Culture Connections
Cultural Characteristics and Brand Design – An International Brand Workshop for a Social Challenge: A Practical Approach to Teach an International, Cross-disciplinary, Industry-linked Brand Design Workshop
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Sam Anvari, Tor Hovind, Sven Vogel
In July 2019, students from CSU Long Beach and Hamburg HAW University participated in a two-week international brand design workshop hosted in Hamburg. Thirty-five international students participated in the workshop, sponsored by both universities and Landor Brand Consulting and Design Agency. This included fifteen students from Los Angeles, who teamed up with twenty students from Hamburg to form small focus groups to research/propose ideas for the simultaneous brand introduction of a Mini Cooper Self-Driving/All-Electric Vehicle in L.A. and Hamburg for the year 2020. Students from both universities were mixed together in small groups to undertake research on cultural differences between vehicle owners/users in Los Angeles vs Hamburg. During the workshop, students learned more about each other’s cultural values, which created new and unforeseen challenges for the brand design process. For example, students from Hamburg had to work with their team members from L.A. to learn about the car ownership and car-sharing culture in L.A., while students from L.A. discovered that young generation in Hamburg is more interested in public services and ride-sharing. Through a series of lectures, students learned about the current state of self-driving vehicles and the car industry, design history of Mini Cooper and UX/UI best practices. Students also received critique from top designers in Landor Consulting Agency. This paper discusses the challenges/novelty of making international design workshops, and how a multi-cultural international exchange can help students in different design programs to collaborate with the industry and gain the first-hand experience.
Advocating Indian Culture in Design Education View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Prajakta R. Parvatikar
Culture, in artistic resource, is to India what evolution is to nature. India is a country where culture and history has defined its people. History has carried itself into future and yet is always a part of present India. The country has rapidly changed itself with different cultural aspects adapting to changing needs of the consumer. Design in India too, is transforming; influencing national, cultural and visual diversity by being user-centric and modern. Yet, the customer is aware and curious to display something unique and traditional (indigenous). Participatory practices and design experiments from industry show a remarkable appeal for these traditional designs. Indian design is collaborating with native artisans and increasing a demand for specialized market. Teaching in design schools through certain projects, could make present design students conscious of ingenious skills and rich Indian culture. This paper explores sensitivities in design education, teaching and learning environment within a modern context. The paper discusses how today, through ways of teaching and passing on valued knowledge of rich tradition through bank of design resources; urban design students can give exposure to artisans. This generation of academic designers can promote positive relationships between glorious past of Indian crafts, skills, and present culture-hungry social class. The paper showcases ideas behind advocating culture and history into Indian design education. By setting a precedent and an analogy to students, the design process can positively influence society and encourage indigenous artists.
The Culturelogue Experience: Can Incentivizing a Visual Journal, Used to Record Cultural Experiences, Foster Empathy and Be a Catalyst for Tolerance and Acceptance?
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Vicki L Meloney
Can incentivizing a visual journal, used to record cultural experiences, foster empathy and be a catalyst for tolerance and acceptance? Most college students are in a unique and pivotal point in their life’s journey. Living on or near a college campus gives them access to insightful cultural experiences, discussions, and performances that can broaden the mind, challenge perceptions, and open doors to a lifelong interest in diversity. It is believed that meaningful exposure to new, different and alternative ideas, cultures, lifestyles and good-old-fashioned listening can open up lines of communication and understanding that is essential for the empathy needed to dissolve hate and divisiveness. Understanding others who are different than ourselves, builds harmony and strengthens the skills necessary to work across boundaries in gender, race, sexual orientation, religion and political affiliation, allowing us to become better global citizens. In this paper, I discuss how a low cost field journal and moderate incentives can energize rural college students to step out of their comfort zones to engage in cultural events, broaden their world view, and better understand the people around them. The Culturelougue Experience is an experimental attempt to boost participation in cultural programming while proactively cultivating global acceptance. The Culturelogue Experience is the latest effort from Replace-the-Hate. Replace-the-Hate is a grassroots effort lead by design educators, to build communal ties, renounce hate and rejoice in diversity through creative expressions and community art making workshops.
