Intercultural Design
Samuel Keane / 0376236
Intercultural Design / Bachelors of Design (Honors) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
JUMPLINKS
LECTURES
Lecture 1: Culture & Design
Visuals are powerful persuasive medium that tell and provide information about the world. It is apparent that humans can process information faster through visuals and imagery rather than text and words. This is proven from the fact that 40% of people respond more to visuals than text. Also, 90% of information transmitted to the brain in the form of visuals and visuals are processed 60.000 times faster than text.
In a nutshell, visual is everything that can be seen by the human eye. This definition is wide, all-inclusive to nature. However, nature is not culture, except when there is meaning and representation attached by humans.
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Fig 1.1, Visuals without and with meaning and representation |
Awareness of cultural nuances, symbolisms and context are needed to create designs that can speak and resonate to audience from different interest and backgrounds. By understanding the importance of a graphic in its cultural studies, philosophies, sociology, and origin history, we can decide and tell the cultural & political sphere where the elements reside.
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Fig. 1,3, Design System |
INSTRUCTIONS
TASK
TASK 1: Proposal
On the first week, we were told by Mr. Asrizal to form a team. We need to create a proposal with the theme of everyday design. Initially, we came up with two ideas, those two are calendar with the theme of Malaysian culture and new symbols that can be used to make text signs in Indonesia more recognizable. Our team decided go with the latter, to delve into the traffic and driving culture in Indonesia and decided to create new signs and think about ways to make these signs applicable nationwide.
Here is the PDF of our final proposal.
Click here to access the slides from Canva
Click here to access the presentation
TASK 2: Data Collection
On task 2, we were required to do a data collection in relation to our topic. We ultimately decided to do surveys and online research as methods for our data collection.
As it is supposed to be an informational TikTok, we have decided to explore the basic knowledge of traffic signs in general and then do some qualitative and quantitative research on the topic. For the background research, we explored the history of traffic signs and how they are made.
Background Research
Traffic congestion isn’t just about bad driving; it’s also about how we interpret road signs. Sometimes, they are not as effective as they should be.
Historically, traffic signs have existed for centuries. In Ancient Rome, milestone markers were placed along roads to guide travelers—these were the earliest road signs. But the real transformation came with automobiles. As cars became more common, standardized traffic signs became a necessity. In 1949, the Geneva Convention helped create international road sign standards, prioritizing symbols over text for universal understanding.
Studies show that 90% of information processed by the brain is visual, and visuals are recognized 60,000 times faster than text. Traffic signs are a vital part of road safety, but how they are instinctively understood regardless of language is due to the study of semiotics. Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols and how they create meaning. It plays a crucial role in design, advertising, and, most importantly, traffic sign communication.
However, text-based traffic signs can create challenges. For example, the Indonesian sign “Belok Kiri Jalan Terus” (Turn Left, Continue Straight) relies entirely on language, which can be problematic for:
- Fast-moving drivers who have little time to read.
- Foreign visitors unfamiliar with the language.
- Cognitive overload, making processing slower.
- Symbol-based designs are a more effective way to communicate with drivers, such as:
- Arrows replacing text for immediate understanding.
- Color coding to remove ambiguity.
- Minimal text to improve visibility and processing speed.
For example, the STOP sign is an octagon—its unique shape demands attention. Combined with the color red, which signals urgency, it ensures an immediate reaction before the driver even reads the word "STOP."
- Yellow = Warning
- Blue = Information
- Red = Mandatory Action
This system ensures that even in low visibility, drivers can recognize a sign’s meaning at a glance.
But despite these advancements, some traffic signs remain unclear or inconsistent, contributing to congestion and unsafe driving behaviors. The commonly used text signs such as “Belok Kiri Jalan Terus” continue to be confusing for many. The improvement of road signs could involve more intuitive designs, better visibility, and even digital adaptability.
After completing the background research for this project, we move on to the next step: data collection. For this step, we have decided to collect data from various sources, including interviews and surveys.
For the interview, we decided to ask several questions to a group of students regarding the topic of traffic. Moreover, we also interviewed an expert to gain further insight. The expert we interviewed is a driving instructor with extensive knowledge of traffic signs, which will greatly help us proceed with our project.
Online Survey Questions:
- Which country are you from?
- Are you a driver? Do you have a drivers license?
- Do you have these signs in your country?
- Can you effortlessly tell what these signs are saying if you read it from afar?
- Do you think humans process images faster than text?
- If pictograms signs were applied in exchange of text signs, will it be more recognizable and easier for you as a driver to recognize?
Here are the result of the survey:
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Fig. 3.1, Survey Results |
Here is the PDF of our final proposal.
Click here to access the slides from Canva
Click here to access the presentation
TASK 3: Data Collection
For the final project, we are all tasked to create a TikTok account that holds all of the research and output of our task. The TikTok account that we are posting them in will be a compilation of videos based on our work that we have worked on for the task within the semester. As our main topic is about the everyday design, we as a group have decided to pick the main focus of traffic signs in Indonesia as a point of interest. We emphasized how traffic is so prevalent not only in Indonesia, but throughout various densely populated countries like Malaysia as well, that it has become a culture of its own. Bad driving habits have contributed to the horrible traffic across the countries that it has turned into an everyday culture.
As a group, we decided to tackle one of the signs that has contributed to the horrible congestion and bad driving culture, which is the “belok kiri jalan terus” (Turn left continue straight) sign.
Our TikTok page, Road Critics has five video uploaded on the account, consisting of two introduction videos, a two part interview, and one conclusion. Here is the link to our page:
Click here to open our TikTok page
Here is the PDF of our final proposal.
Click here to access the slides from Canva
REFLECTION
We also get to know new information and gained new knowledge from our data collection and background research. Not to mention, people also gives us their opinion and thoughts about these problems through our survey and street interview on our TikTok, which helps us understand the problem from a different point of view.
We all work together as a team, but I mostly get to work on the street interview videos. For me, working on those videos are fun. Going to the process of interviewing random people and friends, to the editing process really motivates me to try harder and elevate the quality of my work and videos for some reason.
Working with my group mates was quite an experience. I got a ton of experience and I know that I have room for improvement. From analyzing and collecting data to making videos to educate people about signs, all of that I was able to do because we work together as a team, and I am glad that we can finish our project on time. In conclusion, I am glad to pick this module on my short semester and I hope that I get the chance to show my full potential, from the projects I have worked on before, on my next big project.
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