better way to raise awareness than jewellery. We developed several clothing designs to connect our collected data to the final design. After receiving further feedback from Ms. Anis, we decided to focus on crop tops streetwear and tailor our merchandise to a younger audience.
Final Data Collection Slides
PROJECT 3 - FINAL PROJECT
WEEK 5 (8/3/2024) - WEEK 8 (29/3/2024)
For the final project, upon completing the research, data collection, attending all class lectures and tutorials, and presenting a comprehensive proposal and research data, students are required to produce visual design outcomes related to their interpretation of the given theme.
- In my group, we are tasked with creating a fashion magazine featuring Eastern and Western Dragons-themed crop tops streetwear. We have a list of tasks to complete for the final project, including:
- Creating Dragon Crop Top Designs
- Creating a Fashion Magazine
- Take model photos to display the designs
- Edit the designs onto the model photos
- Presentation slides
Task Delegation
We have decided that each group member will create one dragon crop top design, with each design having its own rationale and crop top style. This will allow us to showcase a variety of shirt designs in the fashion magazine.
Then, we split the task into two teams: the Magazine Design team, which focuses on designing the magazine layouts and its aesthetics, and the Photography/Editing team, which focuses on photographing model photos and editing shirt designs onto model photos. Additionally, a short timeline was also set to ensure we could finish the project on time.
Crop Top Designs
1) My Crop Top Design:
- Sketches
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- Digitisation
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Figure 3.3a Crop Top Hoodie - No Colour (Digitising Process), Week 6 (12/3/2024)
Rationale:
This crop top hoodie shirt design draws inspiration from both Eastern and Western Dragons to show- case cross-cultural elements. On the left side, wings and spikes represent the Western Dragon, while the right sleeve portrays the Eastern Dragon with colorful scales and a long, snake-like body. Additionally, a dragon horn is designed on top of the hoodie's head to further enhance the theme of dragons in this shirt design.
2) Crop Top Designs by our group members:
Photoshoot
We have scheduled our photo session on Saturday, March 16. We were willing
to go to campus on a weekend in order to complete the project ahead
of schedule.
- Time: 8.30 AM
- Date: March 16th, Saturday
- Location: Stairs next to the lake (the stairs near Typography class)
- People: Joey (camera), Huey Yee (model/camera), Vanessa (model/camera), Janice (model/camera)
Photo Editing
After the photoshoot session, the photography/editing team, led by Janice and Vanessa, began editing the dragon designs onto the raw images using Adobe Photoshop. For crop tops that we did not have, we found the closest shirt style available and edited the colours to match our design.
Magazine Design
We chose Canva for the magazine design because of its user-friendly interface and availability of built-in features and designs. In order to begin the design process, we searched for visual references of magazine layouts and designs.
We completed initial layouts before the physical feedback session with our assigned lecturer, Ms. Anis. For the magazine layouts, we utilized a dark green and beige colour scheme along with cursive and serif fonts. Additionally, we created various designs for the initial cover magazine layout. This progress was shown to our lecturer for feedback during the session.
After the feedback session with our assigned lecturer, Ms. Anis, we were advised to change the typeface used in the magazine. The previous typeface was not clear and did not match the theme's vibe. We opted for a blocky, sans-serif font, 'Anton'. Additionally, we altered the style and colour palette of the magazine to be more simple and minimalistic, using a red, black, and beige colour scheme. To maintain consistency with this colour scheme, we edited the model pictures have a black and white background, with only the dragon design in color. This not only ensures consistency across the magazine but also highlights the crop tops. Furthermore, Ms. Anis suggested that we change the magazine cover name to something more interesting and appealing, rather than simply using our topic name as the cover title. After conducting a poll, we selected "Dragon's Duality: Fashion Fusion" as our magazine cover name.
Presentation
Final Project Slides & Presentation
Magazine Flipbook: https://online.fliphtml5.com/ksrkn/srhj/
FEEDBACK
Week 3 (20/2/2024):
Come up with 3 sketches for your project output. The 3 sketches combo can be for example: 1 rationale + 3 sketches or 3 rationale + 1 sketch each, and vice versa. The context must be based on the project brief and theme.
Week 4 (28/2/2024):
You can proceed with data collection for 3 topics first, then we will narrow it down for final output to just 1.
Week 5 (4/3/2024):
Good find. It would be great too if you could add depiction of dragons in other parts of Eastern culture (you can extract this from online info such as https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/mythic-creatures/dragons/asian-dragons)
Based on your current compilation, it seems that you can sort of start thinking what is the design for the merchandise that you want to create. You can base this on your target viewers as well, as younger people may have different expectations compared to older ones. Perhaps concentrate more on streetwear that depicts dragons and portrays design sensitivity from that aspect? Casual wear, but still present the proud, powerful nature of dragons?
Week 5 (8/3/2024):
Impressive compilation of data. Since your group already decided to create a shirt design with dragon motifs, you can now sketch out the look + motifs to go with the shirt as well. Perhaps you can also target a specific fashion trend (i.e. crop top feels like the 90s right? While the onesies feel more like the cutesy type) for the output. I leave that to you to decide, as long you provide a rationale for your decision. Good job!
Week 6 (13/3/2024):
You can take picture of yourself wearing a blank t-shirt and then photoshop the design on top of it. Give that one a try.
Week 6 (15/3/2024):
Not a good choice of font type for the magazine, try to make the fonts consistent. Don't include one large body of text in one page.
REFLECTION
Experience
My experience with this module has been quite pleasant. There were very few restrictions and not many instructions guiding us on where or what to start. However, I found that this module provided us with the freedom and exploration time to research the topics we wanted to explore. This was quite a new experience for me, although I was slightly confused in the beginning since I'm used to receiving very clear instructions on topic selection. I highly appreciate our lecturers for providing feedback to help us improve our tasks.
Observation
Throughout these three continuous tasks, I have observed that communication and discussion with the group members are extremely important to prevent miscommunication. Our group did not experience any miscommunications because we always discussed any problems we faced via our WhatsApp group chat, where we talked it out and solved the problems together. Additionally, I also found that we should always split the tasks evenly and fairly so that no one gets overloaded with tasks while others have little to do. This could lead to unfairness among the members. Setting deadlines for each section is also crucial to ensure that all members complete their work at the same time and avoid procrastination, which could result in late submissions. I am very grateful to have my group members because our group leaders and other members always help one another and remain active in all tasks, leading us to successfully complete all tasks together.
Findings
Through this Intercultural Design module, I have realized the importance of cultural sensitivity in the aspect of design. I learned that proper research must be done before creating any design artwork, as it is very easy to inadvertently create something that offends or disrespects someone due to a lack of research. Additionally, I found that not all group assignments are stressful and difficult to communicate, as some group members may not be active in completing tasks. Initially, I was concerned about this module being entirely group assignments, but I consider myself lucky to have met my group mates. I have learned a lot from them and have also improved my communication skills, learning how to cooperate and solve problems together with my group members.
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