Intercultural design - Everyday design (group 20)

Name : Khansa Raudlatus Syahiidah As - Sajad
Id : 0374511
Course : Bachelor Design (Honours) in Creative Media

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Table of content :

1. Lectures

2. Instructions

3. Process work

    3.1 Task 1

    3.2 Task 2

    3.3 Task 3

4. Reflection

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1. LECTURES

Week 1

Culture & Design

The Connection Between Culture and Design

Design surrounds our daily lives by creating the interactions between people and their environment including residential buildings as well as ordinary items people use regularly. Beyond its utilitarian values design represents traditional cultural values alongside societal moral traditions that document each developmental phase. A culture gains modern touches through evolution as it upholds its ancestral origins.

Design Significance

Visual attraction constitutes only one element in the process which determines how people experience things. Some key aspects include:

A product demonstrates excellent design functionality when it operates efficiently to perform its required tasks whether basic or complex.

The design of objects represents cultural heritage when it employs symbols and patterns together with traditional styles.

Excellent designs unite the traditional aspects of history with innovative elements of modern times.

The symbolic meaning of Nasi Tumpeng becomes apparent when serving it in traditional custom during ceremonial occasions. The cone-shaped rice signifies gratitude and banana leaves act as both functional platform and symbolic element for presentation. Packaging solutions in this present time adopt the classic design of traditional presentation together with environmentally friendly products which support sustainability objectives.

Design Sensitivity

When designers show sensitivity toward design they learn to observe human interactions with physical objects and constructed environments. Designers must consider:

Designs must match local cultural traditions since they determine expectations for the areas where they are used.

The process of designing with intuition together with accessibility components produces user-focused experiences which optimize daily life operations.

 

Cultural heritage principles demand designers to show respect and they should prevent the use of stereotypes and cultural appropriations.

The transition from banana leaf packaging to plastic containers by contemporary food vendors ignores cultural along with environmental aspects which are significant to nasi tumpeng tradition. Modern businesses utilize eco-friendly replacements to maintain traditional values together with ecological conservation.  

Week 2 

Everyday Design

Design exists in every aspect of our daily lives and people typically connect it only with architecture and technology as well as fashion. The design approach known as everyday design describes ordinary objects and built environments that efficiently merge with our activities though we do not pay attention to them yet they influence our everyday existence.

Key Aspects of Everyday Design

Multiple designs operate beneath our awareness such that we fail to notice them (typified by traffic lights alongside door handles and food containers).

User-Centered Design is evident from everyday objects because they focus on human comfort together with ease of use and functionality particularly seen through pen grips and spoon shapes.

Packs and structures in everyday use adjust due to cultural practices alongside surrounding natural conditions (for instance banana leaves replace plastic packaging).

The cultural values of community and gratitude in nasi tumpeng presentation are displayed through platter usage where everyone shares the meal. The contemporary takeout version of traditional nasi tumpeng presents eco-friendly containers while preserving its original presentation style to provide cultural authenticity in portable foodservice.

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2. INSTRUCTIONS

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3. PROCESS WORK

TASK 1

Introduction

On our first week of Intercultural design, we were introduced to the topic of everyday design which will later be part of our project. 

1. As the brief explanation on our work has been delivered, we were told to form in groups

2. Discuss what is your everyday design 

After we have got together with everyone in your group, we started to discuss on what object or behaviour we want to tale as our everyday design.

My group (group 20), we decided to go with Indonesia's traditional food, Tumpeng as our everyday design. We tried picking up it's meaning on colors, and symbol it holds.

3. As we have found our topic, we then research further

Design system :

Artifact & products (implementations) use : Technology, Tools

Norms & values (design language) aesthetic : Design functions, Design elements, Look & feel 

Basic assumptions (cultural functions) purpose : Practices, Principles, Values

DESIGN SENSITIVITY

Symbolism and imaginary :

Certain symbols and images may carry different meanings in different cultures. Designers must be mindful to avoid unintentional misunderstandings of offense.

Color considerations :

Colors can have cultural significance, and their meanings may vary across different societies.

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. 

    We took Tumpeng as our everyday design, where we researched on it's meaning of colors, side dishes. We also look into where Tumpeng typically served. For example, Tumpeng soaring high symbolize the majesty of God, and the white rice which meant purity.

TASK 2

Week 4 Data Collection

For this part we were required to about the collect information about the culture with relevance to the theme and your research objectives.

Data Collection Methods

    1. Observation Study

    2. Interview of relevant stakeholders (from the lecture series, you may approach any of the guest speakers for an interview, if you deem their presentation useful for further research).

    3. Online and/or actual physical material* visual research of the selected area (the people/arts/symbols/architecture/text/calligraphy etc.)

For this part, we collected information of the deeper meanings behind Nasi Tumpeng and validate our findings. We collected relevant and useful information about Nasi Tumpeng, about its origin, types, philosophical meanings, purposes and people’s perspectives of Nasi Tumpeng. 

We performed 3 data collections method:

    1. Online research

       All my group members performed many online researches to further find out more about the deeper meanings behind Nasi Tumpeng and what it actually symbolizes and its cultural role.

    2. Interviews

    Our group members Jovanna, Felice, Raed and Reemaahshee, interviewed some of Indonesian friends in order to gather information from the younger generation about their perspective of Nasi Tumpeng and to identify whether Nasi Tumpeng is remains relevant and practiced today.

    3. Google surveys

        We gathered 60 responses through google survey to further validate our findings, to get detailed perspectives on how people perceive Nasi Tumpeng as it has many philosophical meanings, and it symbolizes many types of values. For example, it has many side dishes, that represents many values, like determination, resilience through hardships, teamwork, gratitude, social unity, patience and obedience. From the survey we managed to find out that about  88.3% Indonesian people voted for “Gratitude & celebration”, while 43.3% voted for “Determination & Success’’,  and 48.3% voted for unity and sharing. We gave an option where the can choose more than 1 value.

Google survey excel sheet:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1degm_dUP6IOwyR34IOMQg7yXxYKRTh0dX3WXPLUOwFE/edit?usp=sharing

Google drive video of 3 interviews : https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1aUklh676pPfbP05WijxHuayBydMhvFX0?usp=drive_link

 

We had only two research objectives which is to find out how the values and the principles of Nasi Tumpeng relate to people every day, and to help people appreciate and be more aware of Nasi Tumpeng and based on the data we gathered, we managed to understand better about Nasi Tumpeng, especially on how people consume it, and what they think of it.

Research Objective:

    1. To find out how the values and the principles of Nasi Tumpeng relate to people everyday

    2. To help people appreciate and be more aware of Nasi Tumpeng

Research Questions: 

    1. How relevant is Nasi Tumpeng to Indonesian’s life?

    2. What is the value behind Nasi tumpeng?

    3. How the visual elements of Nasi Tumpeng reflect cultural identity?

Week 5 Data Compilation

Our finalized idea we chose based on our research and data collection is to design a fun and interesting Tumpeng Board game, where the players have to gather ingredients through cards to win the game.

Data Collection Slide:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VduupDm0UY5eaWDSoi74VGidtsXbnf_o/view?usp=sharing

Each of our group members contributed to the project, both me and Khansa analyzed the interview and survey responses to collect our required data. Felice and Jovanna designed the cards, characters and the box. We, however, realize how much meaning a food holds at every parts of it. Such as the meaning to its colors and the side dishes. Because of this, we planned pass on this message through an exciting game where younger generations and others who are clueless on what Tumpeng really gets a better and more fun understanding to it while still holding to the values of Nasi Tumpeng, which is the Tumpeng Board Game.

TASK 3

Make contents based on the information you have gathered during data collection week, research from your topic. Make up to 5 content with 15-30 seconds each on your TikTok page. Create a presentation that includes rationale from task 1, summary of data collection during task 2, progress, and your final project/output. Include links to e-portfolio and TikTok account.

    We decide to meet up to discuss and assign work for the TikTok videos, which is separated into 5 parts :

1. Introduction (Reema)

2. Fun Facts (Khansa editing) (Reema, Khansa, Felice, Jovanna, Raed contribute in content making)

3. Interview (Raed)

4. Products part 1 (Jovanna & Felice)

5. Products part 2 (Jovanna & Felice)

    After we are done with TikTok content, we decided to make a PPT together

online, consisting :

1. Introduction (Khansa)
2. Task 1 Rationale (Jovanna)
3. Summary of Research & Proposal (Reema)

4. Data Collection Summary (Khansa & Reema)

5. Final Project : Board Game (Jovanna)

6. Progress & Development (Felice & Jovanna)

7. Concept & Meaning (Felice)

8. Gameplay & Meaning (Jovanna)

9. Moodboard (Felice & Jovanna)

10. Final Output

11. Links of TikTok and E-Portfolio

    Afterwards, we present via Zoom and then submit on Mr. Asrizal’s Team

post.

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4. REFLECTION

Experience : 

    Throughout this Intercultural design project, where we have to pick on our "Everyday design", I learned many things. For example, our team forming, getting to know each other, dividing research work on our topic, and making time to do things without rush. Although there where some problems we faced, from either the topics and our projects, and also members in our group. However, with working with each other for a whole semester, we started to work on alternatives to be able to get our work done on time. 

Observations :

    After looking into everything that's done this semester in Intercultural design, there where many things I could pick to do better and learn from. As this was a project done with the same members for a whole 7 weeks, it is really important to work together and be very responsible with each of our own roles. Not only that, dividing works also helps getting our work done faster, since we were able to place out certain roles and parts for every members which helps them focus on one thing and not the other.

Findings :

    Although we struggled a lot and were confused most of the times during our work progress, meeting online or offline as a team to work out what's next really helped me understand a lot better. It helps everyone to get a clear understanding on our aims and progress on our work.