Intercultural Design / Project Compilation

05/02/2024 - 22/03/2024 / Week 1 - Week 7
Iman binti Kamarudin / 0364014
Intercultural Design / Bachelors of Design (Hons) in Creative Media

Project 1 - Project 3 / Proposal, Data Collection and Final Outcome

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LECTURES

- What is the message you want to say about this particular culture?

- Don’t immediately try to figure out what media to produce the outcome in

- The media is not what will drive your team

01 CULTURE & DESIGN

Visual information society to communicate information simply and universally

Visuals are;

1. Everything that can be seen

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

Designers have to be aware of cultural contexts and symbolisms in order to design things that are inclusive and resonate with your audience.

Cultural sensitivity encompasses functionality, usability and the overall user experience.

02 CULTURE DESIGN & RESEARCH

Culture and design are inseparable.

Designers have to be more vigilant with their artwork and they also have to do research before creating their final output.

Why?

With research, you can gather more data to process them into crucial information to start your workflow.

Data Gathering

You need to do research;

1. Before writing the project proposal

- Primary findings: sketches of proposed artworks based on your research from the secondary findings.

- Secondary findings: Data collected from pre-existing sites and resources.

2. After producing the proposal

- Primary findings that your team has collected (on-site observations and/or interviews and surveys).

3. During the creation of your artwork

- Data collected from pre-existing sites and resources

- Final design production of your artwork

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INSTRUCTIONS

TASK

Theme: "Cultural Sensitivity in Design"

Culture: Japan

1. Come up with 3 ideas with rationale, detailed sketches, and visual references

2. Collect data for selected topic and idea

3. Produce outcome with knowledge gained from data collection

Project 1 | Proposal

For our proposal, our group started by researching some traditions and celebrations in Japanese culture. From there, we voted on which one we each wanted to be our theme. In the end, we chose 'Tenjin Matsuri'.

Fig 1.1 - Tenjin Matsuri festival

Fig 1.2 - Tenjin Matsuri festival

Afterwards, we researched more about the festival and what people usually do during them. We compiled all the research in a singular Google Doc and then started coming up with ideas and sketches.

Fig 2.1 - Omamori sketches

Fig 2.2 - Lantern sketches

Fig 2.3 - Lantern design exploration

Fig 2.4 - Festival firework design

Fig 2.5 - Festival merchandise sketches

In total, we created 3 ideas and designs for our proposal. However, we realized near the end that it would be difficult to gather data based on Tenjin Matsuri during our trip since it only happens in the summer but by then we felt like it was too late to pivot and decided to proceed with what we had.

Fig 3.1 - Proposal PDF

After our submission, Ms. Anis suggested that we go ahead with the Japanese omamori, since it would be easier to gather data for our initial topic. We agreed and proceeded with our data collection. 

Project 2 | Field Study

Our next step is to create a slide for data collection to ensure our research is well-structured and comprehensive. We had the opportunity to gather data during our study trip in Osaka, Japan, from February 25th, 2024, to March 1st, 2024. 

The research method we used was through in-person visits of shrines as well as online research to make up for what data we were lacking from physical observations. We also decided to purchase a couple of actual omamoris from the shrines we visited.

Osaka Tenmangu Shrine

Fig 4.1 - Prayers

Fig 4.2 - Prayers

Fig 4.3 - Shrine building

Fig 4.4 - Omamori guide

Fig 4.5 - Omamori guide

Fig 4.6 - Omamori guide

Fig 4.7 - Omamoris

Yasaka-Jinja Shrine

Fig 5.1 - Prayer guide

Fig 5.2 - Translated guide

Fig 5.3 - Translated guide

Fig 5.4 - Tenjin festival directory

Fig 5.5 - Prayer - passing ritual guide

This is a ritual where people pass through east and west gates (Karamon) located in the main shrine (Heiden and pray for success in passing exams.

Fig 5.6 - Prayers

Fig 5.7 - Omamori guide

Fig 5.8 - Omamoris

Fig 5.9 - Omamoris

Fig 5.10 - Omamoris

Fig 5.11 - Omikuji (paper fortunes/prayers)

Fig 5.12 - 'Nihonshoki' information

Nihonshoki is Japan's oldest existing official history. The board talks about the diety, Maku, and contains a story. The year 2020 marks the 1300th anniversary of the establishment of Nihonshoki.

Fig 5.13 - 'Kojiki' information

The Kojiki is a compiled archive of sources and the first written history of Japan and the Shinto religion. The great dieties conveyed in the Kojiki and Nihonshoki form a form of belief that has been passed down continuously to the present day.

Purchased Omamoris

Fig 6.1 - Omamori from Osaka Tenmangu shrine

Fig 6.2 - Omamori from Yasaka-Jinja shrine

Fig 6.2 - Packaging from Yasaka-Jinja shrine

After collecting all the information and data during our trip, we organized them into a slide to present the complete dataset that we have gathered.

Fig 7.1 - Data Collection PDF

Project 3 | Design

Design Process

Sketch

Our sketch draft for our design is inspired the pattern design of the omamori charms. We have decided to design a stationery set and targets for students because when we visited the shrines during our data collection, there were a lot of prayers and wishes regarding exams and grades. The main color we have chosen is blue/purple, as it signifies academic success, wisdom and calmness, which applies to students as well.

We started by gathering inspiration from various sources, including traditional omamori designs, Japanese art, and stationary trends.

Fig 8.1 - Moodboard

Brainstorming: Next, we brainstormed ideas for our design mockups. We discussed the concepts, themes, and motifs that we want to incorporate into the stationery, such as cherry blossoms, lucky charms, and Japanese calligraphy. Not only that, we also consider the functionality and practicality of the stationery items, ensuring they are both aesthetically pleasing and useful.

Sketching: Then, we begin sketching rough concepts for the design mockups. We explore different layouts, compositions, and color schemes, experimenting with various combinations to find the most visually appealing and cohesive designs.

Fig 8.2 - Stationery sketch #1

Fig 8.3 - Stationery sketch #2

Fig 8.4 - Stationery sketch #3

Mockup progression

Two of our group members designed the mockups through Adobe Illustrator as well as Adobe Photoshop. During this stage, it was difficult to find free and aesthetically pleasing mockup files for the pencil, eraser and notepad so we had to remove or create substitutes for them. 

Fig 9.1 - Flashcard - back BTS

Fig 9.2 - Flashcard - front BTS

Fig 9.3 - Notebook progress #1

Fig 9.4 - Notebook progress #2

Fig 9.5 - Notebook progress #3

Fig 9.6 - Pen progression

Fig 9.7 - File design progress #1

Fig 9.8 - File design progress #2

Fig 9.9 - File design progress #3

Fig 9.10 - File design progress #4

Fig 9.11 - Final 4 file design drafts

Fig 9.12 - Envelope progression

Finalized mockups 

Fig 10.1 - Complete Mockups

Fig 10.2 - Flashcard Mockup

Fig 10.3 - Notebook Mockup

Fig 10.4 - Pen Mockup

Fig 10.5 - File Mockup

Fig 10.6 - Envelope Mockup

Fig 11.1 - Final Design PDF

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FEEDBACK

Week 3

Ms. Noranis suggested us "Exploring Japan's Perspective on Omamori and Charms for Fortune and Protection".

Week 4

Ms. Noranis suggested that we visit various shrines and temples, encouraging us to observe the diverse designs of omamori and understand their unique significance.

Week 6

Mr. Arizal suggested that we take design elements and how it applies to our daily lives.

He also suggested that we take one example and observe and the meanings of the colours and shapes and apply it (for example stationary for students).

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REFLECTION

My experience with this module overall was really positive and I really enjoyed most of the tasks. Although research can feel a bit tedious to me I do think that it has helped our group be able to produce the outcomes we wanted and at times it was fun to look deeper into the symbolism and meanings of certain elements and aspects. I do think that we could have done better for our final outcome but I'm quite satisfied with what we've made.

I've learned that context is really important in design and that research really helps keep in mind your audience and who you're designing for. Your artworks and designs don't have to be super complicated and have multiple really deep meanings in them to be good, useful and respectful. Sometimes simplicity can help you a lot in your creative workflow.

I've observed that there are many elements in design that actually have meaning and if there hadn't been research into it, it could have completely changed not just the aesthetics but also how others interpret your artwork and their reactions on it.

To conclude, this module has really taught me a lot and even though there were times where I personally struggled and where me and my group struggled, I'm grateful for the experience and the knowledge that I've gained through it.