Intercultural Design
Intercultural Design Blog Content
Week 1 - Week 3 (Project 1), Week 4 - Week 5 (Project 2), Week 5 - Week 7 (Final Project & Portfolio)
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Group 42
Lectures
Lecture 1: Culture & Design
Visuals are powerful persuasive mediums 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, visuals are 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.
Awareness of cultural nuances, symbolisms and context are needed to create designs that can speak and resonate to audiences from different interests 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.
Fig. 1.3, Design System
Project 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 calendars with the theme of Malaysian culture and new symbols that can be used to make text signs in Indonesia more recognizable. Our team decided to 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 link of our final proposal:
Project 2: 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 have been.
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 is it 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.
Traffic signs are designed for instant recognition. Instead of relying on text, they use color, shape, and symbols to convey information efficiently.
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 towards drivers, such as:
Arrows replace text for immediate understanding.
Color coding removes ambiguity.
Minimal text improves visibility and processing speed.
Semiotics in traffic design isn’t just about efficiency, it’s about road safety. By refining traffic signs, we create a safer, more accessible driving experience for everyone. Which is why a visualization of the “Belok kiri jalan terus” sign would be an improvement on our everyday life, as it is an everyday design.
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.'
Different shapes and colors have distinct meanings:
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 going through the background research of this project, we proceed on to the next step, which is data collection. For this step, we have decided to collect data from various sources, which includes interviews and surveys. For the interview, we decided to ask several questions to a set of students regarding the topic of traffic. Moreover, we also interviewed an expert to give insight on this as well. The expert we interviewed is a driving instructor that is extremely knowledgeable on traffic signs which would help greatly for us to proceed with the project.
DATA COLLECTION
Online Survey Questions:
Which country are you from?
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?
Interview Questions:
Who am I here with? and where do you come from?
Do you have road problems in your country?
Are you guys familiar with there signs?
Do you think these sign cause problems in the roads?
Would you prefer these signs better?
Interview Key Points:
We interview people with a drivers license, who understand the road situation
The major issues found on roads are traffic jams and bumpy concrete which causes a lot of accidents
All people that we interviewed view the traffic sign that we show as a problem
A person highlighted how language barrier becomes a problem with that sign, another highlights how unnoticeable it is.
All interviewee agrees that making that sign into a pictogram will be a better alternative
Final Project: Portfolio
MAIN OBJECTIVE
Analyze how the everyday driving culture can cause traffic, and what other aspects contributes towards it.
improve traffic and better driving culture by creating a more accessible traffic sign that s easier to follow.
In this project, we are going to finalize our idea, compiling it into a set of information and data.
For the final project, we are all tasked to create a Tiktok account that would hold all of the research and output of our task. The Tiktok account that we are posting 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. We created a total of 5 Tiktoks, with an introduction, interviews with different people, educational videos, and finally a conclusion. We then uploaded those Tiktoks with relevant hashtags and promoted them to our friends and family.
For the final presentation, we used Canva to create a presentation slide containing all of our information, from Task 1, Task 2, and our final output.
Weekly Timeline:
Reflection:
One of the biggest lessons I learned is how important and powerful design can be. Not just aesthetically, but functionally and culturally. The module helped me see that design is not just about visuals; it's about problem-solving, communication, and understanding the needs of diverse users.
Working with classmates from different backgrounds taught me to better collaborate and value perspectives different from my own. It made me think more creatively and critically, especially since I do not come from a design background. Despite that, I found myself growing more confident in contributing ideas and engaging with design thinking processes.
Our group project focused on redesigning the Indonesian road signs "Belok Kiri Jalan Terus" and "Belok Kiri Ikuti Lampu Lalu Lintas." These lengthy text signs are crucial for traffic flow but can be confusing or overlooked. Our goal was to transform them into clear, universally understood pictograms. This assignment deepened my understanding of how visual communication can bridge language barriers and improve public systems. It also made me realize how design can be used to enhance safety and efficiency in subtle but impactful ways.
Overall, this module helped me grow both personally and academically. I learnt a lot about the power of design, and it’s something I’ll take with me even outside the classroom with me no matter where my career leads.
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