Intercultural Design - Project 1: Proposal
3.2.2026 - 20.2.2026 (Week 1 - Week 3)
Cheyenne Liew Khye Yean / 0378330
Intercultural Design / Bachelor of Design (Hons) Creative Media
Project 1: Proposal
Intercultural Design / Bachelor of Design (Hons) Creative Media
Project 1: Proposal
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. LECTURES
Culture & Design
What are visuals?
- Powerful persuasive medium to provide most of our information about the world.
- Everything that can be seen — wide and all-inclusive, including nature ; nature ≠ culture, unless there is meaning and representation attached to it.
- Everything produced or created by humans for the purpose of visual representation, typically has functions, content, and communicative purposes.
Design Significance
Figure 1.1 Design Significance Example, Week 1 (3/2/2026)
- Design significance is being able to identify the social, cultural and political sphere where the design elements reside.
- Has 2 methods: breakdown and expansion.
Design System
Figure 1.2 Design System, Week 1 (3/2/2026)
Figure 1.3 Design System Example, Week 1 (3/2/2026)
Design Sensitivity
Cultural Sensitivity Awareness
1. Symbolism & Imagery
- Certain symbols and images may carry different meanings in different cultures.
2. Colour Considerations
- Colours can have cultural significance, meanings may vary across different societies.
3. Typography & Language
- Choosing fonts and text styles that are culturally appropriate is important.
- Consider language varitations and ensure accurate translations to reach diverse audiences.
Addressing Cultural Sensitivity
1. Inclusive Design
- Create products and experiences that are accessible and inclusive for people from various cultural backgrounds, including those with different abilities and needs.
2. User Research
- Conducting thorough research (ethnographic studies + user testing) across diverse groups help to gain insights into cultural preferences and behaviours.
3. Localisation
- Adapting designs to specific cultural contexts can enhance the relevance and acceptance of a product or service.
4. Cultural Awareness Training
- Helps to develop deeper understanding of diverse perspectives and sensitivities.
2. INSTRUCTIONS
Figure 2.1 Module Information
Project 1: Proposal
- Develop human-centered design interventions that solve real urban challenges in the city through research, observation, and design experimentation.
- Produce a minimum of 3 preliminary ideas with detailed sketches.
- Present the completed slides (under 10 minutes).
3. PROJECT 1
3.1 Research
For this group project, we began by first forming a group of 6. Then, we held a meeting after class to discuss proposal ideas. We gathered a total of 5 problems and solutions, with another being added later on.
Figure 3.1.1 Initial Planning, Week 1 (4/2/2026)
The ideas highlighted in yellow are our personal selections for our 3 final proposals. We later continued by doing some research for all the ideas listed above in a slide format.
Figure 3.1.2 Proposals with Details, Week 2 (10/2/2026)
For each proposal, we included the problem, target audience, solutions, cons, and visual references. We showed this to Mr. Fitri in class, in which he selected Idea #2, Idea #3, and Idea #5.
Before proceeding with the research, we split ourselves into 3 groups of 2, with each group working on one proposal. Nicole and Xi Tien took on Idea #2, while Yee Leng and Jia Xuan took on Idea #5. I was paired with Xin Yean, and we worked on Idea #3, which is the Grab harassment prevention button.
Halfway through our research, we realised most e-hailing apps already have this feature, making our proposal redundant. We decided to switch to Idea #1 after consulting with our lecturer about our problem. With that, we created a Google Doc that includes a problem statement, a justification of the problem, a comparison, a solution, pros and cons, visual references, and our research sources.
Figure 3.1.3 Proposal Research, Week 2 (14/2/2026)
Our research was mostly comparative. We looked at how Kuala Lumpur's public transport payment system works and compared it with systems in other cities around the world, such as London, New York, and Tokyo. We wanted to see what other cities are doing differently in terms of digital payment for public transportation (trains) and how easy it is for tourists to use the system when travelling.
Figure 3.1.4 Introduction, Week 3 (16/2/2026)
I was also asked to help with the example portion of our introduction, which can be seen above.
After all was done, we added our research into our slides, made some slight adjustments, and proceeded with the presentation.
3.2 Final Outcome
Figure 3.2.1 Final Slides, Week 3 (20/2/2026)
Figure 3.2.2 Final presentation, Week 3 (18/2/2026)
4. FEEDBACK
Week 2
Mr. Fitri selected 3 of our ideas and told us to proceed.
Week 3
Mr. Fitri said our interpreting theme section should cover all of "Designing Urban Futures", not just "Urban Mobility". Besides that, there were no issues with our 3 proposals.
Mr. Fitri selected 3 of our ideas and told us to proceed.
Mr. Fitri said our interpreting theme section should cover all of "Designing Urban Futures", not just "Urban Mobility". Besides that, there were no issues with our 3 proposals.
5. REFLECTION
This first assignment was honestly quite stressful. With the project timeline clashing with the Chinese New Year holidays, most of our work had to be rushed out or done later in the night. I was a bit worried at times if we would be able to finish the research within the given timeframe. The instructions were also pretty unclear in the beginning, we had to keep pestering our lecturers for more information and referring to seniors' works just to get a clearer direction. However, throughout this project, I did manage to learn quite a bit about KL's public transport system. As an avid LRT user myself, I always just scanned my card to enter and exit the stations without a second thought, proving that our system is truly catered towards locals. I never stopped to think about how this could affect tourists, especially those who are unfamiliar with our payment methods and station systems. Overall, despite the frustrations, I believe our final slides and presentation turned out well.
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