Intercultural Design / Final Assessment: Final Project & Portfolio
Daphne Lai Yu Cheng / 0366380
GCD 61304 / Intercultural Design / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media / Taylors' University
Final Assessment: Final Project & Portfolio
Week 1 (7/2/2025)
01_Culture & Design
Visuals
- Objective Visuals: Everything that can be seen.
- Visual Representation: Everything produced or created by humans that can be seen.
- The brain processes visuals faster than texts.
Design Significance
- Artifacts and products
- Norms and values
- Basic assumptions
- Basic assumptions
- Norms and values
- Artifacts and products
Figure 1.1 Examples of Design Significance
Design Sensitivity: Cultural sensitivity always go beyond design.
- Symbolism and imagery: Different meanings might cause misunderstandings or offense.
- Language and typography: Ensuring accurate translations and culturally appropriate text styles.
- Colour used: Cultural Significance.
- Inclusive Design: Creating products and experiences that are accessible and inclusive for people from various cultural backgrounds, abilities and needs.
- Localisation: Adapting designs to specific cultural contexts.
- User Research: Conducting research to gain insights into cultural preferences and behaviours.
- Cultural Awareness Training: Develop deeper understanding of diverse perspectives and sensitivities.
Figure 1.2 Discussion about Petronas CNY Money Packet design (2018)
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Figure 1.3 Responses
We discussed about the design of Petronas CNY Money Packet design (2018) during lecture and above were some of the responses, majority of the responses mentioned that the colours used for the design is inapropriate as it symbolises death in Chinese culture.
Week 2 (14/2/2025)
Everyday Design & CMYK*L by KL Design Festival
Figure 1.4 CMYK*L by KL Design Festival
TASK 1: Proposal (6/2/2025 - 23/2/2025)
Module Brief: The general theme is “Everyday Design”. Everyday design refers to the observation and analysis of design elements that are seamlessly integrated into daily life. Produce preliminary ideas supported by a short rationale on how to visually express your interpretation using design language.
We formed a group of 6 people during the first week of lecture:
Chang Wing 0367807
Daphne Lai Yu Cheng 0366360
Figure 2.1 Group 26 Proposal Idea Drafts
We came up with a draft of 6 ideas for our proposal and then decided on a topic by voting. As someone who likes old school nostalgic aesthetics and enjoy dining in kopitiams, I proposed idea 2 which was chosen as our topic by majority votes, Kopitiam Aesthetic/Culture.
Figure 2.3 Moodboard
After that, we started by dividing tasks. I was in charge of preliminary idea 2, kopitiam inspired merchandise designs. Initially, I thought of creating tote bag designs but I felt like it was quite a common merchandise that you can find anywhere at tourist spots so I thought of incorporating kopitiam dining wares pattern into a pouch design.
Figure 2.4 Group 26 Proposal Slides (PDF)
Figure 2.5 Group 26 Proposal Video Presentation
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1t5yE2VDhdfYmgvXlXHjT4IKXrrI2wXUd?usp=drive_link
TASK 2: Field Study (27/2/2025 - 9/3/2025)
Module Brief: Conduct a data gathering collection process about the culture with relevance to the theme and your research objectives. Collect visual, oral, textual and tactile artefacts that would be part of their research materials for the ideation in Project 1 (proposal). All collected artefacts and materials must be recorded, kept and documented, accompanied by necessary information such as the type of artefact and material, its purpose, its symbolism, its cultural/historical background and more, depending on the kind of artefact and material.
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Figure 3.1 Lai Foong Kopitiam
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Figure 3.2 Yat Hang Trading
Figure 3.3 Old Ceramics Store
- Old Ceramics Store (Unknown, near Yat Hang Trading)
Figure 3.4 Survey Form Responses
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeAaVbEawZPYmj8Z1X8IX-U8PyD9EAu9ge1xci3TXC-YvIjhQ/viewform
3) Netnography
- Research Papers
- Articles
- Blogs
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Figure 3.5 Interviewing Kopitiam Owner
- Interviewed Lai Foong Kopitiam's owner, Uncle William to gain insights about kopitiam culture.
As usual we started by dividing tasks after compiling all the data collection, I was in charge of research about '2.0 Understanding Kopitiam Aesthetics'.
Figure 3.6 Group 26 Data Collection (Field Study) Slides (PDF)
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1GI-Yo8bAsZPxedJeWgILNoDjj-8ia70f?usp=drive_link
TASK 3: Final Assessment: Final Project & Portfolio (6/3/2025 - 24/3/2025)
Module Brief: Document and communicate your experiences through a TikTok page. This page should serve as a cultural journal, where you record, reflect and creatively present your interactions, observations and insights about everyday design. The goal is to communicate your chosen cultural topics to a broader audience, fostering understanding and appreciation of everyday design through engaging short-form videos.
Figure 4.1 Script for Documentary Shorts
Figure 4.2 Kum Chuan Kopitiam
Figure 4.3 Kum Chuan Kopitiam Curry Noodles
We started our final project with filming and documenting footages according to Wing's script at Kum Chuan Kopitiam. After that, we also tried their famous curry noodles and it was delicious!
Figure 4.4 Interviewing Hawker
The next day, I interviewed a hawker to gain insights for our documentary shorts at a kopitiam I regularly go to, nearby my house.
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Figure 4.5 Video Editing Process
Figure 4.6 kopiDIAM (TikTok Page)
Our final project requires a lot of work so we divided them to balance out everyone's workload. I was in charge of filming, video editing, TikTok page management and the final output along with another video editor, Wing.
Figure 4.7 Group 26 Final Project Slides (PDF)
Figure 4.8 Group 26 Final Project Video Presentation
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iyD1FIQxWyfl3DyktIXWKzQvuxxCebXB?usp=sharing
Be more specific on which part of the kopitiam you intend to study. Explore the aesthetics of kopitiam to get further understanding of why do people like to go to kopitiams.
Good to go, but presentation slides are wordy, try point form, bold/highlight key sentences for better readability. Could plan a trip to shops that sell kopitiam/authentic old school dining ware as a group to document observations and understandings of kopitiam for Task 2.
Data Collection Week (Research & Observation)
Good, can do data collection in research paper style but it would be a little boring because it's wordy. Start writing the script and drawing storyboard for TikTok page's contents.
No consultation.
Individual Reflection
Task 1 was interesting because we had the freedom to explore a topic of our choice. However, with such a broad and vague topic comes challenges. I initially struggled to understand what we were supposed to do as a group. I assumed studying kopitiams would be easy since I often observed small details about them but this project required a much deeper level of analysis. As I delved further into my research, I found it fascinating how a place could hold such significant meaning. I also enjoyed discussing our topic and ideas with my groupmates.
Personally, Task 2 was especially fun because we had the opportunity to document the daily life in kopitiams. Our group visited few kopitiams and even spending time there planning our project. One of the memorable moments was interviewing a kopitiam owner, who was very kind and provided us with valuable insights. As someone who enjoys photography, I also had the chance to capture little details around the kopitiams. On the other hand, we were worried that our project might be off topic so we needed to conduct thorough research to support our focus.
Task 3 was an eye opening experience, particularly in relation to what I want to do in the future. Initially, I thought creating content for a TikTok page seemed unnecessary, but throughout the documentation and filming process, I realised how crucial content creation is in effectively sharing a message as kopitiams are often overlooked despite their cultural significance, which inspired my group and me to present their stories through a cinematic feel. The biggest challenges was editing, as we had to condense our content into short videos (30 seconds to 1 minute). I discussed with another editor, Wing, and our group mates, to quickly come up with a Plan B due to the lack of time. Additionally, I was in charge of interviewing the hawker, which was particularly challenging as someone who isn’t confident with words.
Overall, this project was an enriching experience that pushed me out of my comfort zone while working alongside my groupmates. Both my lecturers and group mates were very supportive throughout this short yet meaningful journey. I could not have done this project smoothly without their help. As a regular in kopitiams, I have gained so much from this project, not only in documenting different perspectives but also in finding ways to share kopitiam culture. Seeing people appreciate this culture through the engagement on our TikTok page was especially rewarding. I will carry the knowledge I have acquired into future projects to help me grow into someone who creates meaningful works.
We chose kopitiam culture as our topic. Initially, we were confused about how to approach it for Task 1 because the topic felt broad and vague. We struggled to break it down and find a clear direction, but with the feedback from Ms. Anis, we managed to narrow down our focus. Through this task, we took a deep dive into how kopitiam aesthetics shape cultural identity, social interactions and nostalgic connections. Before this, we had only viewed kopitiams at surface level, as places to dine in. However, after our research, we began to understand their deeper cultural significance.
We conducted field studies for Task 2 by visiting homeware stores and kopitiams to observe and document our findings. One of the highlights was exploring Pasar Seni, where we walked around, relaxed at kopitiams and immersed ourselves in the environment. Visiting the homeware store was particularly eye opening as we saw the various dining wares used in kopitiams which deepened our appreciation for their design elements. However, we faced challenges in coordinating our schedules for the field study as our group consisted of students from different courses. We solved this by planning and discussing our schedules in advance to ensure a successful trip. Another challenge was researching about kopitiam culture, as it is not widely documented online. This motivated us to further study the topic and highlight the importance of kopitiams in our local culture.
Finally, for Task 3, we brought all our research and observations to life through our TikTok page, kopiDIAM. Creating this platform was a meaningful way to showcase the kopitiam aesthetic while also highlighting its cultural significance. Through our videos, we captured the essence of kopitiam life, from the clinking and clattering of coffee cups and bowls to the lively conversations heard in these spaces. Interviewing kopitiam owners, hawkers and customers gave us valuable insights into their experiences and perspectives which deepen our understanding of kopitiam culture. This project was a special opportunity to explore how kopitiams remain relevant in today's modern world.
As a group, we truly enjoyed every step of this journey, from researching and filming to editing and sharing our content on kopiDIAM. It was rewarding to see our efforts come together creatively and engagingly despite the challenges we faced. This experience not only improved our teamwork and communication skills but also strengthened our appreciation for local traditions. We hope our project encourages more people to recognise the importance of preserving kopitiam culture for future generations.
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