Intercultural Design Task II: Project 2
MODULE GCD61304: Intercultural Design
26/02/2024 - 08/03/2024 : Week 4 - Week 5
Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media
Task II: Project 2 (Research)
MODULE INSTRUCTION:
“FEB - APR 2024: GCD 60804 / DESIGN PRINCIPLES MODULE INFORMATION BOOKLET”
MAIN TASK I: Data Collection & Compilation (Week 4 - 5)
Collecting Data: In this upcoming task, students within the cohort are required to thoroughly collect various pieces of data or artefacts (can be visual, oral, textual or tactile) which should relate back to the research materials gathered in the first Task. All collected sources must be properly recorded, kept and documented, accompanied by necessary information such as the type of artefact and material, its purpose, its symbolism, it cultural/historical background, and more, depending on the kind of artefact and material.
MAIN TASK II: Data Collection & Compilation (Week 4 - 5)
WEEK 4: Refining searches + Website Development
With the disappointing conclusion of the previous task, the group needed to begin collecting more data relating to the ‘Appropriation of Arabic Culture.’ For the time being, we originally planned to produce a small campaign as our final product with the website being a connection point between samples of data. Ultimately the campaign aspect would be dropped but the Website concept would be effectively utilised. For this stage of the task, I was ultimately given the role of website director as I had previous history developing a promotional website and because I spent this week developing a basic ‘trial website’ in hopes of guiding our studies.
Although this was meant to be a ‘trial website,’ it would still require some research which is something I needed to collect myself while the rest of the team worked on rewriting our presentation and proposal. To begin working, I laid out a basic website structure which broke down the work into three separate sections: “Appropriation in tapestries, Appropriation in Calligraphy & Cultural Appreciation.” From here, I would research aspects of Appropriation and how it breaks down the identity of the Arabic People - reiterating why it is important to remain culturally sensitive. This process took a bit of time as I was mainly working by myself partly due to how the website functions and because the team was preoccupied. During my research, I preferred to see sources that have connections to the Arabian world as it provides a valid perspective; discussing their believed effects of global homogenisation. Furthermore, as an importance of Cultural Sensitivity; it is important to value all viewpoints around a situation - including the minorities (in this case Arabians cultures.) This way, we can also promote cultural accuracies & can credit communities which are often ignored on the global stage.
“Rough Website layout: (Updated images due to time of collecting photos)”
To find some more primary & secondary data for the assignment, the group also believed it would be important to visit the ‘Islamic Arts Museum’ to get a better insight into the values depicted by the Arabian community as well as gather historical reference to stress the importance of protecting the culture. Regardless of location, the team intends to consult with our lecture first before acting as we wish to ensure that our plan is satisfactory.
WEEK 5: Narrowing research + Additional Website Development + Site-seeing
Continuing the disappointment, the team would need to pivot our research to instead focus on a smaller aspect of Cultural Sensitivity. Calligraphy would ultimately be recommended by the lecturer which the group agreed upon. With a new goal set, additional research would need to be gathered to get a better understanding of calligraphy as a whole. Fortunately, some of our research and website layout could be salvaged and be used this week - saving us time.
Continuing with website development, I would need to re-attribute the pages on the prior topics in order to be more in-line with the team's decided goals relating to Calligraphy. Although the group did help a bit more this time around, I was still mainly on my own for the website while they worked mainly on the presentation & video. For this website revamp, I would completely write three additional pages (Calligraphy, Application, Design) while rearranging the pages to match the new style chosen by the group. As this website was to be closer to a final product, I needed to gather additional research into the history, uses and design aspects of Calligraphy while attempting to work in some previously gathered information. This would include a timeline & Calligraphic connections section, research into its application & uses, as well as, an extensive look into the design aspects of modern calligraphy. It is important to note that, for these sections, I wanted to prominently feature multiple cultures as it plays better into the theme of ‘Culturally Sensitivity.’ Not only would we be working to be as accurate and fair as possible to foreign cultures; it would also allow for viewers to feel more included in the presentation.
At the time, this felt a little demoralising as a majority of the work would need to be scrapped as it was too broad for our project - meaning additional time was spent on developing new material. As a result the group became somewhat stressed as we feared that we wasted the research time-frame but this notion would be curved after visiting the museum.
The team believed that it would still be worth visiting the Islamic Arts Museum as a majority of its online depiction suggested Calligraphic History & study which would be useful in our new project. After agreeing upon the day to visit, some of the team members would need to travel roughly 2.5 hours to reach the agreed upon meeting point (Kl Sentral Station) which would be something we wanted to document as well. I was somewhat lucky as my travel only took around 30 minutes, however, it was more expensive as I lived a distance away from public transport locations. Regardless, the group would meet up at the station and would travel to the museum to learn more about Islam Art and Calligraphy. One interesting aspect to note, although the museum is marketed as ‘an islamic art collection,’ the museum did offer some calligraphic evidence outside of traditional islamic countries. Some pieces would reference other communities and cultures such as Chinese or Indian. Another interesting discovery is that the museum would also host more modern pieces of art - suggesting the importance of calligraphic design in the modern era + show how its interpretation has changed.
“Rough Website layout: (Updated images due to time of collecting photos)”
With our visit completed, the team felt confident in our research and was able to move onto the final stage of the project. Before this could happen however, the group would need to consult with the lecturer once more to ensure we’re on the right track and we would be able to produce a satisfactory end product.
TASK II LECTURER FEEDBACK:
With how much the project has been developed by the team, the lecturer recommended switching our end project to focus on ‘Calligraphy’ instead of ‘Arabian Culture’ as a whole. In relation to the rest of the work, the lecturer did appear somewhat satisfied with the fact that we were still trying to complete the project considering it had been rejected twice now - something he hopes will result in a good project.
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