Intercultural Design / Tasks
Nurul Adlina Rizal / 0345429 / Bachelor of Design in Creative Media
Intercultural Design
Tasks
LECTURES
Week 1: Ethnography & Netnography
Ethnography: culture - in a sense - traditional culture that takes a
long time to immerse
Netnography
- internet ethnography
- gamer groups / rock groups
Research
Netnography Study Online > theory / hypotheses > outcome (an
intercultural design)
Inductive
- from an initial assumption
- confirm it through research
Deductive
- doesn't know much about it
- work from the ground up
- from that research make a hypotheses
- then a theoretical statement
Three Types of Data Collection
1. Archive
- data without researcher's involvement
2. Elicited
- co-created
3. Field Notes
- observational and reflective notes
- take down notes!
Ethical Netnography
- identify and explain
- informed consent
- ask for permission
- consult with experts / credible references
- citation / crediting
have a caption!
Disadvantages of Netnography
- largely empirical (measured) not qualitative (contextual)
- when not familiar with online platforms/ choose irrelevant online
platforms
- time-consuming, may have invalid data (can be overwhelming)
Intercultural Research
Netnography Study > Gather Data > Design Outcome
Week 2: Culture and Us
Insider - inside/part of that culture
Outsider - outside of that culture
What is Culture?
- cultural activities
- ethnicity
- the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values,
attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religions, notions of time, toles,
concepts of the universe and material objects and possessions acquired by a
group of people in the course of generations through individual and group
striving
- a way of life of a group of people
- the behaviours, beliefs, values, and symbols that accept, generally
without thinking about them, and that are passed along by communication and
imitation from one generation to the next
- symbolic communication
Visible Culture & Unseen, Deep Culture
External Culture
- Behaviors
- Traditions
- Customs
- Easily Observable
Symbols, Heroes (models for behaviour), Rituals (collective
activities)
- reflect values
Internal Culture
- Core values
- Attitudes
- Beliefs
- Assumptions
- Priorities
- Difficult to Observe
Layers of Culture
National: associated with the nation as a whole
Regional: associated with ethnic, linguistic, or religious differences that
exist within a nation
Gender: associated with gender differences
Generation: associated with differences between grandparents and parents,
parents and children
Social Class: associated with education opportunities and differences in
occupation
Corporate: associated with the particular culture of an
organization
Cultural Frames
- you are focusing on understanding a specific aspect of that culture, in a
way how the participants of that culture assign meanings and then determine
the appropriateness of your context
Significance
To know - brings a person into contact with other languages and
areas of knowledge, and makes communication possible
To do - acquire not only an occupational skill but also, more
broadly, the competence to deal with many situations and to work in
teams
To live together - by developing an understanding of other people
and an appreciation of interdependence
To be - to develop one's personality and be able to act with ever
greater autonomy and personal responsibility
INSTRUCTIONS
Task 1: Proposal
We had our first discussion on Tuesday night about what kind of cultures we
were interested to look at. This was the result of our discussion on the
Miro Board.
|
| Fig 1.0: Ideation for our cultures of interest (6/1/2022) |
From there we had another discussion for the culture we wanted to move forward with which was Tea Culture! We also had discussed what ideas we could create from Tea Culture by doing research. We came up with two drafts of research problems, questions and objectives.
One was about the traditional way to make Matcha and one was about
traditional tea making and drinking utensils.
|
| Fig 1.1: 2 Draft Ideas (6/1/2022) |
The Research
Japanese Tea Culture
- an inseparable part of Japanese culture
- traditional Japanese tea culture has taken the form of a predefines
ritual, where every item and every movement matter
Japanese Tea Ceremony
Sado
- Japanese Tea Ritual with Matcha
Back in the 15th-16th centuries,
it was consumed by aristocrats in a lavish reception
Murata Junko and Takeno Joo
- started to recognize a need for a more modest and composed way of
consuming tea
- brought focus to wabi-sabi - the appreciation of natural beauty and
imperfection
- tea rooms got smaller and the number of distracting decorations
reduced
- from rare imported items to locally produced items
Sen no Rikyu
- the godfather of Sado
- codified the practices and set a standard
Rituals
- thousands of variations
- divided into two - koicha and usucha
Koicha
thick tea
- when Matcha becomes nearly a paste, shared from one bowl among all the
guests
- lights are dimmed and sounds are lessened when the koicha ritual is
performed
Usucha
- lighter way of serving Matcha
- sounds return to the tea room and more colourful utensils are used
- an individual bowl of whisked foamy Matcha is served to each guest
Other Arts
- accompanying Sado
Shodo - Japanese Calligraphy
Kado - Japanese Flower Arrangement
Yakimono - Pottery
Ko - Insense
Kimono - Clothing
Senchado
- Japanese Tea Ritual with Sencha
- started as a resistance to the rigidity of Sado
- gradually assimilated to Sado
- visually uses brighter more shiny colours typical in China
- allows a bit more freedom in the movements and conversations
Present Day
- continue to be practised and preserved
- a small part of the population is involved
- tea became more of a casual beverage
- tea making at home has been given away to ready to drink bottled
teas
- teapots are no longer common
- use it more as an ingredient in food and sweets production
Five Preliminary Ideas
During Week 2, we discussed five preliminary ideas that could be our final
outcome. We tried our best to relate it to our theme, Purpose.
|
| Fig 1.2: Five Preliminary Ideas (14/1/2022) |
1. Cup Sleeves
Rationale
The main purpose is to further convenience our lives especially in carrying
drinks without the holders; with the design added it could start interest in
some people to further find out about Japanese tea history.
Lulu's Idea
Fig 1.3: Cup Sleeves Sketch (21/1/2022)
2. Tea Tags Concept
Rationale
Attract people of all ages to choose to drink tea more/making it a trend.
Attractive packaging would garner interest in the product. With that, we can convince people to interact more with the product and find out the stories behind it.
Shamiella's Idea
|
| Fig 1.4: Tea Tags Sketches (21/1/2022) |
3. Chawan Pottery
Rationale
To show appreciation of Japanese Tea Culture and how it brought attention
to the Wabi-Sabi style of design through pottery. It is also to remind
people of tea’s history and the purpose of Chawan creations that continue to
live on till this day.
Adlina's Idea
|
| Fig 1.5: Chawan Pottery Sketch (21/1/2022) |
4. DIY Matcha Kit with Tea Mats
Rationale
This Matcha kit includes all the accessories needed to make Matcha and even
perform the meditative Zen practice of the Japanese Tea ceremony. This is to
encourage the spirit of togetherness as did the traditional Japanese tea
ceremony.
Shamiella and Alif's Idea
5. Bottle Packaging
Rationale
To redesign the way people consume tea would open up a new experience and tradition among others. This idea in particular would let the younger generation connect more with tea and its glory and be able to share the art and customs to the future in a new light.
To redesign the way people consume tea would open up a new experience and tradition among others. This idea in particular would let the younger generation connect more with tea and its glory and be able to share the art and customs to the future in a new light.
Naura's Idea
FINAL
Fig: 1.6: Task 1 Deck Presentation Slides (21/1/2022)
Video Presentation
Fig: 1.7: Task 1 Video Presentation on Youtube (21/1/2022)
Task 2: Data Collection
We had a discussion on the methods of data collection we wanted to do
for Task 2. Initially, we planned to have both online and offline
methods of data collection happening at the same time. However, the
research destinations that we planned to go to apparently was
unavailable to visit or had moved locations so we decided to do a fully
online data collection process.
Methods of Data Collection
- Interviews (Text and Ome.tv)
- Survey (Google Form)
- Published Materials (Physical Book)
The text interview had been conducted by Shamiella with Mako from Japan.
Meanwhile. the Ome.tv interviews were conducted by Alif with 10 willing
interviewees.
The survey questions had been made by Naura and Myella had created it on
Google Form for us to share with our peers, friends, family and the
general public.
I had looked into books and research materials that I could read to
further understand the concepts behind Japanese Tea Ceremonies. I found a
book by Leonard Koren online and bought one myself to read. The book is
titled Wabi-Sabi: For Artists, Designers, Poets and Philosophers.
|
| Fig 1.8: Cover of Wabi-Sabi: For Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers (7/2/2022) |
Word Document of my research on,
Wabi-Sabi: For Artists, Designers, Poets and Philosophers by Leonard Koren
Fig 1.9: Wabi-Sabi: For Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers by
Leonard Koren (7/2/2022)
With that, we combined all the data and research on our slides (full
version) and summarized them for our video presentation.
FINAL
Fig 2.0: Task 2 Deck Presentation Slides Summarized (7/2/2022)
Amended
Deck Presentation Slides (Full)
Fig 2.1: Task 2 Deck Presentation Slides Full Version (7/2/2022)
Deck Presentation Slides (Summarized)
Fig 2.2: Task 2 Deck Presentation Slides Summarized (7/2/2022)
Video Presentation
Fig 2.3: Task 2 Video Presentation on Youtube (7/2/2022)
Task 3: Final Project
We moved forward with designing and creating the final outcome of our
idea which was Chawan Pottery. Alongside it, we wanted to have a
packaging design and promotional poster for it. We believe having
these two can help us better present our teacups to the
users/audience.
For both Chawan Pottery and Packaging Design, our team member, Alif
was the one to turn our 2D designs into 3D Mockups.
Chawan Pottery
The shape of the Chawans was made by Alif himself without using any free
resources. He had also rendered them realistically to better help
illustrate how our Chawans would look in real life.
|
| Fig 2.4: Teacup Shape in 3D by Alif (24/2/2022) |
Meanwhile, Shofwa and I created our own ideas, message and design that we wanted to have on the teacups. We had discussed them with each other beforehand.
Shofwa's
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| Fig 2.5: Shofwa's Teacup Design (24/2/2022) |
Mine
|
| Fig 2.6: My Teacup Design (24/2/2022) |
I was deeply inspired by my reading of the book Wabi-Sabi: For Artists,
Designers, Poets & Philosophers. It talked about how Wabi-Sabi
values include focusing on the intrinsic and ignoring chasing material
hierarchy. This made me imagine a humble life of a fisherman that lives
day to day, appreciating the present rather than being obsessed about
getting rich. That is what I was trying to portray through this
design.
Packaging Design
Alif worked on the design with the help of the rest of the team. We
decided to name our brand Chanoyu with our four messages - Harmony,
Integration, Values and Minimalistic.
|
| Fig 2.7: Die Cut Design of Packaging (24/2/2022) |
Promotional Poster
Made by Shamiella, Naura and Lulu to promote the teacups to the public.
 |
| Fig 2.8: Promotional Poster Mockup (25/2/2022) |
(Other pictures shown in slides)
FINAL
Deck Presentation
Fig 2.9: Task 3 Deck Presentation (25/2/2022)
Video Presentation
Fig 3.0: Task 3 Video Presentation on Youtube (25/2/2022)
FEEDBACKS
Week 1
Specific Feedback: Good idea, make sure to be excited about this
idea to keep you guys moving forward.
General Feedback:
Try to narrow down on parts of the culture you want to focus on.
Week 2
Specific Feedback: Find out the purpose and how these ideas relate to the theme. The DIY
Matcha Kit can bring a sense of togetherness and the Chawan Pottery
idea is interesting.
General Feedback: Try to see how these ideas could relate back to the theme - Purpose
or maybe even redefine its purpose.
General Feedback: Try to see how these ideas could relate back to the theme - Purpose
or maybe even redefine its purpose.
Week 3
Specific Feedback: Narrow down the culture to specific parts of it
(eg: society, families, ceramics)
General Feedback: Tie in the theme purpose to the rationale
Week 4
Specific Feedback: Demonstrates an understanding of research methods, resourceful and
has a wide scope, yet focused. The presentation is clearly researched
but the presentation is not cited. Evidence of brainstorming / idea
exploration is implicit in the thinking an presentation and thus good.
Effective written communication, clearly stating and justifying the
selected theme, concept & approach of the research, but not
supported by the relevant citations.
Week 5
Specific Feedback: Relate to the theme Purpose on the design
of the teacups. Demonstrates decent observational and research skills
through a significant collection of various materials, using relevant
tools. Documentation of collected materials is written somewhat clearly
with comprehensible communication skills, clearly reviewing the contents
of the sources. However, it would be good and necessary practice to
restate the RO & RQ along with the theme, and how the RO/RQ relate
to the questionnaires used (interview/survey/Book). With that, your
conclusion will state how the collected data answered the RQ and
fulfilled the RO. It will also indicate implications for design output
in-line with the theme when highlighting the result part of your
conclusion.
Week 6
Specific Feedback: Decide on how you will present the teacups. What message would you
want to communicate?
General Feedback: Think carefully of the message and what you want to say
through your designs.
Week 7
Specific Feedback:
Mr Vinod suggests that we can make something physical.
General Feedback: -
REFLECTIONS
Experience
Classes were informative and gave me a new perspective on researching
new cultures. The lectures were helpful. Group discussions were nice yet
we struggled with the theme a lot and not being sure if we were on the
right path. Consultation sessions with Mr Vinod were also equally as
helpful and insightful. He helped us understand how to better develop
our ideas as well as what type of research we could do.
Observation
I observed that creating ideas require a lot of research. I'm not good
at working backwards because I would not be able to relate to the theme
that well. Even though it is possible, and for most, more comfortable to
create an idea first before researching, I feel that inspiration can
come during the research part of the project.
Other than that, I need to improve on guiding the group better as a
group coordinator. I believe if my leadership improved, the productivity
and quality of work could improve as well. I think I struggle at being
demanding and strict when it comes to important work because I hate
pressuring others but it is a good way to make sure things are done when
need be.
I observed that it was a bit nerve-wracking to share your group's ideas
and works in front of other groups. It is normal to feel a bit
discouraged when we look at other people's ideas.
Findings
I found that sketches are a good way to better express ideas and
visualize them. I also found out that visual research and understanding
why things exist are helpful to ideate. Knowing about why Japanese tea
ceremonies operate the way they do make me fully appreciate the thought
and symbolism behind each movement and task. It made me understand the
importance of representing and sending a message about the culture in
our design.
Moreover, I find that working in a team, we have to depend on each
other greatly. We can help the team with things we are good at and
depend on others for parts that they are good at that we are not as
good. It is one of the many benefits of working in a team. You also
learn from each other, appreciate each others strengths and support
their weaknesses.
FURTHER READING
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture
Culture
- umbrella term which encompasses the social behaviour and norms found in
human societies as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs,
capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups
- learning processes of enculturation and socialization
Cultural Norm
- codifies acceptable conduct in society
- serves as a guideline for behaviour, dress, language and demeanour in
a situation
- servers as a template for expectations in a social group
What Makes a Bowl a Chawan?
The simple answer: the act of preparing and drinking tea from it
Any bowl can become a chawan, as long as one whisk tea in it and drink from
it.
A Brief History of Chawan
Tenmoku Bowls
- first introduced to the country from the Chinese mainland
- Jian ware chawan, now known as Tenmoku
- allowed the heat of the tea to be maintained
Ido Chawan
- then tea ceremonies moved away from being grand and formal
- rough simplicity, earthen colour, uneven shape
- embodied the spirit of Wabi
Raku Chawan
- handbuilt either through coiling or carving
- resulted in subtle imperfections from the idealised circular form
- domestic Japanese wares
Oribe Chawan
- eccentric in shape with intentional undulations and distortions
- decorated with abstract designs and splashes of free-flowing vibrant
green or deep black glaze
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