Intercultural Design Task 1 | Proposal

Week 01 (03/01/2022) - Week 03 (21/01/2022)
Shamiella Baziella Binti Mohamad (0333014) 
Bachelor of Mass Communication (Hons) (Digital Media Production)

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LECTURES

Week 01: Introduction/ & Briefing + Netnography 
(03/01/2022) 

First day of class! Started off with Mr. Asrizal briefing on the MI and walk us through on our assignments task for Intercultural Design. Then, we were required to set up an E-portfolio for this module. The E-portfolio comes in handy where we have to update constantly and compiled all of our design-related assignments/projects, submissions as well as keep track of our progression throughout the semester. Later, Dr. Charles gave us a lecture on Netnography. 

Netnography Notes/Slides: 

Week 02: Culture and Us
(10/01/2022)

Second week of class started off with Dr. Jinchi giving a lecture on Culture and Us. Then, Mr. Asrizal showed us seniors' past assignments as our guide for our first task. 

Notes on (Dr. Jinchi's Lecture): 

Insider: a part of the culture 
Outsider: outside of the culture 

Defining Culture:  

• Multicultural country > Various Ethnicities (traditional costumes/ physical features) > Foods > Celebrations/Festival

• "Way of life"
• Symbolic communication( attitudes, values, skills and etc)

Visible Culture  & Unseen Deep Culture (Metaphor Iceberg)
• External Surface (10%) 'Surface'- Behaviours, Traditions, Customs, Easily observable (touch, taste, smell, sound)
• Internal Culture (90%) 'Deep'- Beliefs, Priorities, Assumptions, Attitudes, Core Values, Perceptions and Difficult to observe

Layers (Level) of Culture: 

• National- nation as a whole
• Regional- associated with ethnic, linguistic, religious differences exist within a nation
• Gender- gender differences (female vs male)

• Generation-  associated with differences between grandparents and parents, parents and children
• Social Class- educational opportunities and differences in occupation 
• Corporate- associated with the particular culture of the organization, applicable to those who employed 

Cultural Frames
• Socially shared assumptions of meanings of particular events and actions in which individuals understand what is relevant for a particular time, place, and community

• Focusing on understanding a specific part of the culture and determining the appropriateness in our own context

Week 03: Consultation
(17/01/2022)

Consultation / Q&A session

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INSTRUCTIONS 

TASK 1: Proposal 

Week 01- Week 03

(03/01/2022 -  21/01/2022) 
For the first task of the project, we were required to choose a particular culture that highlights on/or brings awareness/attention to that culture in which it integrates the given theme for this project "PURPOSE". Hence, we were asked to convey the interpretation/adaptation of the culture and come up with 5 preliminary ideas to communicate our message to the audience. 

Therefore, for this project, we need to prepare a deck presentation of the proposal that contains:

• A 200 rationale defining and interpreting the theme in relation to the culture and area of interest. 

• A minimum of 5 preliminary ideas in detailed sketches along with a short rationale/description

• Visual references
• Reference list
• Picture Credits 

Hence, my group started off with brainstorming with ideas and each one of us come with up our chosen culture. 

Figure 1.0: Brainstorming ideas from group members (06/01/2022)

Then, we had a discussion in order to finalize the specific culture that we wanted to focus on, and all of us agree on the 'Tea Culture". We came up with two drafts in relation to tea culture specifically on Japanese Tea Culture. Later on, we expand our ideas accordingly on the; theme, purpose, research problem, research questions and objectives as well as our ideas. 

Figure 1.2: Narrowing down on our chosen culture (06/01/2022)

Hence, we further shortlisted the ideas and mishmash a few of the ideas together as the ideas should relate to the theme, 'purpose'. And below are our 5 shortlisted prelimnary ideas.

Figure 1.3: 5 Preliminary Ideas (14/01/2022)

5 Preliminary Ideas:

1. Cup Sleeve (Lulu's Idea)

• Cup sleeves events are increasingly becoming a popular way of showing support, celebrating success, or special occasions mainly to many K-pop fans to their favorite idols. Hence, the purpose of this cup sleeve concept is to further convenience our lives especially in carrying drinks. This cup sleeve is eco-friendly and can be reused again and again, as the cup sleeve is adjustable, it fits all cup sizes. We are also integrating the Japanese traditional inspired design on our cup sleeve which reflects the history of Japanese Tea. 

Figure 1.4: Cup Sleeve (Lulu's Idea)

2. Tea Tags Concept (Shamiella's Idea)

As for the tea tags concept, we wanted to implement a little fun activity as our purpose was to get people to connect over a cup of tea. Hence, for the puzzle tea tags- they will be collecting the tea tags and eventually form the tea tags as a puzzle. Whereas, the 2nd idea would be a Japanese history/fun fact/riddles on the tea tags. With that, we can convince people to share their quality moments together and eventually learn about the Japanese Tea Culture and the stories behind it. 

Figure 1.5: Tea Tags Concept (Shamiella's Idea)

3. Chawan Pottery (Adlina's Idea)

• As for the Chawan Pottery, we wanted to show appreciation of Japanese Tea Culture and the Wabi Sabi style design through pottery. It is also to remind people of the tea's history and the purpose of Chawan creations. 

Figure 1.6: Chawan Pottery (Adlina's Idea)

4. DIY Matcha Set Kit (Shamiella & Alif's Idea)

• As for the Matcha Set Kit, it is a specialty DIY kit curated where it serves the purpose to the people to craft their own homemade matcha and experience the full-on authentic traditional making process as well as to appreciate the detailed process of Japanese tea making ceremony. This DIY Matcha Set Kit includes the utensils of matcha making and a tatami mat. 

Figure 1.7: DIY Matcha Set Kit (Mishmash Shamiella & Alif's Idea)

5. Bottle Packaging (Naura's Idea)

• As for the bottle packaging follows the Shifuku Design used during the traditional tea ceremonies. The bottle, preferably with teacup designs is wrapped in a Shifuku package (pouch) and presented it inside a box as to how the luxury wines bottles are packaged. Hence, the Shifuku could be repurposed as everyday bags and the bottles can be reused. 

Figure 1.8: Shifuku Bottle Packaging (Naura's Idea)

FINAL

Proposal Deck Presentation (Slides & Video) 

Figure 1.4: Slides Presentation (21/01/2022)

Figure 1.5: Video Presentation  (21/01/2022)

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FEEDBACKS 

Week 01
(07/01/2022)
General Feedback: We were asked to narrow down on the culture that we specifically want to focus on.
Specific Feedback: Mr. Vinod told us that certain ideas can be improvised and make sure that we are excited about the topic that we choose as that would be the only thing that keeps us moving forward. 

Week 02
(12/01/2022)

General Feedback: We were asked to find out the purpose of the ideas and relate the ideas to the theme/ redefine the purpose.

Specific Feedback: Mr. Vinod mentioned to us that the ideas on the DIY Matcha Kit and the Chawan Pottery are interesting as it relates to the purpose and brings a sense of togetherness. 

Week 03
(19/01/2022)
General Feedback: Tie in the theme purpose to the rationale and make sure it does relate to the general theme of the task. 
Specific Feedback: Narrow down the culture to specific parts of it as "Japanese Tea Culture" is broad (eg: society, families, ceramics, etc) and the reasoning to it. 

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REFLECTIONS 

Experience: As for this module, the classes were informative as it gives me a chance to study in-depth on the specific culture that we choose. Although at first, my group and I were struggling on developing and relating the theme to our task, we then managed to get on the right track during the ideation discussion. 

Observation: I found that there's so much to learn in Intercultural Design as it focuses on understanding how design can be informed and influenced by cultures and their nuances. As we further expand our ideas and narrowed them down on our specific culture, it helps us understand how to develop the ideas that relate to the theme of our task 'purpose'. 

Findings: I came to a realization that the feedback given by Mr. Vinod during the consultation session was extremely helpful for my group and I as our main topic was very broad. Hence, my group and I had a discussion and we narrowed it down more specifically to a certain subsection.