In this binational design collaboration, we explored how we perceived ourselves and each other, learning about assumptions and demystifying culture and everyday life by learning about designers in context. We always seek to design with purpose and with people in context. The lens through which we do this is often unconscious, but it guides our choices and decisions. It is an amalgamation of our bodies, lived experiences, contexts, where we’ve been, what we observe and experience, the people and cultures surrounding us, and so much more. In this project — a virtual exchange — we set out as two groups of designers in different locations and from multiple national origins to explore and experience telling our stories to and with each other, to unpack who we are and inform how we know ourselves, each other, and how we proceed.
· Introduce participants to an international collaborative experience to build their intercultural capacities.
· Explore how sharing culture can richly inform one’s perspective of the world and, in turn, one’s design practice.
· Develop and/or strengthen communication skills, increasing sincerity, responsibility, and tolerance in the personal and work environment.
· It will increase students' sense of belonging and improve their self-esteem by encouraging collaboration and enhancing teamwork.
· Students can use skills necessary for collaboration, including communicating, responding, clarifying, asking questions, iterating, compromising, and negotiating.
· By the end of this project, students will be able to design compositions that communicate interactions and exchanges using language, typography, and other design elements.
Student-to-Student Project
Adobe Creative Cloud: Illustrator, InDesign, etc. (paid)
Google Docs/G Suite (free)
Teams (via UF)
Notion (free)
Google Translate (free)