Intercultural Design Blog - Projects 1-3

 5/2/2024- 22/3/2024 ( Week 1- Week 7)

Semester 1.5

Aden bin Mohd Paul Ang (0369890) Class 01 Sec 01

Intercultural Design GCD61304

Bachelor of Fashion Design technology / Taylor's University

Intercultural Design: Cultural Sensitivity In Design

Table of Content

Instructions

Lectures

Project 1 (Proposal)

Project 2 (Data Collection)

Project 3 ( Final Assessment)

Lectures

During the first and second week, our lecturer, Mr. Asrizal, gave us information about what's to come project 1. In it, we are allowed the freedom to select any subculture which is deemed "Culturally sensitive" to study and research about, but as for some students traveling to Osaka, Japan, They must choose one within Japan. Following in Week 2, students can start brainstorming some initial ideas before grouping with other students. This is a group project where there are 5-6 students in one group and our lecturer decides on our grouping. Although, students participating in the trip are to group together.

Moreover, Ms. Noranis, teaching us through lecture slides, educated us on the subject of "Culture and Design". She also showed us some examples and provided information on them.

Project 1 (Proposal)

Instructions

• Our given theme is "Cultural Sensitivity in Design"
• Required to study a cultural phenomenon or a particular subculture that is perceived as "sensitive"
• Convey the cultural aspect without altering the actual facts
• Awareness should be raise among the viewers among a presentable interpretation and adaption
• Produce some preliminary ideas on how to visually express your interpretation using design language. (The idea should be supported by a short rationale)
• Visual research can be conducted to help expand your idea generation

Submission:

• Definition & interpretation of the theme in relation to the chosen element (200 words)
• Minimum of 3 preliminary ideas - with detailed sketches & individual rationale
• Citation & visual references (Example: Visuals that inspired/influenced the ideas), references, picture credits

Individual research

As a student that is involved in the Japan trip, I am obligated to select a Japanese subculture to base my research on and I'd like to mention that as a avid enjoyer of history and being a fashion student myself, the choice of "Amekaji" subculture came pretty easily. Especially once I heard that it had to be "sensitive" one. 

A blend of the wildest from both the furthest ends of the East and West, I've always been quite curious of this little community. As such, this project was a wonderful opportunity to do a deep dive on them.

Group research

In the second week, the lecturers had us form our groups of at least 5-6 members. Instinctively, I sought after people of my field of study and anyone else that was familiar to us. Soon thereafter, I pitched the idea of studying "Amekaji" and, thankfully, they were all on board. After a short discussion, it is decided that we work on a Japanese styled magazine/look book.

The group consisting of Fashion and Illustration students, we decided to split the workload into 2 sections. The physical aspect (Fashion students) and the digital (Illustration students).

Below is the proposal that my group and I worked on. In it, I came up with the ideas and worked on the write ups for the initial 2 sketches. My inspiration for both of them came from both google and social media.

Project 2 (Data Collection)

Instructions

• Students are required to collect visual, oral, textual & tactile artefacts that would be part of their research materials for the ideation in Project 1(proposal). All collected artefacts & materials must be recorded, kept & documented, accompanied by necessary information such as the type of artefact & material, its purpose, its symbolism, its cultural/historical background, & more, depending on the kind of artefact & material.

Submission:

• In relevant ways that protect and preserve the collected artefacts & materials
• Accompanying descriptions that properly and clearly informs about crucial information of each artefact & materials

During the trip, the group went to work in going to places that housed Amekaji items and members of that community. In order to be efficient with our limited time, we decided that the best course of action would be for us to split up into smaller groups to cover more ground. The Illustration team and the Fashion team respectively. 

Though we lacked our own transport, we were fortunate that Osaka and Kyoto alike were areas in which Amekaji is somewhat popular. We discovered quite a number of stores, typically curated thrift stores and souvenir shops, that has that distinct west-eastern ambience we were looking for. It is also no surprise that we found many people belonging to that subculture inhabiting such stores.

However, due to the nature of such stores items in there were rather expensive. Nevertheless, hints of Amekaji were found throughout the city and in the slides below you can see our findings.

Also seen below is our interview with an actual gyaru done so to gather even deeper insight on the subculture. 

Project 3 (Final Assesment)

Instructions

• Utilising the data collected from the research trip, students are to produce visual design outcomes that reflect their interpretation and definition of "Framing", bearing in mind to consider cultural and aesthetic aspects, balanced with their design knowledge. Various directions & approaches can be engaged in, such as experimental design/art with the use of manual/digital or combination of both media

Submission

• Final deck for Task 3(Final Project) containing your progress, sketches & final output
• Data collection deck (Containing all collected data & artefacts)
• 10 mins video recording of your final project presentation (Maximum file size: 100mb)

In the final product, we, the fashion team, believed it would be an interesting challenge to recreate the nose art or graffiti seen on the jacket's of Japanese Rockabilly's. As such, we went about to gather resources for 2 jackets while the illustration team worked on the look book's sketches and overall aesthetic.

 For the first Jacket, acknowledging the fact that Osaka is a province in Japan that is famous for the food, we decided that it was a must that the art be of food. After some brainstorming and sketches, we thought it would be clever if we made a design around the dish named "Spam Musubi". A dish that blends the all-american SPAM and the distinctly Japanese Sushi. 

When it came to the second jacket we knew it had to be a showstopper, a garment that screamed Amekaji. For that, we looked into countless photos of various Rockabilly's in Japan. As they all shared artwork depicting images that represent the club or motorcycle gang they are a part of. These images ranging from wholesome to inappropriate.

We decided an image depicting a traditional Geisha adorning a motorcycle jacket would be a perfect way to symbolise and honour this culture. Additionally, we adorned the jacket with a variety of patches similar as those seen in the photos we studied. As a fun added detail, we even came up and painted a fake motorcycle club's name on the jacket to add to its authenticity. 

After everyone had finished with their respective parts, we had our images formatted and printed.

The Final Product 

Self reflection:

It goes without saying that I've learned much from this trip. Everything that I had went through in this module was unlike anything I had been through before. Everything from the unforgettable trip to Osaka, Japan to the journey that my friends and I had been a part of to create our product was a incredible learning experience. 

It was a blast to go through what its like to work in a team on a product. The challenge that came with coordinating and allocating tasks was tough but ultimately rewarding in the end.

Perhaps most importantly of all, it was a great learning opportunity to get a glimpse of the design process in the real world. I have no doubt that the experiences I've been through here will be of great use further down the line.