Intercultural Design

 9/1/2023-25/2/2023

Ng Jia Xien 0355062

Intercultural Design

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Instruction

MIB

Research & First Proposal

For our first proposal, we plan to conduct a study on wedding culture in Malaysia, basically focusing on wedding dress culture. We researched on different ethnic wedding cultures such as Chinese, Indian, Malay, and Baba Nyonya.

However, after we presented our proposal to Mr. Asrizal, he told us to focus on studying the different Songket patterns and what they represent, and also to expand to the textiles or threads used and to study if it also has some symbolic representation.

Final Proposal

Therefore, in our final proposal, we focused on the pattern of Songket and also did some research on Songket production and the reasons why Songket is gradually disappearing. In addition, we made 3 preliminary ideas and sketches for immersive projection, patterned cloth, and animated poster.

Fig 1. Moodboard

Carmen and I were working on an animated poster, and after some discussion, we decided to come up with two versions.

Data Collection

We visited National Textile Museum, actually, there is not much information related to Songket, but we still get to know the process of the Songket and have seen some antiquated Songket.

In the fifth week, we decided to collect data through a Google Form survey, museum visits, field trips and research, watching documentaries and interviews.

We visited the National Textile Museum, and actually, there was not much information related to the Songket, but we still learned about the process of making the Songket and saw some old Songket.

Fig 2. Museum visit

We then interviewed the owner of Y.S. Tailoring Sdn Bhd, who was very kind and patient in answering all our questions and was happy to show us the Songket in her store. Thanks to the owner, we learned that nowadays, Malays wear Songket for special occasions such as weddings and the patterns on it are attractive without any clear meaning. 

Fig 3. Field visit

We also visited Jakel Mall, a mall that sells various Malay fabrics such as batik. With the help of the sales assistant, we learned that most of the Songket is now made by machine and it is hard to find hand-woven Songket. But we were still given the opportunity to see the popular Songket patterns nowadays.  

Fig 4. Field visit 2

Process

After some discussion, we decided to go with the second idea, which was immersive projection, but we also combined some ideas from the patterned cloth and animated posters. We created the pattern and animated it, then projected it onto our model to form the pattern on the model's cloth.

We did some experiments, and fortunately, they turned out well. So we decided to continue our project.

Fig 5. Testing

Motif Making

After some discussion, we decided to each design a pattern for the projection, but we would be assigned based on pattern style, flora, fauna, and kuih muih (geometric shapes), and I chose fauna.

Fig 6. Butterfly Motif

I did a lot of research on fauna patterns, and finally, I decided to make a butterfly pattern because butterflies are colorful and I thought it would work well when presented on the model's cloth.

Animation

Fig 7. Animation

For the animation, I did it with Kai Wei, I combined Hoi Yee and Jamie's patterns in Adobe Illustrator. Then Kai Wei created the animation in Adobe After Effects.

Final Outcome

Final Projection

Immersive Projection Trailor

Final Poster

Feedbacks

Week 01 (10/01/2023)

Mr.Asrizal: For the wedding dress idea, we can make comparisons between different cultures, for the art style, as one is a film and one is a cartoon, is hard to make comparisons, unless finding out one film which has similar messages to comics.

Ms.Anis: Can try to combine different cultures' wedding gowns design, for example, the motifs on the dresses. Do more research on it, and don't come out with the final outcome first, because sometimes during research you might find out a more decent and fun way to present that kind of culture.

Week 02 (17/01/2023)

Ms.Anis: Do more research first, then see what you can do based on the research. Break down the ideas according to the design system.

Week 04 (31/01/2023)

Prefer the 1st idea (immersive projection) and 4th idea (animated poster, the one with the radiation). Overall done quite well. Move on to the decision-making, data collection, and technical research. If want to do the immersive projection can just use the normal projector.

Reflection

When I first heard about the course during my briefing, I had no idea what I was supposed to do or which area I was supposed to study. Fortunately, I met a group of kind members and through online and physical discussions and meetings, we gradually found our way. Following the schedule outlined by the lecturer, we gradually got on track and became more passionate about learning and researching our topic. Through data collection, I not only learned about Songket but also learned many things that would not be taught in class, such as communication skills when interviewing people and ways to collect data when going to the field. In addition, through my passion for the topic, I wanted to do well in the project and wanted us to have a good final outcome, so I worked harder to get a better result. In addition, in this module, I tried new things that I had not been exposed to before and learned a lot from it. Finally, I also felt that a good member helped a lot throughout this module, we communicated well, and each member was willing to share their opinions and ideas, and when someone needed help, others didn't hesitate to offer help. After these 7 weeks of study, I have gained a lot and I hope that the knowledge and experience I have gained this semester will help me a lot in the future.