Cultural Concept in Furniture Design: Perceptions, Issues and Challenges

Sarawak Borneo has long been known for its diverse culture and multi-ethnicity, which is reflected in its arts and crafts. Pua Kumbu and Orang Ulu are famous visual motifs that can be seen on many products from Sarawak, including textiles and paintings, which could potentially be integrated into furniture design as cultural elements. The purpose of this study was to identify the perception, issues and challenges of cultural concepts embedded in furniture design from the perspective of manufacturers, designers and the public. In-depth interviews, surveys and observation were the three qualitative research methods applied in this study at MIFF 2018 and MIFF 2019. In general, the findings from the surveys done in 2018 and 2019 show that manufacturers, designers and consumers agree that cultural elements can be a unique feature and a competitive advantage for furniture design. A range of furniture designs that feature different cultural elements, such as local materials, colors, stories and history, are discussed in this article, which is expected to inspire designers and manufacturers to experiment and explore this approach in furniture. However, to achieve this, manufacturers and designers have to have their own views and strategies on how they interpret cultural-related elements in furniture, based on their consumers’ interests and global market needs.

User Expectation of Public Transport Design Experience for Electric Bike Sharing in Indonesia

Recently, Indonesia has been rapidly developing public transport infrastructure. However, many people still prefer using a private vehicle for their daily mobility. This study explored the design direction of an electric bike sharing system (EBS) for the first mile/last mile (FMLM) as part of an integrated public transport system to attract more people to public transportation. A focus group interview (FGI) was performed with ten Indonesian students currently studying at Daegu City, South Korea. All of them had experience using public transportation in both Indonesia and South Korea. From the FGI, the data on user needs related to FMLM was analyzed to understand the gap between expectations and reality as well as to enhance the feasibility of the design and development of EBS. In the next stage, based on the various needs and expectations of the participants about ideal public transportation in Indonesia, design strategies and elements were achieved and optimized specifically for EBS. Furthermore, we propose two usability scenarios in order to meet the user requirements. This study will be proposed to traffic policymakers for use in developing a design strategy and direction for an eco-friendly EBS formulation.

Parallels in Development of Modern Painting and Enameling in China

This paper highlights trends in the development of contemporary visual art in China through a parallel analysis of two of its components: painting and enamel art. The focus of the research is on the work of artists whose works combine a ‘western’ style with ‘eastern’ tradition. It was found that in the 21st century, the layer of Chinese cultural heritage was successfully transformed into new forms of expression, such as art objects, enamel sculptures, brightly colored paintings and more. At the same time, it has preserved the symbolism of color, plasticity of lines, narrative and figurative components, which is typical of the centuries-old traditions of the Celestial Empire. Artistic analysis was carried out on specific pictorial and enamel examples, distinguishing common and distinctive features in the concepts of the artists and their embodiment in the material. The way in which contemporary art enters the urban space of megacities and the interior of public institutions was analyzed. In conclusion, it is emphasized that the combination of ‘traditional’ and ‘recent’ trends in one work help to rethink the role of classical images in today’s art, as well as to identify Chinese artists in the globalized intercultural space.

Multifunctional Children Clothing Design Process Based on the Eco-Fashion Design Model

The purpose of this study was to develop the design of multifunctional children’s clothing that supports sustainability goals. This paper proposes multifunctional clothing that can be recycled and decomposed at the end of the clothing’s lifespan. In particular, the Eco-fashion design model was adopted in this project. After analyzing fashion consumption and problems in children’s product design, four items of multifunctional children’s clothing were developed. Multifunctional children’s clothing design focuses on material selection, zero-waste techniques, design for disassembly and children’s health. Thus, the minimization of material diversity as well as the application of zero-waste design techniques and multifunctional design guidelines for children’s clothing design can be implemented towards sustainability in order to preserve the environment by selecting recyclable materials, promoting profit and human health concerning multifunctional purposes and international standards for children’s clothing design. The findings can be used in various apparel products to help mitigate problems related to environmental pollution and resource depletion in the apparel industry.

Design Education in European Countries: Great Britain and Ukraine

In this study, consideration was given to the evolution of design education in the UK and Ukraine. A review was conducted by comparing the following main parameters of the design education sphere in both countries: the historical background of its emergence in the 19th century, the dynamics of the development of higher institutions of design education during the 20th century, as well as quantitative and qualitative indicators of design education at the beginning of the 21st century. In the conclusion two main polar properties of contemporary design education are defined, namely: the ability to prepare for gradual entry into modern practical work/business on the one hand and thorough classical artistic preparation on the other. It has been suggested that with humanity approaching the super-hi-tech era, the tendency of design education in Ukraine, unlike in Britain, towards the second of these properties has a positive potential in preserving human-centric values in contemporary design.

Effect of Work Environment Factors on Willingness to Stay Level

The quality of a workspace is influenced by the surrounding environment, called the work environment. A good work environment has a positive influence on comfort and willingness to stay. A comfortable workspace can improve performance and productivity. This study looked at the effect of work environment factors, both physical and non-physical, on someone’s willingness to stay while working in a workspace. This research used qualitative-quantitative methods. Explorative-qualitative methods were used to collect data about the work environment factors. Explanatory quantitative methods were used to see how these work environment factors influence the respondent’s willingness to stay level. Data collection in both stages of the study used an online questionnaire that was distributed freely (non-random sampling). From this study, 11 work environment factors that affect someone’s willingness to stay and intention to move were identified: social interaction, quality of visual interior, natural environment, spaciousness, artificial ventilation, glare, crowd, natural air, facility, air temperature, and humidity. The result of the analysis revealed that there were factors that strongly affect someone’s willingness to stay, factors that weakly affect someone’s willingness to stay, and factors that strongly affect someone’s intention to move.

Incorporating Heuristic Evaluation (HE) in the Evaluation of Visual Design of the Eco-Tourism Smartphone App

Heuristic Evaluation (HE) has proven to be important in the development of different computer systems but has not been incorporated in the development of eco-tourism smartphone applications. This results inusability issues that significantly affect user experience (UX) as discussed in literature. This study reports the HE in the design and development of Niranur Agro Farm (NAF) eco-tourism smartphone applications, which could improve UX. Eight experts participated in this study, utilizing the SMART mobile usability heuristic developed for mobile application and the severity rating scale to determine usability issues. The HE findings indicated that 22 usability issues were identified. One issue was rated 4 (catastrophe), four issues were rated 3 (major problem), twelve issues were rated 2 (minor problem) and five issues were rated 1 (cosmetics). Although there are issues rated as 4 and 3, the majority of the issues were considered to be minor (1 and 2 on the scale). Results indicated that it is crucial to incorporate HE into the design and development of the eco-tourism smartphone app to minimize the usability issues faced by users. It further validated that utilizing a specific heuristic for smartphone applications would ensure that all usability issues are correctly categorized and remedied.

Indonesian Consumer Preference on Electric Motorcycle Design with Kansei Engineering Approach

The Indonesian government is putting an effort into reducing the number of gasoline-fueled vehicles and replacing them with electric energy-based vehicles. This is stated in the General Draft of the National Energy Plan (RUEN), which is aimed at increasing the resilience of the national energy sector. Motorcycles are the largest contributor to the vehicle population in Indonesia at 82%. As the Indonesian government intends to stimulate the replacement of gasoline-fueled motorcycles by electric motorcycles, it is useful to conduct a study on the preferences related to motorcycle product designs among two-wheeled vehicle users in Indonesia. This study used the Kansei Engineering method to get a design direction as well as a factorial analysis for data result processing in order to obtain a unique design factor. The number of respondents in this study was 104 people from Jakarta and Bandung. The results of this study show that the respondents wanted an overall design that looks playful and masculine yet compact and active. In addition, the design has to have elements of a big scooter. This study was designed as an initial stage within the R & D process of electric motorcycle products and will be further developed in a follow-up study.

Research on the Development and Visual Image of Opera Culture Creative Products

Huangmeixi opera is an integral part of Chinese opera culture and its visual elements are a fountainhead for designers. This study focused on the development of Huangmeixi opera cultural creative products through refining the elements of Huangmeixi opera in points, lines, and colors, redesigning them from the aspects of element extraction, form abstraction, cultural implication abstraction, and exploring the cultural elements of Huangmeixi opera and product development strategy. The goal is to develop cultural creative products based on Huangmeixi opera.

Study of Female Rider Visual Perception Toward Scooter Designs in Indonesia

This study consisted of a perception evaluation and identification of scooter shapes that are attractive to female riders. A survey using a Likert scale was conducted on 150 female scooter riders, providing an evaluation of six different scooter shapes representing scooter designs in Indonesia. The result of the descriptive analysis showed that scooter designs in Indonesia are perceived as high-quality, comfortable to ride, able to be used by family members, fun to ride, relaxing, and giving self-confidence when they are ridden, all of which are physio-, socio- and psycho-pleasure factors, thus only achieving the visceral and behavioral phases. These perceptions are in accordance with the female gender (communal, high emotion and empathy). The scooter models considered to be attractive to female riders had perceptions related to the ideo-pleasure factor determined by shape details in the scooter design. The results of factor analysis showed a different composition of perception factors among scooter models. The conclusion of this study is that in addition to size, type and shape characteristics, designs, both the overall design and design details as well as gender characteristics influence the difference in visual perception by female riders toward scooter designs. Â