300-level course, incorporating lecture/reading/writing/discussion

-Subject matter: Socio-cultural study of the function and

design of the near environment; cultural diversity; Impact of
cross-cultural contact
*Courses focused upon dress and textiles are challenging to teach
because culture can be a difficult concept to understand
*Students wanted to learn using a less traditional research project
Lin, 2007, p. 46
Students are asked to consider
the cross-cultural design process
presented by Lin (2007).

Lin assert that products with
cultural features enhance
product value and have more
global market and, thus, need to
achieve all three proposed
layers of design.
When developing a more visual and creative project direction, we
consulted design process models.

We wanted the project to be based upon concepts related to processes of
cultural change: acculturation and cultural authentication.
Group Project
Creative Element
(Visual Component)
ESSAY (Explanatory
Component)
Group Project
Creative Element
(Visual Component)
POSTER (Explanatory
Component)
--OR--
Step 1: Choose your group membersand choose them carefully

Step 2: Choose a culture of study

Step 3: Complete the group contract

Step 4: Choose two sociocultural influences to define your project

Step 5: Before beginning the research process, review the requirements for
research content and sources

Step 6: Begin conducting research
-Create a (preliminary) reference list in the APA citation format

Step 7: Create a compare/contrast table between your culture of research and
western culture

Step 8: Construct creative element

Step 9: Create poster and prepare oral presentation
Grading Criteria:

Part 1: Creative Element
Part 2: Poster
*Part A: Use and Presentation of Relevant
Images
*Part B: Relevance and Use of Text to
Justify Creative Element; Presentation of
Research, Integration of Research and
Design Process
*Part C: Neatness, Ease of Reading,
Organization
Part 3: Correct Use of APA Style/ References/
Grammar
Part 4: Previous Submissions
Part 5: Presentation
Part 6: Group Member Evaluation Individual
Score


*Addresses benefits of using hands-on research to further a library-
based project

*The incorporation of the creative element elevated the project
from a conceptual level of research to an applied level of research

*Focus upon the creative element allowed students to see the end
goal of the project and further develop their design/creative skills,
instead of viewing it as yet another researcher paper/project

*The students must research the culture of study prior to
developing their project and, in so doing, must think critically about
how to inform their design based upon the needs of a cultural
group or client
*Students filled out an end-of-term survey containing open-ended
questions

*Survey results:
-Project helped them to learn the more difficult course
concepts by applying them to real world scenarios

-Appreciation for having a design to place in portfolio

-Found it difficult to get started at first, especially because
they werent used to creative research projects

-The combination of visual learning and problem-solving in
the context of design enhanced their critical thinking skills

*Noticed that students became more engaged with the course
materials and excited about learning with this project
-Many students referred to the project as fun

*To address difficulty of students getting started
required mandatory meetings with each group
held more frequent office hours

*Project assigned to apparel design and merchandising students, as
well as interior design students
-Equally successful and applicable across disciplines

*Project involves critical thinking related to complex concepts
-As a result, it can require a more thorough amount of
feedback and attention to detail while grading
Intersections of cross-cultural style: The design and assessment
of the Infinity Hijab Headscarf for Saudi Arabian women

Thea Matos and Lauren Graebner
DeLong, M., Koh, A., Nelson, N., & Ingvoldstad, A. (1998). Jeans: A
comparison of perceptions of meaning in Korea and the United
States. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 1(16), 116-125.
Lamb. J.M., & Kallal, M.J. (1992). Conceptual framework for apparel
design. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 10(2), 42-47.
Lin, R. T. (2007). Transforming Taiwan aboriginal cultural features
into modern product design: A case study of a cross-cultural
product design model. International Journal of Design, 1(2), 45-
53.