Intercultural Design

 Intercultural Design 

GCD 61304

Intercultural Design / Bachelor of Fashion Design and Technology(Hons)  / Taylors University 

Lecture Notes:

WEEK 1;

The first lecture was about the course's theme; "Everday Things"... it made me realize how much design influences our daily lives in ways we often overlook. The discussion on traffic lights was particularly interesting—how they’re not just signals but symbols embedded with meaning. Red doesn’t just mean stop; it conveys urgency and danger. Green isn’t just go; it represents permission and safety. These universal signs shape behavior effortlessly, guiding us without the need for conscious thought.

Beyond traffic lights, the lecturer also emphasized how everyday symbols—like restroom signs, exit indicators, or even the shape of a chair—subtly dictate how we navigate spaces. It made me appreciate how design is more than aesthetics; it's a language that communicates, influences, and structures our interactions with the world.

Introduction:

                                                               Fig 1 MIB 

The Intercultural Design program explores the role of design in social, political, and cultural contexts via collaborations with other organizations and designers. 

 The course's three primary assessments consist of an Everyday Design concept (30%), a field study including data collection (30%), and a final product filmed via TikTok and an e-portfolio (40%).

 The duration is seven weeks. Through a focus on research, communication, and critical thinking skills, the curriculum equips students to effectively analyze and understand global design issues.

Project 1

03/02/25-07/02/25- Week 1

10/10/25-14/02/25- Week 2

17/02/25-21/02/25- Week 3

This project is a cooperative effort.

For project 1, we must develop a proposal to bring our research-backed ideas to life for a final design that revolves around a certain subject and represents our perceptions on global challenges and design aesthetics.


"Everyday Design" is the overarching topic.

The study of design components that are easily incorporated into day-to-day living is known as "everyday design." Despite not being recognizable or ostentatious, these designs are vital in forming the cultural and practical facets of civilization.

We must come up with some first concepts for leveraging design language to graphically convey our viewpoint. Every concept must have a brief justification.  

Project 1: Proposal

Project Progress:

Fig 1.1: Group Disscussion

Beyond the lecture content, this class also allowed us to familiarize ourselves with each other. We formed a group of six, which made the learning experience more interactive. Discussing ideas together helped me see different perspectives on how everyday design shapes culture and human behavior. It was a great way to connect while deepening our understanding of how design subtly influences our lives.

We had thougth of multiple ideas shown in fig 1.2 such as;

-  teacups and chopsticks are not just functional tools but carry cultural significance, reflecting traditions and etiquette passed down through generations.

- Typography, from ancient hieroglyphs to modern fonts, serves as a visual language that preserves and communicates ideas across time.

- Roman numerals and clocks demonstrate how societies have structured timekeeping, influencing everything from daily routines to global coordination. 

- Jewelry and writing materials are more than decorative or practical items—they hold historical and personal narratives that connect individuals to their heritage.

- Navigation tools like the compass and the Northern Star have guided explorers and traders, shaping the movement of people and the exchange of knowledge.

- Books and stories capture human experiences, passing down wisdom and imagination through written and oral traditions. 

-  Board games, once used for strategy and social bonding, reveal how play and competition have been integral to human interaction.

- Architectural designs from past civilizations showcase how structures were built not just for shelter but as reflections of societal values, technological advancements, and artistic expression. 

Each of these everyday objects carries a story, illustrating how design is woven into the fabric of human history and continues to shape our present lives.

                                                    Fig 1.2: Group Discussion Document

We, as a group decided to narrow down to Chinease teacups as our subject of focus for this project. adding a more specific cultural aspect to the subject gives us a more depper more wide array of research potential. 

In relation to the sketch ideas, we created three:

1. A social adventure game
2. Interactive invitation
3. An interactive website

Together with two other persons, I was in charge of the social adventure game sketch. The other two concepts were generated by different group members. We help revise the reasoning and provide recommendations.

We taped our presentation after compiling our findings into Canva slides following talks and research.

Apart from The gorup we, we all decided to do some indiviual research on teacups, exploring where our curiosity takes us. I explored about the ateacups function to further understand the importnace and role in our daily lives, shown in Fig 1.3.

                                            Fig 1.3. Individual Research on Functions of a Teacup 

Lecture Notes:

WEEK 2;

In our second week, we had a special guest from the KL Design Festival who spoke about opportunities for emerging designers. It was an eye-opening session that emphasized how the design industry is constantly evolving and how young designers can carve their own paths. The speaker highlighted the importance of networking, collaboration, and showcasing our work through exhibitions and digital platforms.

One key takeaway was that design isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s about solving real-world problems and creating meaningful experiences. The guest also shared insights on how festivals like KL Design Festival serve as a launchpad for new talent, offering exposure, mentorship, and industry connections. It made me realize that as aspiring designers, we need to actively seek opportunities and put our work out there to be seen and appreciated.

                                                              Project Progress:

As we progressed in our project, our group decided to focus on teacups as our central object, recognizing their deep historical and cultural significance. To refine our approach, we consulted Ms. Anis to discuss our three preliminary ideas, each presented with detailed sketches and individual rationales.

During our discussion, we explored how teacups go beyond functionality, reflecting tradition, social rituals, and even personal identity. Each of our three concepts examined different aspects—whether through material innovation, cultural symbolism, or ergonomic design. Ms. Anis provided valuable feedback, helping us consider how design choices influence user experience and meaning. This session strengthened our direction and clarified how we could visually communicate our interpretation of everyday design through teacups shown in fig 1.4. This is where we all gathered our research parts in to one group slide.

Fig 1.4: Group Slide Research

Project 2

24/02/25-07/02/25- Week 4

7/03/25-14/02/25- Week 5

Project 2: Field Study

Lecture Notes:

Week 4 was given to us to do data collection around our subject matter.

Project Porgress:

We took this time given to us to explore our primary and secondary research methods. 

We used the divided and conquered method towards our primary research by interviewing 2-3 tea shops to be able to gain enough infomration within the deadline. 

My group interviewed Legend of Tea in sunway pyramid.

Visting Legends of Tea we understood that it is more than just a tea shop—it’s a gateway into the rich traditions and cultural significance of tea. From the moment you step inside, the warm aroma of freshly brewed leaves fills the air, inviting you to explore a world where craftsmanship and heritage meet. The shop specializes in a diverse selection of premium teas, ranging from delicate white teas to bold and earthy , each carefully sourced to offer an authentic tasting experience.

Beyond the tea itself, Legends of Tea also showcases an exquisite collection of teapots, each telling its own story through intricate designs and traditional craftsmanship. These teapots are not merely brewing vessels but essential elements in the art of tea-making, enhancing both the flavor and experience of tea drinking. In many cultures, tea is more than just a beverage—it is a symbol of hospitality, connection, and mindfulness.

During our visit, we had the opportunity to learn about the deep-rooted traditions surrounding tea, te owner insisted for us to try different teas being made from different teapots; the tempered glass set, a ceramic set, and finally the claypot set. 

He explained how each different types of the tea, has different properties that require different sets because each set varies on how long they can maitian a high temperature, overall affecting the medicinal properties of the tea. 

  The craftsmanship behind the teapots, and the role of tea has great impact in social settings as well. Through our conversation with the experts at Legends of Tea, we uncovered how tea has long served as a medium for gathering, storytelling, and even meditation. 

From this stage, in week 5 we as a group collectively got together, with all our infomration to create a data collection slide shown in Fig 2. Here, we explored even more with secondary research towards our finalized idea of a interactive game that would help engage more socialization. 

Fig 2 Data Collection  Documentation

Project 3

7/03/25-07/02/25- Week 5

21/03/25-14/02/25- Week 7

Project 3: Final Project & Portfolio

For this final project, we complied all our learnings from the initial stages to our datat collection to make 30- 45 secc long tiktoks, to be able to commnicate our a wider audience about it. 

To optimize for further engagnement, for the tiktok videos i made, i tried to match the tone of my voice, the music, the visuals and the trasition between those visulas to be part of a greater stroytelling experiernce. so all tehse elements contributed in the feeling of calmness, the soothing piano instrumental, with a soft tone, a light fade between visuals along with acturing high quality zoommed in videos all evoked the overall feeling and experinece of calmness.

Final project -  Video portfolio

In this final part, we were tasked to document and communicate our experiences through a TikTok page. This page will serve as a cultural journal, where we record, reflect, and creatively present our interactions, observations, and insights about everyday design. 

The goal is to communicate our chosen cultural topics, that would be Chinese Teacups, to a broader audience, fostering understanding and appreciation of everyday design through engaging short-form videos.

We decided to make several different types of videos to communicate our chosen cultural topic. That is Animated infographics, animatics, and interview clips. I was tasked with making the animated infographics, while other members of the team did other videos.

Finished Videos:

Feedback:

WEEK 1: Formed a group, pick a topic related to everyday design.
WEEK 2: We proposed three of the topics (teacups, board games, constellations) we had considered and Ms. Anis was interested in the Chinese teacups, which was also the most detailed.
WEEK 3: We showed her the three ideas and she was most interested in the game as the other two were too straight-forward. Revised the website idea to be more interactive.
WEEK 4: We showed her the revised version of the website idea and got approved. She said to either proceed with the game or website (more doable time-wise).
WEEK 5: We consulted Ms. Anis regarding our progress work and whether we were on the right track. She said to highlight what was said during the interview to put in the slide rather than putting the whole transcript. No need interview transcript and presentation video.
WEEK 6: We showed Ms. Anis our video ideas. She recommended and liked the ideas of animatics and told us we should delegate the task to produce quality work. Those who cannot do digital art can do backgrounds on traditional to help along or work on data gathering for infographics.
WEEK 7: Continuation on Final Project (no consultation).

Reflection:

Experience: 

When I first came to the intercultural class, where we were all briefed about the theme for this project, i was a bit confused about it. "Everyday Things" is a vast topic to fit so many things under that it really makes one's mind undecided. Once i got assign with my group, things got a bit more manageable. i truely appreciate the idea of having more that just the people you know from your course as ur groupmates, because that inspired me brainstorm with newer and fresher perspectives. 

We did as a group initially struggle, we were thinking in a more narrowed perspective. With the theme being "Everyday Things", we ended up with the topic of teacups. From this idea of teacup, we decided to reserach on chinease teacups and its significance. Once we brought this up, and consulted with the teacher, we realized how narrow our perspective was on this project, she guided us to see it in a more wider perspective, understanidnghow teacups has had an impact on an aspect of our lives. Thats when we made actual progress on our project.

Observations:

When we started collecting our data as a group, my perspective on teacups felt like i was expanding trhough each first-hand interactions we had with the owner of the tea shop, and more. Enaganging in converstation with him about our project, and how we intent to explore the greater purpose and impact of teacups in a grander aspect of our lives, while he brewed us tea with different teapots, has created such a menaingful learning moment. 

As a perosn whose been assigned that teashop, he rarely got the chnace to engage on such conversattions, so there were times where he didnt know the answers for some questions but he was still helpful in answering many other questions that he did have the knowledge on. After the session was over, ive noticed more appreciation towards this simple everyday object we know to be as teacups.

 

As for the other interactions, in research towards the social adventure gaming idea, we relaized how players actually find it more intresting when games have cultural referneces because it adds more depth and contributes to the feeling of interacting in the gaminng world, which overall supports our idea of teacups building a further impact on the social aspects of our lives. 

Findings;

1. Everyday objects influence our actions and perceptions more than we realize. The design of a chair, for example, influences posture, productivity, and even human relations—whether a dining chair that promotes upright interaction formally or a bean bag chair that encourages lounging. Same with tea, being able to see the porcess of brewing tea and understanidng the significance, encourages us to interact with a menaingful converstation. 

if you think baout it Teacups can be a means to set a tone!

2. Materials communicate tacit messages. The feel of a wooden spoon versus a stainless steel spoon will influence the haptic experience of a meal. Warm, natural materials will give a sense of comfort, and smooth, industrial materials can express modernity or efficiency. Teacups made from pottery, though used to maintian high temperatures, for the aroma and taste of the tea leaves, also provides the drinker with a longer experince of the warmth of the hot berverage. 

3. Objects also dictate emotional responses. The texture of a pen, the softness of a book cover, or the click of a mechanical keyboard will affect, subliminally, how we go about doing things—whether the urge to write or the enjoyment of tactile interaction. bringing the previous point back, that experience of being able to enjoy a warm beverage for a longer time,  interns influences the interaction. Its so intresting to see the relationships and factors behind what truely influences us as humans in our interactions.