Programme of study_draft (correcting)

MA CMMUNICATION DESIGN PROGRAMME OF STUDY -BEI OUYANG

Subject area

The initial title that describes my subject area is called “A Sense of Memory”. This project will focus on a specific group of international students by presenting their private memories of culture shock through multi-media narrative installation. It will also partly explore different media associated with aggregation of perceptions from. Various sensory organs are used to communicate with the audience.  

Project summary

The project investigates how we might best store our memories. It then explores the impact of mnemonics and examines how the concept can be extended. Low and high technology solutions are considered, as well as, traditional and future developments. Besides this, the project also considers how modern technologies and new developments might influence the way designers deal with memory retention and how the audiences’ sensory perceptions might be improved.

My current plans are heading in the direction of creating universal empathy through sensory organs, such as the senses of sight, touch, hearing, smell and taste. I started to think of the visual and haptic qualities of tangible texture that can enable people to invoke and enmesh the images within their mind.

Communication design questions

Does memory have a tangible feeling?

What is the tangible feeling of memory?

How best can we represent memory?

How can we achieve universal empathy with a specific group of international students by presenting their private memories of culture shock through multi-media narrative installation?

How can you identity the stage you are in?

Personal relevance-previous background and future plans

As overseas students and being an overseas student my self, we move from a familiar culture to one which is unfamiliar. This creates the experience of culture shock. Our experience of culture shock can be illustrated by a model known as the ‘W’ curve. This model is not designed to be precise. An individual may experience one or another phase disproportionately or move backwards and forwards before, one and return until real progress is made. The journey through the ‘W’ curve can be faster or slower. Many international students have reported that this model describes something of their experience. It is therefore a good reference point. Students find it a useful way to share experiences, to empathise with others who are experiencing the same feelings and who might have such feeling in the future. For ease of analysis, the process can be broken down into 5 stages: the ‘honeymoon’ stage, the ‘disintegration’ stage, ‘re-integration’ stage, ‘autonomy’ stage and ‘independence’ stage.

So far, I have been working mainly on this ‘W’ curve. I am interested in physical and tangible experiences. In my work, I look for multi-media narrative installation I associate them with aggregation of perceptions from various sensory organs. Presenting the overseas students’ private memories of culture shock plays an important role, both in the creation process, as well as in the final outcome. I have done two practice experiments using haptics during the journey. Many people go through different phases of the process of adjustment going backwards and forwards several times. I have focused on my emotional changes during ‘the disintegration stage’ of the culture shock to explore this feature as a main theme of my work.

What I envisioned for this project was a multi sensory image built of unforgettable elements: a medium to explain memory at ‘the disintegration stage’ of culture shock positioned at the bottom of the ‘W’ curve. It should be a universally understood emotion known to international students who experience ‘the disintegration stage’ of culture shock. I wanted to design something tangible that would function as a repository in which to store experiences. This idea is consolidated in the material. I have used pottery as an analogy to draw the metaphor of using clay in its manufacture. The process of making pottery is similar as that the integration phase of culture shock and the process of breaking the pottery into pieces would evoke the images of disintegration, which is a tough time during the early stage of foreign academic life. Then, I recombined and rearranged these fragments of pottery into regular form. Likewise, you can put fragments back together, if you have overcome setbacks and strife and moved on to the next stage. Every fragment stands for painful private memories arising from culture shock. These fragments and the image they represent enmeshed with a person’s mind will be a reminder to culture shock.

Moving on another sub-project called ‘A Calendar of Memory’. This attempts to use the haptic method to explore the nostalgic memory of culture shock. On the calendar, Chinese traditional festivals and the special anniversaries to a Chinese family all connected by black lines. This uncontrollable shape of the lines highlights the peace between the pains. However, its abstract form did not arouse universal sympathy. I think it is the task of me, to both in a critical method; moreover, this brings a question: ‘how can I communicate effectively with western people who come from different culture, and achieve their empathy?’ According to that I am going to continue to constantly analyse and discuss it and develop my idea in my future work.

Project rationale

I would like to incorporate knowledge from the area of communication, design psychology and biotechnology to expand my initial notion of materiality. In the same time, I used to characterize original materials, such as clay, pottery or lines get a completely new meaning to describe memory.

In addition, due to advances in technology and communications, such as the invention of the internet, a growing number of people have begun to use blogs and time capsules to record their memories and emotions. This direction appears to be leading people back to the times when detailed written accounts were documents to preserve the accounts of the day. Nevertheless, high-tech should be considered in my project.

Audience

As memories of overseas students of culture shock are the main theme of my design work. I’m considering that my audience will include a specific group of international students by presenting their private memories of culture shock. In my view, use visual language to display certain abstract concepts like memory and emotional changes, which might be a good reference point and a useful way to share experiences and realise others are experiencing the same feelings. Meanwhile, it is worth considering how to overcome them.

My work may also be used in the academic research field. Therefore, it may be interesting for the international student office. There are some sub-projects constituting my final project, and every practical experiment which is designed to support the sub-project is able to present the emotional changes of oversea students in culture shock. It seems that this way could be immediate to achieve information and archive international students’ situations.

Approach and methods

I am going to continue with research in the regarding fields. I am searching for visual works and installations relating to my chosen area. In parallel, I am planning to conduct some practical experiments to represent sub- projects which I am aiming to support the main project. My intention is to create an architecture of information within the mind through the sensory organs like the senses of sight, touch, hearing, smell and taste in the design process, and selecting handmade, analogue materials and techniques as methods to carry out the design outcome. Starting from the senses of touch, for anyone touching the object in the design process, this is the memory that is invoked and enmeshed within the images in their mind.

By practice-based experiments I am going to attempt different materials as the medium, which enable to mediate a sensory experience because media that has a real presence and is based on visual and haptic, even audiovisual characteristics can offer its readers various ways of approaches and access. I can communicate, share and discuss them with others. This will help locate exactly my projects and develop my idea.

In the following I will involve interviewing international students, such as face to face interviews and questionnaires. They will be chosen from a variety of diverse countries, ages and experiences, and the research will track their emotional changes at each of the different stages during the culture shock event. Indeed, if it is possible, I will ask for help from the international student office.

Possible outcomes

So far I imagine my outcome could be a collection of practice-based experiments and multi-media narrative installation. I would like to make this research accessible in different ways, and seek to find out most suitable media.