GLOBAL DIFFUSION OF CULTURE AND LOCAL HERITAGE THROUGH DESIGN

OR
LOCAL CULTURE AND HERITAGE THROUGH UNIVERSAL DESIGN
INTRODUCTION:
UNESCO convection aims to raise awareness at the local, national and international levels, of the
importance of intangible cultural heritage [1] and its mutual recognition - being the main creator of
cultural diversity - as well as international cooperation and assistance in the context of an increasingly
globalized world that threatens to standardize cultures of the world, while increasing social inequalities
(UNESCO, 2003).
The Convention recognizes that the processes of globalization and social change (along with the
conditions that contribute to renewed dialogue among communities), pose a serious threat of
degradation, disappearance and destruction of intangible cultural heritage.
Currently, cities are constantly changing and cultural references have been lost, yielding a loss of
identity and relationship to places. It is our duty, as citizens, to know and preserve our cultural heritage
as portraying our history and tradition, which at the same time increases our feeling of belonging.
Maybe this is why we are currently seeing a series of initiatives aimed at the preservation of
heritage, as a response to the phenomenon of cultural globalization. (Silva, 2000).
When to remodel? When requalifying heritage we are strengthening the significance of cultural
manifestations while reinforcing our cultural identity, since as individuals we play an important role in
the production, safeguarding, maintenance and recreation of the intangible cultural heritage, thereby
contributing to the enrichment of cultural diversity and human creativity (UNESCO, 2013).
The designer has a role in this enrichment of cultural diversity, as an active agent in the same
creation; the choices it makes and the messages it conveys are components of a public cultural reality.
Design is therefore more than the creation of visual artefacts to be used or read, is essentially about
structuring systems that allow the meeting between the visual and material world. This happens
because the code that uses the visual and the verbal along with the messages it conveys should conduct
itself intentionally to a target with critical rigor (Margolin, 2002).
THE DESIGNER AS CULTURAL AGENT
" My question is, do you just reflect your own culture in your work or do you also help shape the
culture? If it only reflects in the design you make, you are free from responsibility for what might
happen to the culture, as well as to the society around you. If however, the design influences culture,
providing changes, and changes the behaviour of society, then you have a serious responsibility in this
age of information and consumption, in the era of increasing use of design, and even greater power of
the media to promote your design."
(Cited in Childers Ferreira, 2002, p. 24).
Increasingly the word design is used in our daily lives, often being perceived and used as a
synonym for visual representation.
In a broad sense design is understood as a methodology which is used to achieve a certain goal and
/or outcome. Julier Guy said that visual culture plays a key role in the formation of cultural
representation. According to the author, visual culture is an expression of great intrinsic cultural and
social significance. Culture is more than a pure representation or narrative, where the culture transmits
visual messages, and instead culture formulates, formats, circulates, and retrieves information (GUY,
2008, p.13)
As previously mentioned, the designer is an active agent in cultural construction as well as
providing the "cultures" shape whilst also creating culture, created by the work itself. The way that the
receptors react and interpret themselves creates another culture: a culture of consumption, which is
based on the culture of image and value of object. So the designer's mission is to assign value to our
cultural heritage - tangible or intangible and guarantee that the cultural heritage is not overwhelmed
by global elements.
The designer's role is in the creation of value. This is most obviously commercial value, but may also
include social, cultural, environmental, political and symbolic values .

(Margolin, 2008:14)

About the problem of the designer as cultural agent, Norberto Chaves says:
The graphic designer is precisely the key element, one whose responsibility is
not to set the message your way but rather to interpret the specific intersection of the
codes and give a balanced solution that will satisfy the expectations and possibilities
of all the other actors, so the communication reaches its highest level of efficiency.
(KEYS 2001, P3)
The designer plays a decisive role in communication, symbolic relationships, as well as the
relationship of the individual with the society in which they operate. Above all, the designer should try
to assess the differentiating features of the object thats being communicated to ensure that the product
itself has an emotional relationship with the receiver.
In this sense, the designer should not forget its main function: to create visual information that
relates to the object to communicate.
For Bruno Munari, a designer is:
A designer endowed with aesthetic sense, (...) deals with the images, whose function is to transmit a
communication and visual information: Signs, signs, symbols, meanings of shapes and colours, relations
between them. (MUNARI 1998: 18).

According to Daniel Raposo although the designer is influenced by the society in which it
operates, it also influences the proper context when it acts as a proactive element to the cultural, social
and economic, returning representations adulterated itself to society [9]. The simple choice of certain
elements for the sake of others as a form of representation dictates the effectiveness of message
transmission. In this way the designer can create new meanings, influence meanings assigned to
existing representations and change the behaviour of society.
Therefore, the designer fulfils its function, as Victor Margolin wrote:
The designer should seek to investigate new ideas and try to understand how
design affects human action. (...) Design culture relates to the subjects that study
human behaviour (such as sociology and anthropology) and at the same time is
linked with subjects that study objects (such as art history and material culture. (

Margolin, 2002, p.28)

In the end, the designer has responsibility in their work, trying to translate and transmit culture and
our cultural diversity to be perceived and understood by the society in which it operates.
CULTURE, HERITAGE AND IDENTITY: FROM LOCAL TO GLOBAL
Culture is not a given or a biological heredity, it is a social construction in a located history,
consequently it is a concrete historic product inserted in a history, more specifically in the history of the
interactions that diverse social groups establish with each other (ARIAS, 2002:9).

The designer, in order to properly construct visual symbols that represent the tangible and
intangible culture of the society in which it operates and communicate them globally, must identify that
identity, culture, heritage or traditions (among others) that define the community. For this it is essential
to understand what these concepts cover.
Culture is the human construction and interpretation of symbols and meanings that are shared,
which identifies a particular community, differentiating itself from others through their cultural
identity.
In the anthropological sense, Culture is defined as "a set of material and immaterial culture that
identifies a particular community" [2] and can be interpreted through different aspects: through
behavioural characteristics that are unique to humans, by analysing that human beings have to generate
behaviours, and through the ability of the human mind to create endless flexible reactions, through its
symbolic and linguistic potential (Santos, 2005).
According to this anthropological definition, we can distinguish two forms of culture: material and
immaterial.
A significant amount of the movable and immovable cultural capital of any country is held in public
or quasi-public institutions such as museums, galleries, archives, monasteries, shrines, historic buildings,
heritage sites, etc.. In addition, these Institutions are often repositories of intangible cultural capital, in the
case of heritage locations, for example, which are inextricably bound up with their history and with the
rituals and customs associated with what they are. These institutions contribute to cultural output primarily
in the form of services, consumed by local people and visitors. (UNCTAD, 2010: 116)

Material culture is any product that results from human production, it is the set of artefacts that
combine raw materials and technology, distinguishing itself from fixed structures by its mobility.
Already immaterial culture means the knowledge that was not transmitted through books or any other
records or forms, but the one that is passed down through the generations in practice. For these reasons,
tradition and knowledge are therefore essential factors for the continuity of intangible culture and the
construction of the identity of a community or people.
According to Stuart Hall, currently national cultures are a union of the main sources of cultural
identity:
National The national culture is constituted not only of cultural institutions, but also by symbols and
representations that produce the feeling of belonging to the local feelings with which we identify, thereby
constructing identities. (Hall, 1996:51).

The national culture is constituted not only of cultural institutions, but also by symbols and
representations that produce the feeling of belonging to the local feelings with which we identify,
thereby constructing identities.
These feelings contain stories that are told about the place, memories that relate the present
with the past from which images are constructed (Hall, 1996). In addressing this issue the author
argues that one of the consequences of globalization is the strengthening or creation of new
national and local identities, in other words, globalization produces a new interaction between
the global and the local. (Hall, 1998:77).
Local diversity plays an important role in this process of globalization because it discloses
the local culture on a global level, communicating to and distinguishing for others its unique
characteristics, leading to a collective recognition of the same. So, it could be said, that society is
an identity isolated from other existing ones.
When we talk about culture, inevitably we confront the term identity because there are many
questions about contemporary culture relate to issues of identity. National culture produces
feelings about the nation, sentiments with which we can identify, thereby constructing identity.
(Hall,1996:51)
Therefor to understand these concepts better, it is essential to understand the term identity.
In a broad sense, identity is the "set of characteristics (physical and psychological), essential
and distinctive to someone, a social group or something else." [3]
Castells explains:
The construction of identity draws on the raw material provided by history, geography, biology,
instructions, productive and representative, collective memory and personal fantasies, the power
apparatus and revelations of a religious nature. But all these materials are processed by individuals,
social groups and societies, which organize their meaning in terms of social trends. (Castells,

2006:23)
In this context the identity of a person is the set of attributes that makes it special and unique.
Different people may have some characteristics in common, but what differentiates them is precisely
how these features are linked in their individual training.
(...) Specifically, human construction is expressed through all those universal symbols and
meanings shared socially, allowing society to start to "being" everything that was built as a people
and on which a discourse of reference is built of belonging and difference: Identity. (ARIAS,

2002:103)
Both culture and cultural identity of a society is the result of crossing heritage with history and
evolution over time, where belongs to a particular local identity means knowing ourselves as different
to others.
Currently we are rediscovering this place as opposed to global, cultural events, traditions which
interprets equity as an asset that represents identity and sets the value of a culture.
According to Peralta, heritage is closely linked to identity:
(...) All construction is a symbolic representation of a given version of identity, an identity
manufactured "by this that idealizes. (...) The cultural heritage is the result of those elements that
inspire the identity of a group at the same time that differentiate it from the others. (PERALTA,

2000:219).
Heritage can be defined as cultural, tangible and intangible, which awakens a sense of worth and
identity while culture expresses itself. Cultural heritage is the link between the past and present that at
the same time informs us of the tradition and culture.
According to UNESCO:

Cultural Heritage designates a monument, group of buildings or site of historical, aesthetic,

archaeological, scientific, ethnological and anthropological value. (UNESCO, 2003).

It is an architectural representation that awakens the sense of identity and belonging. At a time that
we are rediscovering the value of heritage, as an element of cultural identity, it becomes crucial to its
dissemination and projection. In that way, the preservation of material culture leads to a global
identification while contributing to the formation of the sense of belonging to the community.
The designer should have the ability to convey the feeling of belonging and highlight this asset,
communicating it to outside.
LOCAL OR GLOBAL: HO WE HARE?
"Globalization is the processes of acting globally, crossing national borders, of delivering and
connecting communities and organizations in new space-time unions, changing the world in reality
and experience, but interconnected ". (Hall, 2001, p.67).

At a time when society is characterized by this inter-connection to all points of the world (through
communication, transport our others), it makes more sense than ever, to raise the issue of place and
globalization.
Globalization implies an understanding of the distance between the classic sociological
concept of "society" as delimited by a perspective that focuses on how social life is ordered
across time and space. (Giddens, 1990, p. 64).
Often this globalized system evokes in citizens the sensation of not belonging to any specific place
and belonging to all. However, there are differences that distinguish the different existing communities
in the world, often the communication between the local and global does not always work as desired.
"... It is fair to say that local culture and the local " place" is more important than the global for
most people. (...) But it is important to remember that globalization and localization are linked, and
sometimes when speaking of globalization, there remains much uncertainty and discussion around
the question of how these two concepts are linked ". (SERVAES, 2001, PCLA 2)

The truth is, that it is in a geographically well-defined place that individuals develop their life and
develop their habits, these are places where people cultivate their customs and create social
relationships., However this behaviour does not mean that they are immune to the many external
influences that are consistently targeting them:
"National identities remain strong, especially with regard to things like legal rights and
citizenship, but the local, regional and community are becoming more important. Placed above the
level of the national culture, the 'global' IDs start to move and sometimes erase, national identities ".

(Hall, 2001, p.73).

Stuart Hall states that the consequence of globalization on local / national identities can cause three
different consequences:
1st- National identities disintegrate as a result of the growth of cultural homogenization and
the "global postmodern."
2nd- National identities and other local identities or individuals strengthen their resistance
to globalization.
3nd - The national identities begin to decline, but new identities - hybrid - will replace the
previous.
In a certain way, we are discussing the tension between "global" and "local" in the transformation
of identities. Local identities as referred to above present links to places, symbols, and stories; it means
identifying the material and immaterial culture of a community, creating an emotional relationship with
the subject.
Both culture and cultural identity of a community resulting from the crossing of its heritage with
history and evolution over time, which belongs to a particular local identity, means knowing ourselves
and being different from the global.
Aug discusses the problem of the question of how we interpret place and how we create
emotional relationships with spaces.
The author defines place - while anthropological space as a space of identity, relative and
historical, that creates and fosters interpersonal relationships, moving in a very well defined time
and space. The space is two things at the same time: principally the sensation for those who live
there and principally of the intelligibility for the beholder. (AUG, 1994:51).

For that reason, anthropological spaces are spaces where there is the materialization of social
identity and have three characteristics in common: identity, relativity and history. Identity because
distinct elements can coexist in the same place; relativity because place shares common means where
single elements are connected so as to construct a shared identity, and finally history because these
places have stability in a determined time.
The exposure of places is the symbolization of space originating through living and human
relationships. It is called the anthropological place because the space develops a community identity
relationship, as well as its common history, thereby developing certain codes, signs and symbols
themselves. (AUG, 2005).
The author goes further and makes the distinction between objective place and symbolic
place: the first is characterized by the application of objective marks of identity and history in the
space (for example: churches, public places, schools etc.), the second is characterized by the way
the spaces are defined and the relationship that others create with the space itself (for example:
residence and language). (AUG, 2005)
According to Aug, diversity in principle is a good thing, but not systematically. You need to
think of culture, diversity and identity always in motion, never tight (AUG, 2007). Local identity
is therefore a representation constructed from the attempt to unify numerous identities present
in it. (Hall, 1999).
Kevin Lynch defines place or neighbourhood as regions of a city where the observer mentally
enters and recognizes that which represent common features. These characteristics are identified
internally (to the community) and the designer should use these elements in the visual representation of
the site, because they are the references that allow external recognition.
Identify and build an identity based on cultural resources and distinctive place so the image is
recognized and that matches with expectations (HORNSKOV, 2007:317)

Cities provoke behaviours in its inhabitants as they stimulate, encourage and inspire us.
Whenever we move through the city we find ourselves with an unknown number of stimuli
that arouse in us emotions, thoughts, sensations that reflect the character's emotional and
intellectual space. (RIBEIRO, 2004).
You can say that the association of its various characteristics defines the character of the city: their
heritage, culture and religion, urban planning and history added to the individuality of its inhabitants.
The designer should use these features in symbolic representation of local identity, because they
are the reference that allows external recognition as well as internally identifying the community.
"The human symbolization (...) allows it to become readable to all those who attend the same
space, a number of organised schemes, ideological and intellectual brands, ordering the social. These
three main themes are identity, relationship, and precisely history. " (AUG, 1994: 51)

In the end you could say that we all are local at the same time we are global, and it is up to the
designer be able to download this multiplicity of identity in visual and symbolic representations that
make the space.

CONCLUSION:
According to the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity (2002): cultural diversity
contributes to the existence of intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual satisfaction and constitutes
one of the essential elements for the transformation of urban and social reality. Culture takes diverse
forms across time and space, constituting the common heritage of humanity and should be recognized
and affirmed for the benefit of present and future generations.
Architecture, art, history, landscape, climate, local culture is what defines your story. Each city or
place must communicate and project its characteristics using a strong identity, which is easy to
understand in order to create an emotional relationship with the community. Its identity must relate to
the most representative features of the site.
Through images and symbols the designer should try to portray the differentiating features of the
site while at the same time referring to cultural heritage that represents the contemporary existing
therein. This representation should be made without loss of local identity while it is associated with
globalization.
To achieve this goal the designer must assess the differentiating features in order to achieve a
representation of a places identity and also develop an emotional relationship with the receiver. In

other words, the designer should create a visual image based on distinguishing attributes of the place in
order to strengthen its identity.
The designer is a project professional contributing to this diversity to be perceived and understood
by a lot of people, in order to preserve it at an intangible level with the receiver, ie the designer should
create a visual image based on the differentiating attributes of the site so as to enhance identity.

[1] For the purposes of this Convention, is considered intangible cultural heritage the practices,
representations, expressions, knowledge and skills - as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and
cultural spaces associated therewith - that communities, groups and, where applicable, individuals
recognize as part of their cultural heritage .
[2] The term culture emerged in 1871 as a summary of the terms and Kultur Civilization, the
French term referring to the material achievements of a people, the German term that symbolized the
spiritual aspects of a comunidad and. That year, Edward Tylor synthesized in the English word Culture.
Thus, in one word Tylor covers all human and increasingly at the idea of culture as an innate
disposition, perpetuated biologically (The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2008).
[3] Identity In Infopdia [Online]. Port: Porto Editora, 2003-2013. [Consult. 2013-10-01].
Http://www.infopedia.pt/lingua-portuguesa-aao/identidade.