INTERCULTURAL DESIGN / PROPOSAL, DATA COLLECTION & FINAL PROJECT

on

3.2.25 - 21.3.25 (Week 1 - Week 7)

Chin Jia Wei (0379807)

Intercultural Design / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media / Taylor University

Proposal, Data Collection & Final Project


List 

1. Lectures


4. Project 1

LECTURES

3/2/2024  (Week 01)

    Lecture 1: Introduction to Intercultural Design

    We had our first lecture class from Ms. Anis. Below is my note for the lecture:

    14/2/2024  (Week 02)
    There is no lecture in this week but we have a guest speaker from the Kuala Lumpur Design Festival 2024 to give a talk about Everyday Design and some details of the KLDF competition this year.

    Below are my notes from the talk:

    Design influences our lifestyle. People collect things they like, and our choices help shape our identity. There’s no right or wrong, it's just personal expression.

    Designers should be open to new ideas and experiment while following good design rules. Being original is important as it shows personal thoughts and creativity. But today, copyright is a big issue, so we need more designers who think differently.

    When designing, we should consider culture, daily habits, and how it affects people. Important questions to ask when designing something are:

    Does it make life better?
    Is it useful or just for decoration?
    Technology helps creativity grow, so designers must learn to use it wisely instead of being replaced by it. More local designers should involve in international work to learn more.

    21/2/2024  (Week 03) 
    There is no lecture this week as well. Instead, we're given a chance to ask questions and consult our progress with our assigned supervisor.

    24/2/2024 - 7/3/25  (Week 04 & Week 05)

    Week 4 is data collection week and week 5 is data presentation week. There is no lecture these 2 weeks.

    INSTRUCTIONS

    SUBMISSIONS

    Project 1 - Proposal

    Final Submission:

    Link to Proposal PDF

    Link to Presentation Video

    Canva Slide Link

    Google Drive Link to Proposal PDF, Presentation Slides PDF and Presentation Record


    Project 2 - Data Collection

    Final Submission:

    Google Drive for Photos in Observation Trip in Melaka

    Link to Mascot Survey

    Link to Mascot Survey Responses

    Data Collection Compilation Canva


    Project 3 - Final Project

    Final Submission:

    Google Drive for Presentation Video

    Canva Presentation Slides




    Project 1 

    3/2/2024  (Week 01)
    Mr. Asrizal briefed us the first assignment, which is Project 1-Proposal and also talked about the projects that we need to do throughout this semester.

    Our theme for this semester is everyday design. There are 3 project in this course - Proposal, Data Collection and Tiktok Account Management to showcase our design throughout the semester. 

    After that, we were asked to form our own group to proceed with our Project 1-Proposal.  There was a requirement of students from the same semester cannot exceed 3 in a group. Hence, me and my friends split up into small groups. In the end, we have form a group of 6, consist of:

    1. Chin Jia Wei (me, Semester 3)
    2. Michelle (Semester 3)
    3. Valenz Jycee P. (Semester 3)
    4. Fariha Kabir Dristy (Semester 4.5)
    5. Florence Cory (Semester 1)
    6. Mubeen Sulthana (Semester 1)

    We were assigned as Group 29 and I'm selected as the leader of the group. We created a Whatsapp group and listed our name in the team's spreadsheet. We then schedule our first online meeting which is on 11 Feb, Tuesday 9am to choose our topic.

    Back in home, I started doing some researches based on some cultural practice that I find it interesting such as Yuru-Chara, Chirimen fabric handicrafts and gashapon. I think it's a new idea to incorporate this idea with Malaysia culture. Here are my ideas:

    Idea 1
    Create a Yuru-Chara mascot for Melaka and expand it into a series of merchandise.

    Idea 2
    Create a collection of Malaysian dessert-themed handicrafts using Chirimen fabric.

    Idea 3
    Design a set of gashapon items inspired by Malaysian culture, along with a machine display card.

    Below are the ideas with more detailed explanation to show on next meeting:


    I then updated these to our shared Google document.

    14/2/2024  (Week 02)

    On our first meeting, we show our idea and vote for the idea we think it's suitable to create in these 7 weeks. Here are all of our ideas:


    In the end, our chosen topic was taking the culture of Japan Yuru-Chara to create a destination mascot for Melaka.

    On Thursday 13th Feb, we had a consultation session with the lecturers. Hence, we presented our idea to Dr. Charles and got approval for the topic. Thanks to that, we can move on to the next step which is the sketches for the mascot.

    After the physical class, we had a meeting in the library to discuss our mascot sketches. It was a pity Fariha could not join us as she was sick. As we have a mascot and a series of merchandise to design, we split the task as below:

    Mascot design (Front, Side and Back View)
    Michelle

    Merchandise design (1 design from each)
    Jia Wei (Me)
    Valenz Jycee P. 
    Fariha Kabir Dristy
    Florence Cory
    Mubeen Sulthana

    Meeting to discuss our task distribution and get inspiration to design a mascot for Melaka. (Friday, 14/2/2025)

    As my idea was the one being chosen, so I'm working on the 200 words rationale on the proposal part. I explained why we chose this idea and how want to do it. Aside from that, we were planning to have a short trip to Melaka for our data collection and get a better understanding of the current Melaka as most of the teammates never been there. As I'm the only local student in the group, I planned the itinerary. 

    Proposal (Rationale):
    Proposal Rationale,14/2/2024  (Week 02)

    Trip:
    2 day 1 night Melaka Trip Itinerary, 14/2/2024  (Week 02)

    It is a 2 day 1 night trip and we will take bus to Melaka and travel around by grab of walking as the traffic there is known to be very jam. I planned to bring the members to places that has historical places and museum as these will help our mascot and merchandise design soon. 

    On 18th February (Tuesday), we had an online meeting to choose the 3 sketches for our submission, discuss our trip and build our proposal document and choose presentation slides template. We edited and finish both the document and slides together.

    Once everyone was confirmed they can make it for the trip, I purchased the bus ticket and booked the hotel. The bus ticket is RM12 one-way, making RM24 a trip, The hotel fee is RM259.84 including taxes, making it RM43.37 each person. RM90 is collected from each of the member before booking the hotel and the extra changes was kept for grab fee and meal expenses.

    Hotel Booking, 14/2/2024  (Week 02)

    Bus Ticket Booking, 14/2/2024  (Week 02)

    16/2/2024  (Week 03)
    Our assigned supervisor is Dr. Charles, so starting this week we will be consulting him for our progress.

    On 20th February (Thursday), we have a zoom meeting together and recorded our presentation. 

    This is the first version of the slide and recording.
    Slide:

    Recording:

    On 21st February, we showed our proposal and slides with Dr. Charles at class. We gained more insight and area we need to improve on. Although we have followed the module requirement, but we were suggested to add more information such as the objective and working backward to why we chose mascot to work on, so people can understand more on what we want to do and achieve in this project. Unfortunately, this means that we have to amend our proposal, slide and record again.

    Since there is not much time left and I already wrote the rationale, I researched more and added the reason we chose mascot, data collection method, research problems and objective. The rest of the teammates has helped to update and decorate the slides. 

    After refining the slides, we recorded the video again and submit all the necessary documents in teams under our group post.

    Meeting for presentation record after refining the proposal based on Dr.Charles feedback (Saturday, 22/2/2025)

    Final Submission 


    Canva Slide

    Recording

    PROJECT 2

    24/2/2024  (Week 04)
    We are going to a short trip to Melaka on this data collection week. But before that, we have a meeting to discuss what kind of video each of us making and plan the tik tok content posting time.

    Looking into the module brief again, our Tiktok content need to have:
    • A memorable username name that reflect our theme and focus
    • An introductory video introducing our theme, goals and what viewer can expect from our TikTok page
    • Develop a series of 5-10 short videos (15-60 seconds each). Videos should be uploaded in chronological order and show our journey from initial process to deeper cultural insight
    • A reflection video concluding our trip. sharing insight gained, challenges face and personal growth
    Hence, we planned each of us to do 2 videos so it add up to 10.
    I'm doing the introductory video and a content video

    Introductory video
    All of us sitting together n say some stuff introducing our theme, explaining our goals, and what viewers can expect from our TikTok page. Short clips of us visiting Melaka will cut in while we talk.

    Script

    All: Hi guys! We are Group 29 from Taylor's University!

    Jia Wei: Right now, we're working on an exciting group assignment for our Intercultural Design Project.

    Michelle: Our theme is Everyday Design, and we’re exploring the Yuru-Chara concept to create a mascot for Melaka!

    Jyc: Along with the mascot, we’ll also design a series of merchandise inspired by Melaka’s rich culture and heritage. [Cut to short clips of the group exploring Melaka: walking through Jonker Street, visiting historical landmarks, trying local food]

    Cory: On this TikTok page, you’ll get to see our journey from visiting Melaka for research,
    to brainstorming and sketching our mascot, 
    And finally, designing the merch!

    Mubeen: We hope you enjoy following our creative process 
    Fariha: and learning more about Melaka’s unique culture with us.

    All: Stay tuned and follow us for more updates! 

    Planned upload date: 6/3/25 (Thursday)

    Content video: Process of redesigning a merch
    Show clips of ugly souvenir I found it in the store during the Melaka. Buy it and bring back to KL. Show the sketches, colour process (will turn it into a physical product if possible, the process part will be record in KL)

    Planned upload date: 13/3/25 (Thursday)

    I also have some extra videos idea:
    1. Turning our mascot into a sewn plushies
    2. Asking people if they prefer which kind of merch, which is current found in Melaka, or our redesigned version.


    On 25 February, we have an online meeting 10am to show our video idea. Althought i already reach our planned 2 video but no one want to take up the closing video. Hence, I'm doing 3 videos.

    On 1st March, we travelled to Melaka. We meet at TBS at 8am and departure on 8.25am. We reached Melaka around 10:30am. We placed our bags in the inn and carried out our trip as planned. We had chicken rice ball lunch and visited places like Kota A Famosa, Saint Francis Statue and Masjid Selat Melaka. 


    After dinner we visited Jonker Street Night Market instead of Kota Laksamana as planned as it is nearer to us.

    Mango Smoothie in Night Market

    On 2th March, we have breakfast in Babakaya and check out. We visited the Baba Nyonya Meseum, Mamee Jonker House and walk around that area. 

    Baba Nyonya Mesuem Entrance

    Mamee Mascot Figure

    We have some gula melaka cendol in a traditional baba nyonya restautant before leaving. We travelled back on 6.30pm and reach around 9pm.

    On 3rd March, I opened a canva slide and we distributed our task to work on the data collection by choosing what we want to do. We also need a survey form to ask people to choose the mascot and merchandise they would like to see.

    1. Architectural Highlights (Jycee)
    2. Culinary Delights (Michelle)
    3. Cultural Heritage: Baba Nyonya + Survey on mascot (Cory & Mubeen)
    4. Local Treasures: Souvenirs (Jia Wei)
    5. Local Atmosphere (Fariha)

    I compile and elaborated the merchandises in the slide, but to make it to be easier to see. I did not cramp all the photos in 1 slides.

    After checking our slides, I realised the environment section was written more like a diary rather than reflecting our experiences, so I reworked it to better align with the assignment.

    24/2/2024  (Week 05)

    After the review session on Friday, we meet up and recorded with my opening script so I edit at home later.

    Michelle digitalized our mascot on Saturday. 

    PROJECT 3

    24/2/2024  (Week 06)

    Opening Video
    I utilised the footages we took in the trip to by adding them when we talk so the video is not that boring. I also added subtitles so that it's easier for people to understand what we trying to convey in our video. I edited in CapCut and here is the result:



    Merchandise (Plush Toy)

    In our survey, we asked respondent that what kind of merchandise they would like to see from us and the result as below:

    Survey Result on Mechandise Preferences 

    1. Plush Toy (27 votes)
    2. Keychain (26 votes)
    3. Tote Bag (17 votes)
    4. Stickers (16 votes)
    5. Food Packaging (13 votes)
    I asked in the group to let the merchandise team member to decide what do they want to do. Our task distribution as below:

    1. Plush Toy (me)
    2. Keychain (Cory)
    3. Tote Bag (Fariha)
    4. Stickers (Jycee)
    5. Food Packaging (Mubeen)

    I chose Plush Toy because I know how to sew and I wanted a task that can turn our mascot into a physical item.

    I start by observing our mascot and decide what kind of shapes do I need to make. From there, I searched online for some similar pattern.

    I edited the template in Illustrator with the ruler feature to make sure it will be printed out in the right size. I planned to make the plushie to be about 10cm. This is my first template.
    Munchel's Felt Template Ver 1

    After printing it out, I cut them into their shapes and cut it on the felt. From here, it's a trial and error process. Along the way, I have some some changes to make sure it look as close as our mascot. Here is the final template:

    Munchel's Final Felt Template

    I recorded the process while I'm working on it so I can show the progress in our TikTok account. Once the plushie is done, I started editing the video in Capcut. It's an interesting process because I never done a crafting tutorial before. The video took longer than expected that I have to divide into 2 parts. Heres is the result:

    Part 1:



    Part 2:


    24/2/2024  (Week 07)
    With all the merchandise completed, I designed a catalog in Illustrator to effectively present our final work. This provides a clear and organized way to showcase our designs.

    Mascot Catalogue

    Merchandise Catalogue

    We distributed our task on the final presentation slides as below:
    Introduction to Project (Michelle)
    Rationale (Cory)
    Progress to Create Final Work (Everyone)
    Final Outcome (Jia Wei)
    Links to E-Portfolio and TikTok Links (Mubeen)

    After doing my part of updating my parts (plushies progress and overview of final outcome), I checked the slides to make sure we are good to record.

    We had an online meet to record our final presentation. It was a quick process as we already have experience last time.


    I edited the personal growth and closing video. I first wrote down the script and record. Below is my script:



    For both video I'm using this no copyright and light-hearted background music I found on Youtube to mark an end to this project.


    Personal Growth Video
    If we were to include personal growth part by each members, we will definitely exceed the limited time (1 minutes) in the closing video. So, we separated it out. I asked the teammates to record themselves and send it through the whatsapp group. I included the received video (4 out of 6) in my editing. 

    Below is the video and TikTok link.



    Closing Video




    Final Submission Project 3
    Presentation Video:
    Presentation Slide:




    FEEDBACK

    7/2/2025  (Week 01)
    We just set up our own group. There is no feedback session for this week.

    14/2/2025  (Week 02)
    General Feedback
    We have our first feedback session with Dr. Charles online. I represented the group to present our chosen idea - Creating a Yuru-Chara inspired mascot for Melaka. It is a relieved that Dr. Charles find it interesting too. Below is the feedback he gave:
    • Melaka has a combination of several culture (Ex: Baba Nyonya, Cheti, Portuguese)
    • Choose a specific area that is authentic and famous in Melaka.
    • The focus challenge is the study, not the product.  If we decided to produce something, it must be a result of the research.
    • Create a strong critical research questions from observations > form our own objective for the possible solutions (idea) > make a prototype > talk about it on TikTok.
    • We need to work backward of why we choose mascot instead of other culture practice.
    • We also need to let people know our research problem and objective.
    • Since its our proposal, we can add more information of what we want to do than the module requirement.

    21/2/2024  (Week 03)
    General Feedback
    We consulted our supervisor, Dr. Charles on our proposal and slide for final checking. Below is his feedback:
    • Kancil is over-used when it comes to Melaka and it is a legend story, as well as the tree
    • In our TikTok video, we could create a video of our mascot talking to us as an illustration sitting next to us (Take a video with an empty space then edit the mascot in with word bubble and voiceover)
    • Talk to people, ask people's opinion on our mascot
    • Make a table in google sjeet to record the finding, location and keywords
    • Set an observation goals
    28/2/2025  (Week 04)
    This week is data collection week so there is no feedback session. However, we consulted Dr. Charles on week 3 about our trip, and he suggested that we need to have an objective for this trip and have our tiktok video content planned before the trip. We have planned that on this week.

    7/3/2025  (Week 05)

    General Feedback
    We showed our data collection slides, survey form that we will send to respondant soon and some questions. Dr. Charles feedbacks include:
    • It's okay to have many slides as long as we provide clear explanations. The large photos make it easier for viewers to see.
    • Ensure the survey includes both qualitative and quantitative questions. For example, if we ask respondents to choose a mascot from the 6 given options, we should also ask them to explain their choice.
    • Our Google Drive can include additional photos that were not included in the slides.
    14/3/2025 - 21/3/2025 (Week 06 & Week 07)

    There are no physical classes in these 2 weeks. Hence, there are no consultation sessions with Dr. Charles.


    REFLECTION

    Experience
    As the only local member in this group, I get to learn how to plan an outstation trip, buying bus tickets and even booking hotels. I used to plan a one-day trip with my other friends and they would buy the tickets and book the hotels to collect points. Hence, this is a very new experience to me. Aside from that, I'm glad to have helpful members that we can help one and another. One of the members would help to take down notes and send it in the group while we were consulting and they are very responsive when we are discussing something online.

    Observation
    While researching information of Yuru-Chara, I get to dive deeper in this unique cultural practice. I found out that "cuteness" is not the only thing that made a character a Yuru-Chara, but it also has to be laid-back and awkward. This is a very new and interesting information for me. 

    Additionally, planning and guiding our group around Melaka gave me a fresh perspective. I visited places I had never been to before, such as Masjid Selat Melaka and the Mamee Shop. It was truly an eye-opening experience for me.

    Finding
    Being a leader in this short semester is a pretty challenging task to me. This is because we have shorter time to complete the assignment, so I have to be alert and pay attention to the our schedule to make sure we are on the right track. 

    Aside from that, when I share updates or asking to distribute tasks, each member may interpret them differently, and some might miss the message. As a result, I often have to clarify and repeat instructions. Patience is crucial in this role too to ensure smooth communication and teamwork.

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