Chuah Kwai Pin / 0348376
Intercultural Design / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Projects and Final Outcomes
INSTRUCTIONS:
TASKS
Project 1: Proposal
For the first week, after forming our groups we started brainstorming
ideas for what Japanese cultures we would like to focus on. During our
group meeting, we laid out a lot of interesting ideas and then slowly
streamlined into 3 ideas.
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| Fig. 1.1 Culture of interest in Japan |
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| Fig. 1.2 Idea pairing |
After we have split into pairs for the cultures that we are interested in, we began doing our research according to the design system that has been discussed during our first lecture. With that, we came up with our slides to showcase our ideas and findings for each of the cultures
Draft Proposal Slides:
After feedback session:
Based on the feedback given by our lecturer, we have decided to focus on
our final idea which is the Japanese Calligraphy. During our group
discussion, we were all cracking our heads to come up with fresh and new
ideas of execution for this topic since it was still quite broad. In the
end, we managed to come up with 3 possible executions that we all think
would showcase the calligraphy aspect well.
Final Proposal Slides
Project 2: Data Collection
Before we arrived at Japan, we had a quick discussion on the places we want
to visit in Japan to collect some data. Based on the previous feedback
session, we were advised to focus more on visual observation as street
interviews might be difficult for us to achieve. With that, we have decided
to focus on gathering data for free-flow calligraphy that we can see on the
streets, some interesting design elements that we can implement to our work
and also visit a Japanese Calligraphy museum.
Some of the places we have visited include:
1) Sensoji Temple
On the second day of our trip, we visited Sensoji temple and walked through
their famous street shops. Much to our surprise, there were a lot of
calligraphy elements in the street signs, souvenirs and also on their food
packagings.
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| Fig. 2.1 Sensoji Temple |
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| Fig. 2.2 Data collected at Sensoji Temple |
2) Marishiten Tokudaiji Temple
While we were on our way to the Taito City Calligraphy Museum, we saw this
poster at the subway station and decided to drop by to see if we could
collect any data from there. It was probably the greatest decision we have
made that day, because the fortune slips that we have gotten that day had
become our biggest inspiration in making our final product.
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Fig. 2.3 Marishiten Tokudaiji Temple |
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Fig. 2.4 Data Collected at Marishiten Tokudaiji Temple |
2) Taito City Calligraphy Museum
In the calligraphy museum, there was an entrance fee of 500 yen, and we
were not allowed to take pictures and videos. Because of this, we had made
the decision to split ourselves into 3 per group so that some of us can go
into the museum to do some visual observations, while others try to read
through their books available and collect data.
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| Fig. 2.5 Taito City Calligraphy Museum |
Data Collection Slides
Final Project: Outcome and A1 Poster
1) Planning
Right after submitting our data collection slides, we then proceeded
to have another group discussion to plan how our final product will
look like and the materials we have to bring. We split ourselves into
3 again so that we can save time working simultaneously. Initially, we
were worried about not having enough gacha balls, but in the end we
had 4 big ones and 2 smaller ones. Hence, we have decided to use what
we have and work around it.
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| Fig. 3.1 Planning stage |
We also discussed on the auspicious symbols that are unique in Japan and looked for some visual inspirations and art styles that we think would fit our fortune slip covers.
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Fig. 3.2 Inspiration board |
2) Process
Since we were all unfamiliar with how to build the box, we decided to
work on a smaller prototype first to be safe. Once we got the prototype
down, our 3 members proceeded to make the final version with a lot more
trial and errors and refining. In the end, it turned out really well and
the gacha balls were able to come out smoothly.
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Fig. 3.3 Measurements and Prototype |
As for the outer sleeve designs, we have done some measurements with the gacha balls beforehand so that it will be more precise and accurate when we print it out. We had to make sure that the outer cover could fit in the gacha balls without it being bent or creased. Using the same template, the rest of us chose 2 symbols to work on and I went with Maneki Neko and Koi.
During the first cut and fold prototype, there were some changes to be
made because the design was too close to the folding edge which leaves no
space for margin. It was also quite difficult to fold and the crease marks
were quite obvious because we were using a watercolour paper. In the end,
we went back to Adobe Illustrator to adjust the sizing, and the final
version came out just nice.
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| Fig. 3.4 Template Measurements and Design |
When working on the inner fortune slips, we contemplated a lot on whether
we should handwrite each of them. We even prepared the calligraphy brush
and sumi ink and also tried it out ourselves. However, it was really time
consuming especially because most of us are not used to holding and
writing with a calligraphy brush.
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After we were done with the fortune slip designs, we proceeded to refine
our gacha box so that it looks more presentable. We decided to go with a
clean white look and a strong red as an accent for the crank, which was a
great decision because it reminds people of the Japan flag. We also wanted
to include some calligraphy elements on the front of the box which says
"Omikuji Gacha Box". Finally, we also designed an instruction paper with
steps on how to use and also the different variations of omikuji that can
be found in the gacha box.
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After feedback session
Changes to be made:
- Make font size smaller
- Showcase of outer sleeve designs and fortune slips should be bigger
- Group members' name can be put in a line at the bottom of the poster
Final A1 Poster
FEEDBACK:
Week 2 (Idea proposal)
- Scrape Kimono and Hashioki
- As for the calligraphy, it is an interesting study. However, I disagree with your direction of execution. A more interesting study path is to have a comparative study of the calligraphy stroke to the current styles of Serif, Sans serif etc2. Expand on the idea then see what is the rationale and message you're trying to convey.
Week 4 (Proposal Slides)
- Instead of focusing on sans serif and serif fonts for the calligraphy and seeing which is more suitable to apply for different design concepts, can try to look more into free-flow calligraphy because it is more interesting. From there, it can be applied into the post card template ideas that we have.
Week 6 (Data Collection)
- Since we have brought back some physical artifacts that we are keen on taking inspiration from, we can just make our final product physical instead of making an app. Can consider ideas like gacha or any other physical structures that can produce the calligraphy slips
Week 8 (Final Presentation)
- Can make improvements to the poster by showing more of the contents in the gacha box. The design of the outer sleeves and fortune slips should be bigger, font size can be smaller and group members' names can be just in one line at the bottom of the poster.
REFLECTION:
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