In the beginning of the year I focused on design history to develop Social Cultural Awareness. This semester I develop another direction of this competency, by following the course Intercultural Awareness. I got a new perspective on how cultures differ and relate, using Geert Hofstede’s theory of cultural dimensions.
I also learned to use this theory rather as a tool than a truth. Like everything, even research is influenced by culture. In the way that Hofstede defines indulgence for example, you can notice his western perspective: a smile as a sign of happiness, while in some cultures people smile to hide their shame.
My First Rifle, photos by Ann Sophie Kesteleyn
To connect this knowledge to design, I collected examplesi of culturally influenced design for this course. The most striking example I found was a special line of 0.22 caliber rifles for kids in the US. The manufacturer sells their weapons in a wide range of colors including pink. The United States have a masculine culture. In these kinds of cultures values power and self defence is seen as a virtue amongst men and women. In combination with the right to ‘keep and bear arms’, this creates a society where a big subculture finds it relatively normal for 7-year old kids to have their own lethal gun.ii
In the future I can use the skills and knowledge developed for this competency to get a good view of the context for which I am designing my product. This will be of great use during the internship abroad I’d like to do in my B3.1.