INTERCULTURAL DESIGN: PROPOSAL

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Lee Rui Yen (0391797)

Intercultural Design  (GCD63204)

Task 1: Proposal [30%]

Week 1 - Week 3

TASK DESCRIPTION: A proposal to concretise ideas, supported by research, for a final design revolving a given theme that reflects students' understanding and interpretation of global issues and design aesthetics. 


Table of Contents


Module Information PDF


Lecture Notes

ALL INFORMATION IN THIS SECTION ARE COPIES AND MAY BE TAKEN DIRECTLY FROM THE LECTURES

Lecture 1- Culture and Design

Culture and design are inseparable, and as future designers, you need to be able to understand and express both as part of your creative skills development. 

Introduction

We live in a visual information culture, and yet we sometimes pay little attention to how they are visualised. Visuals are powerful persuasive mediums to provide most of our information about the world. 


Visuals are:

1) Everything that can be seen. 

This definition is wide, all-inclusive including nature - BUT NATURE IS NOT CULTURE - unless there's meaning and representation attached to it. 

2) Everything produced or created by humans that can be seen.

This proposes that the visual is everything that can be seen and which is produced or created by humans for the purpose of visual representations that has functions, content and communicative purpose. 

Designers need to be aware of cultural nuances, symbolism, and context to create designs that are inclusive and resonate with diverse audiences. 


Design Significance

You are able to identify the social, cultural and political sphere where the design elements reside. 

By understanding the significance of the graphics in its cultural studies, philosophy, sociology and origin history. 

But for this module, it will all be simplified through the breakdown and expansion through design system. 












Design Sensitivity

Cultural Sensitivity Awareness

  • Symbolism and Imagery: Certain symbols and images may carry different meanings in different cultures. Designers should be mindful of potential cultural interpretations to avoid unintentional misunderstandings or offence. 
  • Colour Consideration: Colours can have cultural significance, and their meanings may vary across different societies. Understanding the cultural associations of colours can help designers make appropriate choices. 
  • Typography and Language: Choosing fonts and text styles that are culturally appropriate is important. Additionally, considering language variations and ensuring accurate translations is crucial for reaching diverse audiences.
  • Inclusive Design: Designers should strive to create products and experiences that are accessible and inclusive for people from various cultural backgrounds, including those with different abilities and needs.
  • User Research: Conducting thorough user research, including ethnographic studies and user testing across diverse groups, helps designers gain insights into cultural preferences and behaviours. 
  • 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. 

Proposal Reflection

Our overarching theme for this continuous project was "Designing Urban Futures". I formed a group of 6 people and began to research for our project.

Our requirements for the project were:


Week 1
At the beginning of the project, we were very confused as a group on what we were meant to do. Part of this was due to the fact that we had gone into the project with solutions already in place when we were supposed to be starting with the problem first. 

Week 2
When we were in the middle of forming our slides and research information, we had a consultation with our mentor Mr Asrizal, who informed us that our ideas were too big in scale to be created and not focused enough on the central problem. As a result, we ended up having to redo our slides with new research and new solutions that would have been easier to design and produce. 

Another issue with the project was that the Assessment Task Description PDF was not very clear or accurate to what we needed to do. We had to clarify multiple times with the teachers that it was okay to do a project focusing on something other than "Urban mobility experiences within a city" as there was nothing to indicate that that section of the requirements was just an example and not another mandatory theme guideline. I also felt that it was hard to navigate and come up with a solution that fell within the categories of acceptable solutions, due to the fact that the them of "Designing Urban Futures" felt too broad and encouraged grander solutions than what was needed. 

Week 3
Week 3 was spent redoing research and having group meetings to finalize ideas and slides. We managed to come up with three hopefully acceptable solutions for the project, under three minor themes of 'Water Pollution', 'Renewable Energy' and 'Farming'. When recording our presentation, there was a little worry that we wouldn't be able to fit the 10 minute time limit due to how much information we had put in it, but with a few rerecords, we managed to not go beyond 10 minutes. 





Intercultural Design by Group 26

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