DESIGNING SHIFTS: MAKING OF NARRATIVES
By
Eugenie Cheon
BA (Hons), University of Toronto, 2011
Supervisor: Keith Doyle
A CRITICAL AND PROCESS DOCUMENTATION PAPER SUBMITTED IN
PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF DESIGN
EMILY CARR UNIVERSITY OF ART + DESIGN
© Eugenie Cheon, 2018

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to first thank God for everything you have blessed me with; the life to
live, a dream to pursue, the amazing people to love.
Also, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to my family and friends for your
unconditional love and support;
to my supervisor, Keith Doyle for your immense knowledge, continuous guidance
and trust in me even when I was in doubt. Your support helped me see this research
through the end;
to my internal reviewer, Hélène Day Fraser for your timely advice that offered fresh
perspectives and insights;
to my external reviewer, Jamer Hunt for your insightful comments and motivating
discussion during the defence;
to faculty members, Louise St-Pierre, Deborah Shackleton, Katherine Gillieson,
Craig Badke, Gillian Russell, Christopher Hethrington for your teachings,
encouragement and kind feedback;
to my cohort, for all the countless conversations and cherishable moments we
shared in school and outside. I could not have pulled through without having all of
you on this journey;
to my participants who contributed to enriching this research by sharing your life
stories and insights with enthusiasm.
Also, to the Emily Carr Community for this amazing opportunity to pursue and
conduct this research.

5

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

5

TABLE OF CONTENTS

6

KEYWORDS

9

GLOSSARY

9

ABSTRACT

13

CONTEXT & FRAMING

15

SCOPE & LIMITATIONS

17

T
 HEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS

18

HEURISTIC INQUIRY

18

SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM

19

PRACTICE-LED RESEARCH

20

DESIGN RESEARCH & PROCESS

21

1
 . SELF AS TRANSCULTURAL

22

IN WHICH...

22

L OOKING FOR…

23

“
 TANGIBLE VISUALIZATION OF TRANSCULTURAL JOURNEY”

24

IN AND THROUGH...

24

LOOKING BACK...

29

2. SELF AS TRANSCULTURAL & RELATIONAL

32

L OOKING FOR...

32

“
 MAKING OF GONE OBJECTS”

32

IN AND THROUGH...

32

LOOKING BACK...

36

“
 VISUALIZING A SENSE OF BELONGING”

38

IN AND THROUGH...

38

LOOKING BACK...

41

3. SELF AS RELATIONAL & DESIGNER

42

IN WHICH...

42

L OOKING FOR…

42

“
 THINGS ON THE TABLE”

43

IN AND THROUGH...

43

LOOKING BACK...

45

“
 SPECTRUM SORTING”

46

IN AND THROUGH...

46

LOOKING BACK...

50

MAKING OF NARRATIVES

51

D
 ESIGN FRAMEWORK & APPROACH

52

C
 ONTEXT & CONDITIONS

53

P
 ROCESS & GUIDELINES

55

CONCLUSION

59

FUTURE DIRECTION

60

REFERENCES

62

LIST OF FIGURES

66

APPENDICES

69

A
 PPENDIX 1

70

REFLECTIVE SHADOW STORYTELLING

70

COFFEE MAKING MOCK UP HOUSE

73

FLUX MAPPINGS

76

FORM & MATERIAL STUDY

86

A
 PPENDIX 2

94

CULTURAL DESIGN PROBE

95

CO-CREATIVE WORKSHOP

104

A
 PPENDIX 3
ETHICS CLEARANCE

106
106

KEYWORDS

Generative Design, Practice-led Research, Material Practice, Self-Inquiry/Discovery,
Storytelling, Participatory Design, Meaning-making, Sense-making, Boundary
Objects, Tangible Visualization

GLOSSARY
Where a definition is a direct
quotation, quotation marks
are omitted but the source
is cited.

Adult third culture kid (ATCK):
An adult who has had cross-cultural experiences during their developmental years,
in other words, TCK in his/her adulthood (Pollock & Van Reken, 2010, p. 22).
Binding material:
Material or substance that holds other materials together to form a cohesive whole,
such as glue, tape, and clay.
Boundary Objects:
Objects that are plastic enough to adapt to local needs and the constraints of the
several parties employing them, yet robust enough to maintain a common identity
across sites. They are weakly structured in common use, and become strongly
structured in individual-site use. These objects may be abstract or concrete. They
have different meanings in different social worlds, but their structure is common
enough to more than one world to make them recognizable as a means of
translation (Star & Griesemer, 1989, pg. 393).
Material culture:
The interaction between persons and things (Malafouris, 2013, p. 2).
Material Engagement Theory:
An interdisciplinary framework that incorporates materiality into cognitive sciences
of the mind. This framework includes the world of things, artifacts, objects,
materials and material signs into the cognitive fold. By recasting boundaries of the
mind, it maps a cognitive landscape in which brains, bodies, and things play equal
roles in the drama of human cognitive becoming (Malafouris, 2013, p. 2). Material
engagement approach thus proposes a new way of thinking about the mind and
things that can bring new understanding on how things shape the mind.

9

Otherness:
The result of a discursive process by which a dominant group (“us,” the self)
constructs one or many out-groups (“them,” the others), by stigmatizing a real or
imagined difference, presented as a motive of discrimination (Staszak, 2008, p. 2).
A sense of belonging:
Feeling connected or feeling that one belongs in a social milieu (Vallerand, 1997, p.
300); Feeling personally accepted, respected, included, and supported by others in
a social environment. Failure to have a sense of belonging may lead to feelings of
social isolation, alienation, and loneliness.
Simple making:
The kind of making that is considered rudimentary and basic, such as ordering,
sorting, assemblage, stacking, binding, and so forth. Simple making within this
research allows for easy approachability for any person whether experienced or
inexperienced in the creative practice of making.
Social sustainability:
The ability for all to live a safe, healthy and productive life in harmony with nature
and local cultural and spiritual values (Plessis, 2002, p. 6).
Technology:
Broader meaning:
•

The branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical
means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment, drawing
upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, applied science, and pure
science (Dictionary.com, n.d.).

Specific meaning:
•

The use of science in industry, engineering, etc., to invent useful things or
to solve problems and a machine, piece of equipment, method, etc., that is
created by technology (Merriam-Webster Learner’s Dictionary, n.d.).

•

The application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in
industry (Oxford Dictionary, n.d.).

10

Thingness:
A way of understanding things and objects less in terms of their primary and
secondary material or phenomenal qualities but through perceiving their
ontological power (Malafouris & Danae, 2017, p. 291). For example, Heidegger
(1975) describes the thingness of a vessel as its power to gather space and time
which lies in the void that it holds rather than of its material (p. 169).
Third culture kid (TCK):
An individual who, having spent a significant part of the developmental years in a
culture other than the parents’ culture, develops a sense of relationship to all of the
cultures while not having full ownership in any (Pollock & Van Reken, 2010, p. 13).
Transculturalism:
A new form of humanism in which cultural boundaries dissolve as recognizing
one’s identity as multiple not singular by sharing a reinvented new common culture
(Nguyen & Benet-Martinez, 2010, p. 4).
•

Synonyms: cosmopolitanism, global village

Transcultural identity:
People who undergo a social and psychological transformation to create a different
sense of self—identity as multiple—through experiencing the interweaving and
exchange of human cultures. Includes:
•

those who are mixed-race and mixed-ethnic;

•

those who have resided in more than one country such as expatriates,
immigrants, refugees;

•

international students and sojourners;

•

those carrying at least one other culture along with the mainstream culture
such as children of immigrants or colonized people;

•

third culture kids (TCK);

•

those in inter-cultural relationships (Nguyen & Benet-Martinez, 2010, p. 4).

11

ABSTRACT

Our self-identities are shaped by two things—introspection and external influences.
Who we are in terms of our personalities, perspectives, and beliefs is largely
determined by how we see ourselves and how we see the world.
Globalization and technological advancement continue to provide us with
unprecedented levels of access to this world. At its advent, globalization enriched
us with other cultures and insights not previously available. It provided us with new
opportunities in media, trade, and access to information and knowledge. Today
there are concerns this may have been at the expense of our cultural diversity,
which in turn has affected our sense and uniqueness of self.
Whether in the form of mobile lifestyle or through the cultural convergence of
mass media and exchange of goods, individuals around the globe are affected
by the often overwhelming pace of change in their surrounding social contexts. In
consequence, the concept of identity and the need for a sense of self are critical.

Transcultural identity: People
who undergo a social and
psychological transformation
to create a different sense of
self—identity as multiple—
through experiencing the
interweaving and exchange
of human cultures (Nguyen &
Benet-Martinez, 2010, p. 4).
1

This study addresses, in part, a concurrent cultural context within which loss of
identity and loss of belongingness have occurred. For instance, as a self-identified
transcultural person, early explorations of this thesis began within a specific
segment of transcultural identities1—a cultural group that emerged due to the
complex cultural exchanges of globalization leading to such loss of stable identity
and belongingness. This phase not only afforded the initial context of this research
but also provided an understanding of self as relational to other people and things.
Responding to this new understanding, a series of case studies were conducted
to explore how design can help shift our perspectives on the way we think about
making and the interaction between persons and things.
A generative approach provides new insights; in this type of inquiry, knowledge
created from one study influences the development of subsequent research
activities. The continuity of this responsive and reactive process led to the formation
of Making of Narratives, a practice-led design framework delivered through model
and practice. It is a conceptual framework in that it offers a context and conditions
(scope/structure) for making meaning and sense of our relationship between
persons and things. Within this framework, a set of guidelines are suggested to
allow variations of models to be built through iterative and reflective practice.
13

A sense of belonging:
Feeling connected or feeling
that one belongs in a social
milieu (Vallerand, 1997, p. 300);
Feeling personally accepted,
respected, included, and
supported by others in a social
environment. Failure to have a
sense of belonging may lead
to feelings of social isolation,
alienation, and loneliness.
2

Simple making: The kind
of making that is considered
rudimentary and basic, such as
ordering, sorting, assemblage,
stacking, binding, and so
forth. Simple making within
this research allows for easy
approachability for any person
whether experienced or
inexperienced in the creative
practice of making.
3

14

Modelling provides a site for narratives to be tangibly visualized, and practice
affords space for introspection and co-creation. Together, model and practice
constitute this framework as a tool to attain a deeper understanding of self and
others; this, in turn, can lead to fostering a sense of belonging2 and community.
It emphasizes the value of gestural engagement—kinesthesia of the hand and
body—in the simple making3 process as a means to discover, impart and transfer
embodied sensory-perceptual knowledge. Making of Narratives offers designers an
alternative approach for generative design research and knowledge creation.
This design research explores the potential of storytelling through material
practice, specifically through acts of simple making, as a means to help shift our
perspectives and deepen understanding of self and others in the midst of the rapid
changes in the current era of globalization.

CONTEXT &
FRAMING

According to cultural theorist, Stuart Hall (1992), the scope and pace of
transformation that surrounds our daily social contexts consequently places one’s
identity in a constant state of flux, leading to loss of a stable sense of self (p. 275).
He refers to symbolic interactionists such as Mead and Cooley to explain that
in sociology “identity is formed in the interaction between self and society”—
between the inside and the outside worlds (p. 276). According to this view, while
individuals have an inner core that is perceived as the real me, this essence is
not self-sufficient but formed and modified in relation to the outside world one
inhabits. An individual’s identity is mediated by continuous dialogue with other
people and cultural identities offered by the outside world. By projecting one’s
sense of self into these cultural identities, and in return internalizing their meanings
and values, the individual can bring alignment between one’s own subjective
feelings and the objective places in the social and cultural world (Hall, 1992, p. 276).
Yet such sociological conception of identity is exactly what is now being altered.
A sense of self that used to be unified and stable is becoming fragmented,
sometimes contradictory or unresolved as a result of structural and institutional
change accompanied by cultural globalization (Hall, 1992, p. 276).
Ernesto Laclau (1990) compares this change in society to dislocation. In a dislocated
structure, the centre is displaced not with another, but by a plurality of power
centres. Individuals within such a society, therefore, form a variety of different
identities that are constantly de-centered and dislocated by outside forces. In other
words, individuals continuously experience an unresolved understanding of self and
others, resulting in an uncertain sense of belongingness (p. 40).
However, Laclau (1990) also argues that dislocation has positive features. Although
dislocation disturbs the stable identities of the past traditional societies, it also
opens up the possibility for new articulations of identities. Laclau refers to this as
the “recomposition (of the structure) around particular nodal points of articulation”
and this recomposition, “the action of ‘centering’ is only possible through
dislocation and unevenness” (p. 40).
Based on the theoretical arguments presented above, the issue of identity in the
contemporary era affords both a problem space and an opportunity for designers—
15

amongst many others—to reframe the way we make meaning and sense of self
and others in this ever-changing world; this, in turn, can steadily strengthen a sense
of belonging and well-being for members of the society to create a more socially
sustainable culture.4
Therefore, my thesis explores how a design tool, method or practice can help shift
our perspectives and deepen understanding of self and others, with the intention
of further addressing the following supplementary questions:

Social sustainability: The
ability for all to live a safe,
healthy and productive life in
harmony with nature and local
cultural and spiritual values
(Plessis, 2002, p. 6).
4

Thingness: A way of
understanding things and
objects less in terms of
their primary and secondary
material or phenomenal
qualities but through
perceiving their ontological
power (Malafouris & Danae,
2017 p. 291). For example,
Heidegger (1975) describes
the thingness of a vessel as
its power to gather space and
time which lies in the void
that it holds rather than of its
material (p. 169).
5

16

How can we better understand ourselves, others, and thingness5
through tangible visualization of narratives?
How can designers reframe and recompose a person’s sense
of self and others in this ever-changing world, and in turn
steadily strengthen a sense of belonging and community?
The structure of this thesis highlights a series of case studies, which are subdivided
into the following categories:
In which… 			:

Project Context

Looking ahead…		:

Project Scope & Objective

In and through… 		:

Method & Process

Looking back… 			:

Critical Reflection & Insight

SCOPE &
LIMITATIONS

The research contains early explorations related to transculturalism6 and
transcultural identities7 as a way to find a context for this research and uncover
design opportunities. It is important to note, however, that the research does not
delve into a specific sub-categorical group such as refugees within transculturalism
and its particular societal problems. Instead, the work takes a bottom-up approach,
focusing on an individual’s mindset and perspective—on the factors that will in
time influence action and by extension bring positive social change. Taking upon a
symbolic interactionist view, this research sees people as active rather than passive
entities that merely respond to social conditions. As such, this research does not
include developing solutions or systems for education, law or policies.

“design can address those very things that virtualization lacks—the
real and the tangible, scale and weight, the textured and tactile,
the patinas of age, weathering and corrosion, connection to Earth
and the indefinable bond between the ever-decaying corporeal
Transculturalism: A new
form of humanism in which
cultural boundaries dissolve
as recognizing one’s identity
as multiple not singular by
sharing a reinvented new
common culture (Nguyen &
Benet-Martinez, 2010, p. 4).

6

See glossary for the meaning
of transcultural identity.

7

See glossary for the broader
meaning of technology.

and the spiritual” (Walker, 2011, p. 175).

Making of Narratives highlights the active engagement of the hand and body as
a crucial element to enabling shifts in perspectives to understand, reframe and
recompose a sense of self. It is important to acknowledge that technology8 in a
broader sense and its relation to material culture enabled this research; however,
technology9 in terms of its contemporary understanding as ‘digital technology’

8

See glossary for the specific
meaning of technology.

9

did not shape the inquiry. The physical, tangible, and tactile qualities embodied
in materiality serve as key components in supporting the value this research holds
(Walker, 2011, p. 175).

17

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS

HEURISTIC INQUIRY

Heuristic inquiry (HI) is a search through internal pathways of self using selfreflection, exploration, sift and elucidation to discover meaning and essence in
significant human experience (Douglass & Moustakas, 1985, p. 40). Pioneered by
American humanistic psychologist, Clark Moustakas, HI is directly concerned with
human-knowing, especially self-inquiry. This approach explicitly acknowledges
the involvement of the researcher—the researcher’s lived experiences become
the focus of the research. Throughout the HI process, the self of the researcher
“experiences a growing sense of self-awareness and self-knowledge, promoted
by self-search, self-dialogue and self-discovery” (Given, 2008, p. 390). As such,
the researcher can become fully immersed in the research as an active tool;
an instrument to gather insights and meaning that are often tacit, hidden or
denied (Moustakas, 2001, cited in Hiles, 2001). With its inherently personal and
compassionate approach, HI embodies open discussion with participants and
“allows participants to have their stories understood and their voices heard”
(Moustakas, 1990, p. 106). Participants in heuristic research are not considered as
subjects but as co-researchers who are integral to the process.

Thingness: A way of
understanding things and
objects less in terms of
their primary and secondary
material or phenomenal
qualities but through
perceiving their ontological
power (Jones & Skinner,
2014, p. 11). For example,
Heidegger (1975) describes
the thingness of a vessel as
its power to gather space and
time which lies in the void
that it holds rather than of its
material (p. 169).

10

18

The initial context of the research described in this thesis was situated within
transcultural identities and their lack of sense of belongingness. As a self-identified
transcultural identity, I used HI as a theoretical framework to first gain a better
understanding of transcultural identities, the challenges transcultural identities face
due to loss of identity, and to explore how design can help transcultural identities
to strengthen their sense of belonging. The use of HI continues throughout the
research to further shape the direction and scope of activities. As a relational-self
and a designer, the process of self-inquiry and self-discovery through material
practice enabled the concept of thingness10 as described by Heidegger (1975, p.
169) to play a key role, which led to the development of Making of Narratives.

SCOPE &
LIMITATIONS

SYMBOLIC
INTERACTIONISM

Symbolic interactionism is a theory that originated from the teachings of George
Herbert Mead in the early 20th century. He believed that the development of
“individualism, consciousness and self-consciousness” is made possible through
the exchange of significant gestures, in other words, peoples’ interactions with
objects and other people (Collins, 2010, p. 41).
The interaction between friends can better explain social order and change in
society than its institutions such as education or law. People are seen as actors in
shaping meanings and actions, rather than passive entities that simply respond to
social conditions. Reality is seen as social or developed interaction with others. As
such, symbolic interactionism argues that experience and social phenomena must
be understood from the perspective of the actor in any given situation (Collins,
2010, p. 41).
As a theoretical grounding, symbolic interactionism provided scope for this
research. By setting a boundary that focused on intimate relationships between
peoples and objects, I was able to navigate between different perspectives to
conduct exploratory projects and gather new insights and knowledge.

19

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS

PRACTICE-LED
RESEARCH

Practice-led research is a conceptual framework for researchers to integrate
creative practice, creative methods and creative output into the research design
and as a part of the research output (Myers, 2017).
Known by a variety of terms (practice-based research, practice as research),
practice-led research places emphasis on creative practice as well as the insights,
conceptualization, and theorization generated by practitioners’ reflection on their
own creative practice (Smith & Dean, 2009, p. 5). According to Smith and Dean
(2009), the content and the process of creative practice not only plays a key role
in opening new avenues for knowledge but also in redefining the meaning of
knowledge itself.
Often characterized as generating experiential knowing, practice-led research
also recognizes the sometimes tacit and elusive knowledge that emerges during
the design process (Grocott, 2010, p. 18). As such, practice-led design is often
flexible in its approach, allowing a variety of methodologies and methods to be
incorporated.
Since the concept of self is hardly something that can be clearly articulated due to
multiple hidden layers, practice-led research was an effective approach to employ
in this research to generate new knowledge and insights around the development
of Making of Narratives.

20

DESIGN
RESEARCH &
PROCESS

DESIGN RESEARCH METHODS
Narrative inquiry
Research through design
Material practice
Cultural probe
Personal inventories
Co-creation

“Tangible Visualization of
Transcultural Journey”

“Visualizing a Sense of
Belonging”

“Making of Gone
Objects”

“Spectrum Sorting”

“Things on the
Table”

DESIGN PROCESS

Figure 1.
Diagram of design research
methods & process.

Early Exploration

Participatory Research

Prototypical Practices

1. Self as Transcultural

2. Self as Transcultural
& Relational

3. Self as Relational
& Designer

21

1. SELF AS TRANSCULTURAL
EARLY EXPLORATION

IN WHICH…

Transcultural identity is a term used to describe people who undergo a social
and psychological transformation to create a different sense of self—identity as
multiple—through experiencing the interweaving and exchange of human cultures
(Nguyen & Benet-Martinez, 2010, p. 4). Although there are various terms used to
describe such individuals, such as multicultural, cross-cultural, cosmopolitan citizen,
and global nomads, I describe these people as transcultural identities in this paper.

Third culture kid (TCK):
An individual who, having
spent a significant part of
the developmental years in a
culture other than the parents’
culture, develops a sense
of relationship to all of the
cultures while not having full
ownership in any (Pollock &
Van Reken, 2010, p. 13).

11

Transcultural individuals develop strong connections to more than one culture,
whether it’s a culture of their parents or of the past merged with the culture of their
current residence. Transcultural identity is often exhibited by people of mixed-race,
immigrants, refugees, international students, and third culture kids (TCK)11 to name
a few (Nguyen & Benet-Martinez, 2010, p. 4).
In Pico Iyer’s TedGlobal talk Where is Home? presented in June 2013, he counted
220 million people living in countries not their own and referred to this group as
the fifth-largest on Earth in terms of size (Iyer, 2013). Note that this number only
includes one segment out of many transcultural identities listed above.
However, there has yet to emerge a general understanding of who transcultural
identities are, even amongst themselves, thus proliferating consequential
problems. For example, TCK—a subcategory of transcultural identities—is a vast,
highly diverse group of new identities who have essentially been born out of the
interconnectedness of modern life. Although there are many benefits to this type of
upbringing that cannot be discounted, the nature of such upbringing does present
a number of challenges for a child, which extends into the child’s adulthood. Such
challenges include social instability, cultural instability, as well as a tenuous sense of
self, which results in TCK’s low sense of belongingness (Self, 2015).

22

DESIGN
RESEARCH &
PROCESS

Otherness: The result of a
discursive process by which a
dominant group (“us,” the self)
constructs one or many outgroups (“them,” the others), by
stigmatizing a real or imagined
difference, presented as
a motive of discrimination
(Staszak, 2008, p. 2).
12

In terms of societal problems, Amita Handa, the author of Of Silk Saris and MiniSkirts: South Asian Girls Walk the Tightrope of Culture, criticizes the Canadian
Multiculturalism Act, adopted in 1988, to have constructed a society that perceives
ethnic minorities as outsiders in constant need of legitimation (Handa, 2003, cited
in Grosu, 2012, p. 106). In many ways, our contemporary world continues to function
with fear and ignorance of the other (Cuccioletta, 2002, p. 2).12
Such an altered sense of self or others is not a simple issue that can be solved
solely through external changes in ideology or policy. Rather, it is an issue that
needs to be tackled from within a person’s mindset, both that of transcultural
identities and members of the host society.

LOOKING FOR…

“People shape their daily lives by stories of who they and others
are and as they interpret their past in terms of these stories. Story,
in the current idiom, is a portal through which a person enters the
world and by which their experience of the world is interpreted and
made personally meaningful” (Connelly & Clandinin, 2006, p. 375).
During this early stage of research, I explored ways in which design can bring
awareness to transcultural identities with the interest of providing or strengthening
their sense of belonging.
When personal stories are told through words, often it is difficult to communicate
ineffable elements such as emotions. Acknowledging this gap, I aimed to explore
alternative ways to tell stories by expanding on Narrative Inquiry method. According
to Connelly and Clandinin (2006), Narrative Inquiry is “the study of experience as
story… first and foremost a way of thinking about experience” (p. 375). Based on
23

1. SELF AS TRANSCULTURAL
EARLY EXPLORATION

this approach, I employed the poetic capacity of storytelling to understand and
interpret personal meanings behind one’s experience.
Instead of conventional oral storytelling or written stories, I chose to tangibly
visualize the story being told. The act and the process of making became the story,
rather than using conventional techniques such as constructing personas, scenarios,
and narratives through pictures and graphics.
“through stories, we can find, express and recognize meanings,
and it is one way of endowing inanimate things with significance
and value” (Walker, 2011, p. 9).

“TANGIBLE VISUALIZATION OF TRANSCULTURAL JOURNEY”
IN AND THROUGH...

Utilizing Research through Design (RtD), this project was “constituted by the design
process itself, including materials research, development work, and the critical act
of recording and communicating the steps, experiments, and iterations of design”
(Martin & Hanington, 2012, p. 146).
Self-inquiry and material-based practice played a key role in this particular project.
I acted as both the researcher and research subject by telling my own story as a
transcultural identity through a generative making process. Here my story was of
my personal journey moving and living through many different places in the world.
The use of material culture in this project was prompted by a moment when I broke

24

DESIGN
RESEARCH &
PROCESS

a mug my mother had given me when I last left home (see Figure 2). This event
made me realize how we bond with objects and how we clothe them with meanings
and stories. Reflecting on this event, I was able to recognize the significance of
material culture—the interaction between persons and things—as a critical element
in my design research.

Figure 2.
Photo of the broken mug.

Using visual metaphors, mugs and vessels were adopted to represent each culture
I once dwelled in (see Figure 3). With these, I tried to visualize my own transcultural
life journey. It was a very intuitive and instinctive process based on a fuzzy memory
of my past.

Figure 3.
Mugs and vessels used in
Tangible Visualization of
Transcultural Journey.

25

1. SELF AS TRANSCULTURAL
EARLY EXPLORATION

The first visualization series consisted of basic assemblages without the use of
binding materials, the second iteration used black tape as the binding material,
and the third used non-drying soft clay. Such acts of simple making were
consistently conducted in a fluid manner, in which each action performed parts of
my personal journey as a transcultural identity. Each tangible visualization and its
process was recorded to capture every movement and interaction between my
hand and the vessels (see Figure 4).

Figure 4.
Still frames from the first
Tangible Visualization of
Transcultural Journey
series recordings.

26

DESIGN
RESEARCH &
PROCESS

Through the making process and upon reflection of each assembly, I was able to
acknowledge unique metaphors not only for the thingness of the vessels but also
for each action of assembly. For example, each vessel stood for a different cultural
identity within my transcultural identity, while the instability or awkward placement
stood for a low sense of belongingness or unresolved sense of self. The metaphor
for clay, the binding material, indicated ways of conflict resolution such as seeking
long-term friendships or communities. Also, the clashing sounds of the vessels
amplified the enduring restlessness of my transcultural identity (see Figure 5).

Action of assembly:
Transforming sense of self

Clay:
Soft conflict resolution

Broken parts:
Broken cultural influence

Figure 5A.
Metaphors found in Tangible Visualization of Transcultural Journey series
(descriptions overlaid beside the image by the author).

27

1. SELF AS TRANSCULTURAL
EARLY EXPLORATION

Instability:
A low sense of belonging

Falling apart:
Struggling to find resolution

Clash of objects:
Restlessness

Act of stacking:
Establishing or hiding

Tape:
Forceful conflict resolution

Figure 5B.
Metaphors found in Tangible Visualization of Transcultural Journey series
(descriptions overlaid beside the image by the author).

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DESIGN
RESEARCH &
PROCESS

Based on the assembled metaphors, I was able to construct personas for each
iteration. Taking the constructed personas, I created a minute-long video clip of
the tangible visualization process, wherein a persona’s narration was superimposed
when presented (see Figure 6).

Narration:
“Immediately after feeling broken saying goodbye to all of my
friends, I quickly tried to fit into this new culture that I never knew.
Then our family moved again, a bit more grown up, I wasn’t sure
where my place was in this third home. Some things about this
culture didn’t sit well with me. I tried to hide my old cultural habits,
so nobody would think that I was an outsider. I found myself
covering up my past cultural identities to catch up culturally in the
place I was.
After stacking one upon the other trying to hide who I really was
inside, (pause) there came a time when I felt like I lost myself.
Feeling socially and culturally unstable, I started looking for longterm friendships and communities that will hold me together to feel
like I belonged to something, somewhere.”

LOOKING BACK...

My initial objective was to visualize memory through making. In other words, to give
form to my memory. As in the narration, the act of stacking visualized the way I had
resolved emotional conflict in the past by covering up and retreating to a safe place.
29

Figure 6.
Still frames from Tangible
Visualization of Transcultural
Journey video clip.
See the full video at https://
youtu.be/SGipCAT_cKg

30

DESIGN
RESEARCH &
PROCESS

However, I noticed that being physically engaged during the slow process of
simple making took a life of its own, driven by tacit knowledge. The basic and
rudimentary nature of simple making allowed the movements and gestures of
my hands to respond to the materiality of the mugs and vessels in their own way.
Making in this sense provided no guarantee of a certain outcome as the process
became inherently tied to my (the maker’s) “judgement, dexterity and care” (Pye,
1968, p. 21). This tension between “certainty” and “risk” in the process opened
up moments in which the tacit knowledge—the interaction between my hand and
the material—spoke louder than the idea or the initial objective in mind. Which
ultimately positioned making as “a process of growth” (Lambert & Speed, 2017,
p. 105). As Lambert and Speed (2017) argue, “this is to place the maker from the
outset as a participant in and amongst a world of active materials… in anticipation
of what might emerge” (p. 105). Furthermore, the visualizing act of simple making
unintentionally created a multi-layered sensory experience of sight, touch, and
sound which created the optimal condition for fulsome immersion in the process.
The development of this project focused on introspection and reflection of self,
based on my real-life experience as a transcultural identity. This intrapersonal
approach provided an opportunity for me, as the research subject, to externalize
and in return internalize my own story. Hence, there was a deep resonance and
understanding of self. As such, this tangible visualization project elucidated the
potential that an act of simple making has while positioning the use of material
artifacts, as a demonstrative design method and activity for storytelling, selfdiscovery, and self-awareness. However, due to the nature of my own introspective
approach to transculturalism, concerns arose as to how effective this manner of
storytelling is to people other than myself. In order to answer this question, the scope
of my next project was broadened to include other participants.
31

2. SELF AS TRANSCULTURAL & RELATIONAL
PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH

LOOKING FOR…

In Summer 2017, transcultural identities currently residing in Vancouver were invited
to participate in two successive cultural probe activities and a co-creative workshop.
Through participatory activities, I focused on exploring the effectiveness of simple
making as an alternative storytelling method to open up discussions on the topic of
transculturalism and promote cultural convergence.

“MAKING OF GONE OBJECTS”
IN AND THROUGH...

“Objects allude to the people who owned them and the social
context in which they were used; evoking moments that once
were—a particular place at a particular time” (Gallagher 2006, cited
in Arlindo, 2010, p. 458).
Influenced by my own heuristic Tangible Visualization activity (detailed in the
section above) and Personal Inventories method, a section of the cultural probe
was designed to collect and survey participants’ transitional memories attached
to objects. Personal Inventories emphasizes the role of material objects in
understanding human life as according to Csikszentmihalyi and Halton (1981),
“one could never attend to all the feelings, memories,
and thoughts that constitute what one is; instead, we use
representations that stand for the vast range of experiences that
make up and shape the self and enable one to infer what the
object of self-awareness is” (p. 3).

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DESIGN
RESEARCH &
PROCESS

The first cultural probe activity was intended to understand the context and
problem space through the eyes of participants (Mattelmäki, 2006, pg. 40).
Through the probe workbook, participants were asked to recollect and reflect on
their personal journey as a transcultural identity (see Figure 7). Gathered insights
and stories from the cultural probe inspired the development of activities in the
following co-creative workshop.

Figure 7.
Photo of Cultural
Design Probe kit.

The co-creative workshop was intended to be exploratory and generative, with
aims to explore the idea of simple making in a collective setting and to fully engage
participants in the process. Activities were organized with different conditions to
test the malleability of the design framework under investigation.
Exercises included in the workbook asked participants to draw and describe
objects discarded or left behind as moving from one place to another, namely
Gone Objects they miss or regret discarding (see Figure 8).
33

2. SELF AS TRANSCULTURAL & RELATIONAL
PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH

Figure 8.
Participants’ responses for
Gone Objects in the cultural
probe book.

The purpose of the Gone Objects section in the probe book was to see if there
was a particular material culture around transcultural identities and distinct cultural
signifiers embedded in objects that participants had formed a strong bond with.
34

DESIGN
RESEARCH &
PROCESS

Figure 9.
Making of Gone Objects
artifacts by participants.

35

2. SELF AS TRANSCULTURAL & RELATIONAL
PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH

The responses from this exercise, however, did not point to specific material culture
as assumed. Rather, it was identified that personal sentiments and memories
engendered certain objects with the capacity to hold a special place in individuals’
hearts, evoking a sense of nostalgia.
In the subsequent co-creative workshop, participants were asked to individually
pick one of their Gone Objects and make a replica using materials provided (see
Figure 9). Craft supplies and tools were provided; these included a variety of
materials—clay, wood, and found objects such as glass tubes, mirrors, bulldog
clips, plates and more. The selection of these probe elements was intentionally
elementary, enabling participants to easily engage in the making process.
Although this activity was more directed than the previous work, it was an exploration
into whether such material practice allowed participants to dive deeper into their
memories and act as a more effective way for storytelling in a collective setting.
LOOKING BACK...

The act of simple making provided participants the time to contemplate,
immersing themselves in memories attached to their Gone Objects. As a result, a
much vibrant and descriptive set of stories emerged (see Figure 10). Compared to
the entries in the probe, stories shared in the workshop revealed hidden aspects of
individual’s memory associated with emotions, senses, and relationships. In other
words, the objects were anchored to details in people’s memory, acting as a key to
their memory box, and enabling a much deeper reflection of self.
Beyond the introspective aspect of this activity, the social and collective setting
naturally supported a dialogic flow among participants enhancing the storytelling
experience, and a breath of empathy was present in the space.

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DESIGN
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“So what I have here is a miniature vanity table. I used to have
this really colourful, funky vanity table since I was 11 or 12, even
when I lived in Korea. This was my first vanity table I picked
out myself and my sister picked out something much classier
timeless but the 10-year-old me; I think I was actually 8 in
Canadian age, I thought this was really pretty! With this unique
shape, the mirror and the colours. So I picked it out, and we
brought it to Canada when we moved here, and it was in my
room. We moved so many times in Canada across the country
and through every transition this survived, and this was in my
room in every home that I lived in until I moved to… I don’t
know… Toronto or when I was moving to Korea briefly to
pursue something…”
“Anyway, when I look at pictures of my friends hanging out in my
rooms, it’s always in the background. And it is something that I
remember my childhood by, and my friends from my childhood
all remember this. I just wanted to have a little miniature in my
room, so I want this back! Haha”
“So you would keep it in your room?”
“Yeah! I wanted to keep the same material, and I wanted
to make it semi-functional, so I have these little tubes
to put jewelry.”
“Can I take a look?“(grabs it and examines; pointing to the
glossy metallic sticker) “Oh wow, you can actually see yourself!”
“I just made it, and it is a new object but feels so familiar. It’s not
the original object but the memories attached to what I lost...”
“When during the making process do you think you started to
feel familiar with this new object?”
“When I was colouring it. The colours are the exact match of the
colours that I had (in my old vanity table). So I was like “Oh! This

Figure 10.
Making of Gone Objects
artifacts by participants
(dialogues transcribed and
overlaid within the image
by the author).

actually looks like the one that I had!”

37

2. SELF AS TRANSCULTURAL & RELATIONAL
PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH

“VISUALIZING A SENSE OF BELONGING”
IN AND THROUGH...

One of the questions asked in the cultural probe was to elaborate personal
meanings of a sense of belonging. However, many participants either did not
respond or merely reworded the question for their answer; this was understandably
so due to the abstract nature of the term. To better gain participants’ insights, I once
again asked participants to provide their interpretation of a sense of belonging,
however, this time, through the process of tangible visualization.
As a facilitator and a bystander, I was able to observe the participants’ simple
making process. Participants first verbally collected, discussed and negotiated (see
Figure 11). At this point, there was a lot of dissonance and confusion, and it was hard
to understand the consensus. They tried to elaborate but found it difficult to explain.

Figure 11.
Photo of participants making
during Visualizing a Sense of
Belonging activity.

However, the collective acts of simple making gradually created an opportunity for
participants to better articulate and understand the term, a sense of belonging, as a
group. Compared to previous activities in the probe workbook, this collective setting
afforded responses and means for framing an interpretation of belongingness as a
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DESIGN
RESEARCH &
PROCESS

concept. The tangibly visualized narrative was not of an introspective personal story,
but rather a collectively defined concept.
After making, the group sat together to explain their interpretation of a sense of
belonging using the visualized artifact. This time though, their articulation was much
clearer and organized. As they held up or pointed to certain parts of the visualized
artifact, their insights were easily transferred, and I was able to understand better
(see Figure 12). Unlike what was mentioned in the probes or other conventional
definitions, a rather atypical interpretation emerged.

Figure 12.
Photo of participants sharing
after Visualizing a Sense of
Belonging activity.

As shown in Figure 13, the participants’ visualized artifact of a sense of belonging
was an assembly of things on two plates connected with strings, and another
component with three figurines.
The participants explained that the plate signified a person, and the things
contained in the plate stood for a variety of sensory stimuli such as sight, scent,
touch and sound embedded in the person’s memory of home. The other plate
39

2. SELF AS TRANSCULTURAL & RELATIONAL
PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH

Things contained in the plate:
A variety of sensory stimuli
such as sight, scent, touch
and sound embedded in the
person’s memory of home

Figure 13.
Visualized artifact of a sense
of belonging (descriptions
overlaid within the
image by the author).

Three figurines:
A group of people sharing and
striving for a common goal

Strings:
Sensory experience in the present
moment, which resembles that of the past
Plate:
A person

Action of laying down the strings:
A sense of belonging

Other plate with things:
Another individual with a
similar background

and things stood for another individual with a similar background. The strings
signified sensory experiences in the present moment, which resembles that of
the past, provoking individuals to recall memories of home. The action of laying
down the strings represented a sense of belonging, which occurs when individuals
connect based on a shared understanding of the sensory experiences and a shared
empathy around stories of their past homes. Also, participants explained that a
sense of belonging could also occur when a group of people shares and strives for a
common goal as shown by the three figurines at the top of the assembly.
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DESIGN
RESEARCH &
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LOOKING BACK...

“critical making as the ‘symbiotic relationship’ between thinking
and making, referring to embodied knowledge as that which
emerges by working with your hands: ‘The very process itself opens
up new possibilities for deep expansive thinking and the serious
enquiry that stimulates discovery’” (Lambert & Speed, 2017, p. 105).
Through the co-creative workshop activities, it became increasingly evident that
the act of simple making enhances introspective reflection of one’s inner self. More
importantly, the collective setting and the mutual negotiation of creative tensions
allowed each person to examine themself as an outer individual in relation to the
gained understanding of others.
Furthermore, the familiar and banal craft materials had set the condition for simple
making. The outcome of the material practice and the visualized artifact was not
refined but rather, rough and unpolished. However, the easy approachability,
playfulness, and malleability of the materials allowed participants to freely
externalize their thoughts and ideas, endorsing the process of discovery.
The observations revealed that the narratives being told through simple making
were not restricted to one’s memory or experiences but can include abstract
concepts. Tangibly visualizing abstract concepts was especially effective as the
discursive space enabled synergistic brainstorming, analysis, synthesis, sensemaking, and meaning-making. For example, I was able to discover an aspect that I
did not realize alone before the workshop; how sensory experiences or stimuli can
trigger memories, and in extension, a sense of belonging for transcultural identities.

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3. SELF AS RELATIONAL & DESIGNER
PROTOTYPICAL PRACTICES

IN WHICH…

The previous case studies were situated in a personal and relational space to gather
insights around the idea of simple making as an alternative way of storytelling.
From the co-creative workshop, it was evident that this design model and practice
offered many capacities for designers when conducting participatory research. This
learning thus inspired a pivot away from a specific segment as delimiting context
leading the following case study to be explored in the perspective of a designer
and design researcher.
Unbinding some of the contextual boundaries that were implicit with transcultural
identities allowed a broader space for exploration concerning the way all people as
human beings in our contemporary world—including those who are not explicitly
influenced by transculturalism—interact with things and others.

LOOKING FOR…

“Within such [creative] practice, many decisions and actions are
made intuitively, via discriminating judgements that are based in
contemplation of the emerging aesthetic of the work” (Walker,
2011, p. 164).
Building upon the Research through Design (RtD) method, especially its generative
approach to knowledge creation through material expression (Walker, 2011, p.
25), I aimed to delve into how memory and sensory engagement can elicit tacit
or hidden meanings behind the intuitive decisions or actions made in material
practices. And whether such meanings can incite new understandings of self, others
and things in a co-creative setting.

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DESIGN
RESEARCH &
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“THINGS ON THE TABLE”
IN AND THROUGH...

According to experimental neuroscience research, emotional responses to sensory
engagement not only enhance and rekindle memories but also foster imagination
and creativity. Findings also revealed memory as a vital part of our ability to make
sense of our human experiences (Treadaway, 2009, p. 194). In cognitive psychology,
memory is understood to have other functions aside from storing and retrieving
information. Sutton (2010) describes such broader functions as “maintaining our
sense of self, regulating emotion, motivating and directing future action, and
helping us to promote and maintain relationships with others” (p. 213).

Figure 14.
Things prepared as props for
Things on the Table.

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3. SELF AS RELATIONAL & DESIGNER
PROTOTYPICAL PRACTICES

Based on these findings, the initial exploration began by gathering, appropriating,
reanimating and making things that can enhance sensory stimulation. The prepared
things included an old rattle from a thrift store, seashells, and pebbles collected
from English Bay, a pine cone that was carefully cleaned and oiled, hand-woven
circular textiles, scented wooden pieces, a candle holder that was faceted and
sanded, and more (see Figure 14). Some of these things were familiar and easily
identifiable as objects, whereas other things were obscure and hard to categorize.
It was evident that there was a relational tension between these things— “Is it an
object, an artifact, or a material?”, “Is it natural, crafted, or ready-made?”

Figure 15.
Photos of Things on
the Table activity.

With such questions in mind, I brought an assortment of these things and conducted
a participatory activity with my cohort where I asked, “What do you see, feel, hear
or smell?” to have them first engage with the things using their senses. Afterwards, I
asked, “What can this be?” From this question, I received a variety of responses.
Frequently an individual thing evoked a range of different speculations and
responses (see Figure 15). For example, participants identified a birch and oak
wooden piece as a “hair comb,” a “guitar pick,” and a “tool for separating strings.”
For the thing made of rawhide, participants wrote down terms such as “drum” and
44

DESIGN
RESEARCH &
PROCESS

“tablecloth.” For a thing made of cement with embedded stones, one individual
simply responded “cement”—the material, whereas another person responded
with “sandy beach”—a place. Also, many of the responses were not of another
physical thing but rather, what it reminded them of. For example, the handwoven circular textile reminded one participant of his grandmother, while the
wooden sticks reminded someone else of music, and the seashells reminded a
person of a beach.
LOOKING BACK...

It was interesting to see how people engaged in sensory experience with things
and projected their own embodied knowledge that presumably stemmed from
their individual personhood, life experiences and their understanding of selves.
These responses elicited a key aspect that Making of Narratives was covertly
exploring—the “permeable boundaries” between persons and things and how
the brain, the body, and things all equally contribute to the “human cognitive
becoming” (Malafouris, 2013, p. 2).

See glossary for the
meaning of boundary objects.

13

Also, the assortment of things inherently served as boundary objects13 in this
activity. The boundary nature is reflected in these things as they are “simultaneously
concrete and abstract, specific and general, conventionalized and customized”
where constant negotiation, reconstruction, and re-appropriation inevitably occur
(Star & Griesemer, 1989, pg. 393).

45

3. SELF AS RELATIONAL & DESIGNER
PROTOTYPICAL PRACTICES

“SPECTRUM SORTING”
IN AND THROUGH...

“Even the ‘I think’ is a process occurring in time and space,
involving a transaction between subject and object, between self
and other. Self-awareness occurs when the self becomes the object
of reflection—that is, the self takes itself as its own object. In other
words, even self-awareness—self-knowledge—is inferential and not
direct” (Csikszentmihalyi & Halton 1981, p. 3).
I conducted a subsequent activity called Spectrum Sorting with the same group
where I asked them to lay out the things in relation to one another according to a
given spectrum. This was to see how the mind perceives things in relation to the
other surrounding things.

Figure 16.
Photos of Spectrum Sorting.

One end of the spectrum was identified as closed-ended; here participants were
asked to place things that were recognizable, explicit, or prescriptive to them. The
other end of the spectrum was for the open-ended; participants were asked to place
ambiguous or novel things close to this area (see Figure 16). In this activity, simple
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DESIGN
RESEARCH &
PROCESS

Figure 17.
Photos of Spectrum
Sorting activity.

47

3. SELF AS RELATIONAL & DESIGNER
PROTOTYPICAL PRACTICES

making was through the act of ordering or sorting. Participant’s perception and
sorting of things provided the narrative within the Making of Narratives framework.
For this activity, I specifically employed a theoretical model called the Categorical
Motivational Model proposed by Whitfield. According to Whitfield (2005), this
model is developed based on the notion of aesthetics as a sensory-perceptual
knowledge, as a form of knowing that comes before linguistic-based knowledge
(p. 8). Such understanding of aesthetics as pre-linguistic knowledge functions “to
elaborate the categories by which we understand the world by attaching emotion
to sensory perceptions” and such function results in the creation of “affective
knowledge” that motivates appropriate action to objects in the external world
(Whitfield, 2005, p. 5). Whitfield describes this model by highlighting the two
opposite extremes; “at one extreme are categories that largely are formed and
closed to further articulation, while at the other extreme are categories that are illformed and open to further articulation. The concepts of “closure” and “openness”
are crucial” (Whitfield, 2005, p. 8).
For this Spectrum Sorting activity, there were two groups, each with two
participants collectively making to assemble and organize the things. During the
activity, there were quieter moments when each participant took their own time,
touching, smelling, playing with the things and individually placing them within the
spectrum. But there were also times when the two negotiated through dialogue.
“Why is this here?”, “Shouldn’t it be there instead?”, “Oh yeah, I see what you
mean.”, “Not as much as these other ones.”, “But, it’s not an actual thing but a
representation.”, and so on (see Figure 17). These dialogues influenced the final
placement of the things. This activity elicited the plasticity of the mind and how it
perceives things not only in relation to surrounding things but also to oneself, and
to other people.
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DESIGN
RESEARCH &
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Figure 18.
Photos of Spectrum
Sorting activity.

Later, I asked another participant to engage in the same activity but with an added
condition; I asked this individual also to consider how things trigger memories.
For example, things that trigger a specific memory could fall under closed-ended,
whereas things that trigger vague, no or multiple memories could fall under openended. This was to see whether the explicit or abstract forms of some of the things
worked toward or against enabling a vast range of perceptions, thus allowing
multiple entry points to trigger memories.
After carefully arranging, the participant shared some of her memories. Certain
things triggered highly specific memories while other things triggered vague or
no memories. But the most interesting thing was when she quietly returned to the
table after a while and rearranged the things (see Figure 18). She then explained,
49

3. SELF AS RELATIONAL & DESIGNER
PROTOTYPICAL PRACTICES

“Invariably, when you have these things, in terms of design, I end
up rearranging… I think about them in regards to storytelling; not
so much as telling my story but letting the things in relation to one
another tell a story as a design process of sorts.”
People’s memories and perceptions were fluid. When trying to make meaning and
sense through engaging with boundary objects, things shifted.
LOOKING BACK...

“‘There you go again, thinking with things.’ The phrase stuck: That is
exactly what we do. The “thinking” of this process is at a deep level
not available to consciousness, as if there is an inner self smarter than
the conscious one—a self whose mode of operation is nonverbal
and on things. This thinking deals with crucial issues of identity and
relation to others and the cosmos” (Pasztory, 2005, p. 21).
The observations from Spectrum Sorting revealed how perceptions and
understandings could be shifted. The relation and tension between things and
their placements constantly influenced participants to project their own perception
onto things, thus making sense of meaning. Also, the freedom to move and reset
boundaries, in other words, the frame of thought, enabled different interpretations
and shifts in their understanding.
As Malafouris (2013) describes, “things like minds, become very hard to define. They
remain formless and plastic, waiting to take the shape of our embodied projections,
which inevitably vary in different times and places” (p. 8). It is when we project our
own perception onto things, they take shape and make sense and meaning.

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MAKING OF
NARRATIVES

“This clarity of understanding and insight maps onto an exploratory,
sometimes impulsive or deliberately risky approach to creative
practice, and it has helped to further endorse and validate making
itself as an important research method… Increasingly, ‘the doing’
(the process) seemingly yields more new knowledge and insight
than ‘the done’ (the outcome)” (Lambert & Speed, 2017, p. 105).
Based on the insights and processes from the case studies, Making of Narratives is
developed as a design framework to bring an expansive and deep understanding of
self, others, and things through reframing and recomposing people’s perspectives.
However, it is not only intended for individuals interested in gaining such
understandings, but also for designers interested in alternative research methods.

Ordering
Combining

Sorting
Binding

Breaking

Mashup

Deconstructing

Life journey
Memory
Your story
Our story
Abstract concept
Qualitative data

Layering
Figure 19.
Three components of
Making of Narratives with
suggested narratives and
acts of simple making.

Stacking
Assemblage

INPUT

PROCESS

OUTPUT

1. NARRATIVES
shows suggested
narratives

2. ACT OF SIMPLE MAKING
shows possible
acts of simple making

3. TANGIBLE
VISUALIZATION
OR FORMS

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DESIGN FRAMEWORK & APPROACH

Making of Narratives is a practice-led design framework for material practice that
gives tangible forms to narratives. It offers context and conditions (scope/structure)
for making meaning and sense of our relationship between persons and things.
Within this framework, a method is suggested to allow variations of models to be
built through iterative and reflective practice. There are three components to this
framework—1. narratives (input), 2. act of simple making (process), and 3. tangible
visualization or forms (output/outcome)—all of which are integral to generating
new insights and knowledge (see Figure 19).
“Instead, we can express design, both as process and outcome,
in terms that suggest a quite different sensibility. If we understand
design as a continual process of exploring and probing
possibilities, then we begin to see its discrete outcomes not as
‘solutions’ but as temporary, tangible manifestations of ideas that
Material Engagement
Theory: An interdisciplinary
framework that incorporates
materiality into cognitive
sciences of the mind. This
framework includes the world
of things, artifacts, objects,
materials and material signs
into the cognitive fold. By
recasting boundaries of the
mind it “maps a cognitive
landscape in which brains,
bodies, and things play
equal roles in the drama of
human cognitive becoming.”
Material engagement
approach thus proposes a
new way of thinking about
the mind and things that can
bring new understanding on
how things shape the mind
(Malafouris, 2013).

14

52

offer only fleeting benefit” (Walker, 2010, p. 165).
Based on Material Engagement Theory14 developed by Malafouris, Making of
Narratives acknowledges the significant role physical things play in our lives as
they “conspicuously envelop our everyday thinking and sensory experience”
(Malafouris, 2013, p. 2). Therefore, the use of things, objects, artifacts, and materials
are essential to this method.
Another key aspect of this method is the gestural and sensory engagement in the
making process. The engagement focuses on the way the actor (facilitator in this
case) closely interacts with things and their materiality. Moments of interactions are
the nodes for incremental knowledge building, and sequential knowledge creation
is possible through continuity between multiple iterations of this method.

MAKING OF
NARRATIVES

This engagement also refers to the active use of the hand, the heart and the
head in the process of making. The use of this symbiotic relationship, along with
embodied knowledge, deep expansive thinking, and serious inquiry stimulates
discovery during the very making process (Lambert & Speed, 2017, p. 105). Hence,
Making of Narratives is a flexible practice-led design framework and is exploratory
and generative in its approach.

CONTEXT & CONDITIONS

Context is integral to how we understand things. How we set boundaries, where we
place things, how we see them through their placement—all of these enable us to
see ourselves, others, and things in different ways, which in turn allows meaningmaking and sense-making.
“Moreover, the aesthetic experience of the developing work will
be a product of the sensory experience of its intrinsic properties
combined with contemplation of it as a thing of significance and
value; that is, as a thing considered worthy of attention within a
particular culture” (Walker, 2011, p. 164).
With a broad range of applications and associated processes, there are a
variety of ways that Making of Narratives can be used to serve different design
objectives. Depending on the context, the content of the narrative is interactive
and changeable; it can be of one’s memory, a shared memory amongst a group of
people, or an abstract idea or concept.
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Following are the three contexts in which Making of Narratives can be applied:
INTROSPECTIVE
CONTEXT

The first context concerns that of intrapersonal space where Making of Narratives
can be practiced individually as a way to explore an introspective self. Whether the
narrative involves one’s memory or the way they interact with things, this practice

Individuals who have
experienced a sense of loss
can include but are not limited
to transcultural identities.

15

COLLECTIVE
CONTEXT

opens an opportunity for an individual to navigate their sense of self through the
simple making process. This context may be especially relevant and useful for
people who have experienced a sense of loss15 in their lives and merits further study.
The second context places Making of Narratives in a collective setting where
individuals can co-create together through material practice. In this case, the
collaborative quality of the simple making process enables negotiation, discussion,
and conversation among participants; which opens another arena for deeper
understanding, not only of others but also of oneself in relation to other people.
Through such gained understanding, Making of Narratives can further promote a
sense of belonging when individuals discover and share empathy, especially when
the narratives are of mutual or similar experiences.

DESIGN RESEARCH
CONTEXT

Lastly, Making of Narratives can be used in the context of design research. The
innate use of materiality and thingness in practice provides an alternative approach
and way of thinking for designers who seek generative research methods for
qualitative ethnographic research, brainstorming, analysis and synthesis, material
and form explorations, meaning and sense-making, and participatory research.
By elucidating nuances of thingness, boundaries, and gestures, Making of
Narratives affords persona building that is true to one’s personhood, which is
fundamental to participatory research methods.

54

MAKING OF
NARRATIVES

PROCESS & GUIDELINES

“To be a place, every somewhere must lie on one or several
paths of movement to and from places elsewhere. Life is lived, I
reasoned, along paths and not just [in] places… It is along paths,
too, that people grow into a knowledge of the world around them,
and describe this world in the stories they tell” (Ingold, 2007, p. 32).
Like paths and places in life, the design outcome and the processes are intricately
connected (Lambert & Speed, 2017, p. 106). As such, time plays a key role in
Making of Narratives; the time that passes during the simple making process is
connected to and reflects one’s own journey and growth in life. Understanding
and embodying the importance of time in the making process is crucial to this
practice. This design method is meant to be practiced in continuous and iterative
cycles (see Figure 20). The longer time spent with materials and objects in the acts
of simple making, the more detailed relational structures become. The more the
practice is revisited, the deeper the knowledge and insights become—to revisit
means to practice single-pointed attention accompanied by the contemplation of
its significance and value (Walker, 2011, p.164).

GATHERING

SIMPLE
MAKIING

DISCOVERY

REFLECT

PLACING
Figure 20.
Diagram of Making of
Narratives process.

REPEAT

55

Suggested guidelines for Making of Narratives:
1.

Acknowledge and gather physical things—objects, artifacts, belongings,
materials—that are significant to the actor. Note:
•

Significance can be measured in personal ways; however, depending on
the context, the scope can be modified. For example, if the objective is
to seek a deeper understanding of self within the Introspective Context,
the things can consist of artifacts with special memories or belongings
used every day;

•

This stage can run parallel to the rest of the process and is flexible in
terms of scale and duration.

2.

Place the gathered things on a table where one can easily revisit. Note:
•

In the Collective Context, Making of Narratives as a method can begin
from the current step, and things should be prepared in advance for
participants to place them on a table.

3.

Perform the act of simple making such as ordering, sorting, assemblage,
stacking, binding, and so forth to tangibly visualize the narrative. Note:
•

Simple making stands for the kind of making that is considered
rudimentary and basic, such as ordering, sorting, assemblage, stacking,
binding, and so forth. Simple making within this research allows for easy
approachability for any person whether experienced or inexperienced in
the creative practice of making;

•

Again, depending on the context and objective, the type of simple
making and narratives can be flexible;
•

In the Collective Context, this step is encouraged to include
discussion and negotiation among participants;

56

MAKING OF
NARRATIVES

•

Actively use intuition and instincts as they are core to surfacing tacit and
embodied knowledge.

4.

Discover through the process of simple making. Note:
•

Pay attention to the gestural engagement of the hand;
•

For example, consciously acknowledge and think about the way you
handle things—how you pick up, move, place, and grab things. Watch
the gestures you and others make—is it a slide or a tight hold of
objects? Does your hand make abrupt interruptions in the process?

•

Identify the meaning behind the gestural engagements you make in
the process.

•

Metaphors are key to this practice. Actively use metaphors to make
meaning and sense of the things and your actions;
•

Although there are no set metaphors for each action, I have identified
metaphors elicited from my own acts of simple making;

•

1.

Ordering: hierarchy, ranking, grading;

2.

Sorting: categorization, division, selection;

3.

Assemblage: association, convergence, addition;

4.

Stacking: combining, juxtaposition, structure;

5.

Binding: merging, integration, harmonization, reconciliation;

6.

Breaking: disconnection, separation, damage.

Pay attention to sensory stimuli such as sight, touch, scent and sound—how
they affect the mind and emotion to discover new knowledge and insights.

5.

Reflect on the making process. Note:
•

Leave the table for a while and observe it from afar;

•

Identify the boundaries and relational tension among the things. This
step is useful for synthesizing patterns and groupings;
57

•

Lines and shapes can be set up in order to physically create
boundaries for the actor(s) to play with the idea of relational tensions
(e.g., spectrums, circular boundaries, etc.).

•
6.

Document the findings and insights before moving onto the next iteration.

Revisit and repeat the process.

The presented guidelines are suggestions and should be considered permeable
and flexible in order to fully benefit from the exploratory and generative approach
of Making of Narratives. It is encouraged for the actors to adapt and reframe
appropriately to the nature of the context and inquiries in study.

58

CONCLUSION

This study addressed, in part, the current cultural context within which loss of
identity and loss of belongingness have occurred. Originating from studying
transcultural identities, this research has unbound and evolved to include a broader
scope of contemporary identities in its exploration.
“Creative activities demand deep immersion in process. These
concentrated forms of engagement have been referred to as
focal practices or flow and they are akin to spiritual exercises that
cultivate single-pointed attention, and ‘at-one-ment’” (Walker,
2011, p.164).
The study focused on the way we think about making and the interaction between
persons and things as a way to deepen one’s understanding of self and others,
which in turn, can lead to promoting a sense of belonging and community.
Material practice-led activities were central to a series of case studies, and as such,
offered a means of direction, critical reflection, and momentum for generating
new insights and knowledge. It enabled a valuable recognition and incorporation
of gestural engagement—kinesthesia of the hand and body—in the act of simple
making as a way to induce discovery, impartation, and transference of embodied
sensory-perceptual knowledge. It showed the significance of the making process—
the moments of interactions between the maker and things—as nodes for
incremental knowledge building. When narratives were introduced in the making
process, the meaning of objects revealed to be malleable beyond their functional
uses and served as projections of one’s personhood and signifiers of our perception.
This material realization was key to conceptualizing a new design framework,
Making of Narratives. With its three interrelated contexts—Introspective,
Collective, and Design Research—Making of Narratives offers an exploratory and
generative approach that affords practice of intuition, flexible ways of thinking,
and opportunity-seeking mindsets. It is my hope that continuous practice of
this framework in different contexts will offer alternative ways to reframe and
recompose meanings to generate new knowledge—whether it may be of oneself,
others, things, or the world.

59

FUTURE
DIRECTION

“ethical understandings not only pertain to societal well-being
but also to an individual’s sense of spiritual well-being, which
is associated with the affirmation of life in relationship to self,
community and environment, as well as with one’s sense of the
transcendent” (Walker, 2011, p.165).
In the earliest phases, transculturalism and transcultural identities were studied
as a way to understand the initial context for this research and uncover design
opportunities. However, this research does not remain exclusive to transcultural
identities or its sub-categorical cultural groups.
Nonetheless, early explorations of Making of Narratives do afford a deeper
understanding of transcultural identities and awareness of transculturalism. As
such, Making of Narratives has potential to be used as a design method for future
investigations of sub-cultural groups of transcultural identities such as, but not
limited to, immigrants, international students, children of colonized people and
their related societal problems.
Finally, the integral relationship between social and environmental sustainability
presents a potential opportunity space for Making of Narratives. According to
Rogers (2010), “healthy, happy individuals with a strong sense of place, identity
and hope are more likely to make a healthy environment a priority” (p. 3). As such,
Making of Narratives can be further developed to bring awareness of one’s action
and their influence on the environment based on a deeper understanding of self,
others and things in this world.

60

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65

LIST OF
FIGURES

Figure 1.

Diagram of design research methods & process.

Figure 2.

Photo of the broken mug.

Figure 3.

Mugs and vessels used in Tangible Visualization of Transcultural Journey.

Figure 4.

Still frames from the first Tangible Visualization of Transcultural Journey series recordings.

Figure 5.

Metaphors found in Tangible Visualization of Transcultural Journey series (descriptions
overlaid beside the image by the author).

Figure 6.

Still frames from Tangible Visualization of Transcultural Journey video clip. See the full
video at https://youtu.be/SGipCAT_cKg

Figure 7.

Photo of Cultural Design Probe kit.

Figure 8.

Participants’ responses for Gone Objects in the cultural probe book.

Figure 9.

Making of Gone Objects artifacts by participants.

Figure 10.

Making of Gone Objects artifacts by participants (dialogues transcribed and overlaid
within the image by the author).

Figure 11.

Photo of participants making during Visualizing a Sense of Belonging activity.

Figure 12.

Photo of participants sharing after Visualizing a Sense of Belonging activity.

Figure 13.

Visualized artifact of a sense of belonging (descriptions overlaid within the image by
the author).

Figure 14.

Things prepared as props for Things on the Table.

Figure 15.

Photos of Things on the Table activity.

Figure 16.

Photos of Spectrum Sorting.

Figure 17.

Photos of Spectrum Sorting activity.

Figure 18.

Photos of Spectrum Sorting activity.

Figure 19.

Three components of Making of Narratives with suggested narratives and acts of
simple making.

Figure 20.

Diagram of Making of Narratives process.

Figure 21.

Reflective Shadow Storytelling in action.

Figure 22.

Reflective Shadow Storytelling in action (descriptions overlaid beside the image by

Figure 23.

the author).
Reflective Shadow Storytelling in independent action.

Figure 24.

Coffee Making Mock Up House in action.

Figure 25.

Brainstorming for Flux Mappings.

Figure 26.

Floor Mapping iteration 1.

Figure 27.

Floor Mapping iteration 2.

Figure 28.

Floor Mapping in detail (descriptions overlaid beside the image by the author).

Figure 29.

Reflective sketch on Floor Mapping.

Figure 30.

Preparation for Mobile Mapping.

Figure 31.

Still frames from Mobile Mapping video recording. See the full video at https://youtu.be/
x76isL9mGYw

Figure 32.

Transparent Venn Diagram iterations.

Figure 33.

Interconnectedness of all mapping exercises.

Figure 34.

Sketch and ideation of prompts.

Figure 35.

Materials and form variations of prompts (descriptions overlaid beside the image—
clockwise from top-left—by the author).

Figure 36.

Participant responses and discoveries during the first Form & Material Study (descriptions
overlaid around the image by the author).

66

Figure 37.

First Form & Material Study in action.

Figure 38.

Different levels of manipulation on the target board (descriptions overlaid beside the
image by the author).

Figure 39.

Second Form & Material Study in action.

Figure 40.

Participant responses and discoveries during the second Form & Material Study
(descriptions overlaid beside the image by the author).

Figure 41.

Flip through video of the Cultural Design Probe. See full video at https://youtu.be/
NgTnm-z6_qM

Figure 42.

Participants’ responses for When and Where? exercise.

Figure 43.

Participant’s response for When and Where? exercise in detail.

Figure 44.

Participants’ responses for Saying Hellos in Most Negative Transitional Experience
exercise in detail.

Figure 45.

Participants’ responses for Most Positive & Negative Transitional Experience exercise.

Figure 46.

Objects Gone and Objects Carried instructions in detail.

Figure 47.

Participants’ responses for Objects Gone and Objects Carried exercise.

Figure 48.

Participants’ responses for Phrase Sorting exercise.

Figure 49.

Participants during the co-creative workshop.

Figure 50.

Photo of How did you find the Probe? activity.

Figure 51.

How did you find the Probe? in action.

Figure 52.

Ethics application approval letter. Emitted by the Emily Carr University of Art + Design
Ethics Research Board.

Figure 53.

Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans Course on
Research Ethics (TCPS 2: CORE). Certificate of Completion.

67

APPENDICES
The following is a detailed description, process, and reflection of my other generative
projects including earlier explorations and primary research activities.
Each project provides valuable insights, opening up junctures and new arenas for
further inquiries that lead to the next exploration. This section best illustrates my
approaches, processes, and ways of thinking, as a designer and design researcher.

69

APPENDIX 1

REFLECTIVE SHADOW STORYTELLING
Directed Storytelling & Participatory Activity
This project aimed to explore storytelling as a tool to open up discussions
concerning the idea of home and sense of belongingness, as well as spatial
design in which people can feel safe and encouraged to share personal stories.
Participants in Reflective
Shadow Storytelling: Master
of Design 2018 students from
Emily Carr University of Art
+ Design.

Based on Directed Storytelling method (Martin & Hanington, 2012), I conducted a

16

participatory activity where participants were asked to draw a scene that evokes a
feeling of home or gave them a sense of belonging on a transparent sheet of paper.
Each participant was then invited to hold up their drawing to cast a shadow of it
on the wall; this was intended to magnify the drawing to life-size proportions so
participants can see their own shadow on top of the casted drawing—creating a
sense of coexistence with the past. While facing layers of casted shadows, guiding
questions were asked to assist participants to tell stories about their drawings.
The spatial design was explored, as I attempted to create a space that was inviting
for participants to share their personal stories comfortably. I used thick black fabric
to enclose the hollow space above, which then became a dark room. Participants
later shared that this type of private space influenced them to openly share their
emotional and personal stories related to their casted drawings.

Figure 21.
Reflective Shadow
Storytelling in action.

70

Draw a scene of
“what makes you feel at home”or
“what gives you a sense of belonging”
Magnified shadow of the drawing—life size
Creating a sense of coexistence with
past memories

Guiding questions were asked to ease
participants to tell stories about their drawings

Enclosed studio with thick black fabric to
create a dark room.

Trust between the participants

Figure 22.
Reflective Shadow
Storytelling in action
(descriptions overlaid beside
the image by the author).

71

APPENDIX 1

REFLECTIVE SHADOW STORYTELLING

This process was documented using video recordings. After the activity, I conducted
semi-structured interviews with participants to gather in-depth qualitative data and
constructive feedback for future explorations. It was astonishing to see the level of
willingness and openness on the part of the participants.
Personal stories of their pasts, relocation from one home to another, and personal
meaning of home associated with certain people and things were told. Some
participants grew emotional during the session as they shared their life experience
of being detached from home. Space played a crucial role in terms of creating an
atmosphere of intimacy and inclusion among the participants.

Figure 23.
Reflective Shadow Storytelling
in independent action.

72

COFFEE MAKING MOCK UP HOUSE
Creative Toolkit: Co-creative Participatory Activity
Creative toolkit: A
generative research method
where a collection of physical
elements is presented to
participants to facilitate
various creative activities such
as modeling, visualization,
or creative play (Martin &
Hanington, 2012).

Based on the Creative Toolkit17 method, I aimed to gain insights on how to provoke

Participants in Coffee
Making Mock Up House:
Master of Design 2018
students from Emily Carr
University of Art + Design.

I specifically chose coffee19 as a medium to induce storytelling and dialogue as

17

18

As a transnational item,
coffee is the second most
traded commodity and is widely
popular in our current era.
19

20
Props of ice cubes, coffee
filters, cups, pots, stoves and
other coffee-making tools
made out of low fidelity
materials such as cardboards.

and facilitate storytelling in a participatory activity (Martin & Hanington, 2012).
Participants18 were asked to act out and explain how they make coffee back home.
The meaning of home was not defined for participants but rather left open for
them to explore for themselves.

many people commonly carry stories around it. By using coffee as a common
denominator, I was indirectly inquiring about participants’ ideas around cultural
convergence, similarities and differences of cultural practices, and personal
interpretation of transculturalism.
I laid out an assembly of low fidelity props20 instead of real ingredients and tools to
test if these props promote a festive and fun atmosphere. Along with these props,
post-it® notes and pens were provided for participants to creatively improvise
other tools needed to recite the way they make coffee back home.
During the activity, I found that transcultural identities among my peers often
referred to more than one home and explained how their cultural experiences had
shifted and altered moving from one place to another. As a collective, participants
also noticed similar and different ways of coffee-making amongst various cultures.
It was during these moments of recognition that triggered the most exchange of
stories, affording space for everyone to gain a new or deeper knowledge of other
cultures, including transcultural experiences.
The types of coffees mocked up during the session included Greek frappe,
southern Indian filtered coffee, New Zealand flat white, Korean mix coffee, South
African instant coffee, and Vietnamese coffee.

73

APPENDIX 1

Figure 24.
Coffee Making Mock Up
House in action.

74

COFFEE MAKING MOCK UP HOUSE

As mentioned before, since the term, home was not defined prior to the activity,
each participant was able to interprete their own meaning of home. Many of
the participants associated home to the culture they most identified with. This
association came in many different forms. Some referred to their home from the
place they were born, while others identified home with their ethnic culture. Some
referred to home as a place they spent the most time, while others it was their most
recent dwelling.
In reflection, this activity fostered an environment for participants to immerse in
the topic of transculturalism. Storytelling and dialogues emerged throughout
the session, and both myself and participants were able to recognize cultural
convergences as well as differences. The performative aspect of this acts of simple
mock-up making cultivated a fun and engaging dynamic to the overall experience
for both the actor and the spectator. Through the exchange of stories, the group
was able to bring attention and awareness to transcultural experiences.
Naturally many propositional questions on the concept of belonging, transcultural
identities, consumerism, and sustainable society arose during dialogues:
•

Does cultural association and identity shift or stay the same as you moves
from one place to another?

•

What happens when you return to your home culture? Does life back home
remain as you remember or do you feel alienated?

•

Why are certain memories associated with senses such as aroma of coffee,
the sound of grinding coffee, and the taste of coffee tend to be more
significant and last longer in our minds?

•

For how long do you carry cultural habits or ways of life in a new culture?
And why is there a difference in the degree of these tendencies between
individuals?
75

APPENDIX 1
FLUX MAPPINGS
Exploratory Mapping Exercise
Secondary research on
the topic of transculturalism,
transcultural identities, and
third culture kids (TCK) based
on published interviews,
books, and popular media
scan of online communities.
21

Flux Mappings were a series of mapping exercises conducted in order to explore
various ways of visualizing qualitative and quantitative data. Specifically, I aimed
to find new and alternatives ways for analyzing and synthesizing data that can
stimulate shifts in perspective to foster new insights.
Based on the observations and insights gathered from previous explorations and
secondary research,21 I chose to map out the following inquiries:

See glossary for the
meaning of adult third culture
kid (ATCK).

22

Cross cultural kids (CCK):
A person who is living or has
lived in - or meaningfully
interacted with - two or more
cultural environments for a
significant period of time
during childhood (up to age
18) (Pollock & Van Reken,
2010, p. 31).

•

Explore target group and tangent cultural groups of transculturalism—
third culture kids (TCK), adult third culture kids (ATCK),22 and cross
cultural kids (CCK)23;

23

•

Challenges vs. benefits of growing up as a TCK.

From the onset of this project, I planned a series of exercises utilizing visualization
methods such as Mind Mapping, Venn-Diagramming, and Affinity Diagramming
(Martin & Hanington, 2012). I intentionally took a generative approach and left
the process to be malleable in attempts to learn alternative ways of analyzing and
synthesizing data.

Figure 25.
Brainstorming for
Flux Mappings.

76

FLOOR MAPPING

The title of the first mapping exercise is called Floor Mapping. Instead of the wall, I
used the floor space as my canvas. First, I laid down the white cards on which I had
written major and distinctive characteristics of TCKs. This information was mainly
taken from David C. Pollock and Ruth Van Reken’s book (1999), Third Culture Kids:
Growing Up Among Worlds and Benjamin Self’s Ted Talk (2015), Being a rootless
Third Culture Kid.
I placed the cards with positive characteristics on the left side and the cards with
negative characteristics on the right.

Figure 26.
Floor Mapping iteration 1.

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APPENDIX 1
FLUX MAPPINGS

Figure 27.
Floor Mapping iteration 2.

Then I prepared a separate deck of coloured cards, which I had written unfiltered
statements or memes gathered from TCK communities online. By adding this layer
on top of the cards with distinctive characteristics, I attempted to emphasize their
actual voices and emotions over their characteristics.
It was crucial to identify the cultural landscape of transculturalism and cultural
currents of TCKs, in other words, to understand what they experience on a daily
basis and how they perceive their experiences. The placement of the coloured
cards was in relation to the major nodes. For example, I placed “you feel more
foreign in the country you hold a passport from than any other place in the world”
78

near “off balance in own culture.” Also, “having to say goodbye to an entire way of
life” was placed near “unresolved feelings.”
As I was placing and moving around these cards, I recognized how TCKs possess
multiple perceptions of who they are and how they feel about being a transcultural
person. Even within the same cultural landscape, I found that some identified
with positive effects while others related to negative traits. For example, some
transcultural identities express themselves as having ‘friends everywhere’ while
others see themselves as having ‘scattered, unreachable’ friends. Similarly, some
“form deep relationships quickly” while others have “social skills issue.”

Major nodes: Characteristics of
TCK based on recondary research

Sub-nodes: Raw statements,
memes from TCK Facebook
groups, Instagram, Pinterest, blogs

Layering: Hide the negatives, reveal
the positives of the same issue

Figure 28.
Floor Mapping in detail (descriptions overlaid beside
the image by the author).

79

APPENDIX 1
FLUX MAPPINGS

As soon as I saw these conflicting perceptions, I pulled out a sheet of translucent
paper to add a third layer on top of the white and coloured cards. I covered up the
negative perceptions and instead exposed the positive one.
Afterwards, I took a step back to observe the multi-layered cards. At that moment,
it occurred to me that the translucent paper was serving a purpose, a role of
subduing the negatives and highlighting the positives. As a result, I saw the
translucent paper analogous to a potential design outcome of my research—
to reframe one’s attention from the negative to the positive through shifts in
perspective. This realization was a critical as it afforded a direction for my design
research. It was clear that the goal of this research was not to solve a problem but
to encourage or strengthen a sense of belonging by revealing what was already
existent—the positive effects and benefits of being transcultural—to those who
carry negative perceptions of themselves or a low sense of belonging.

Figure 29.
Reflective sketch on
Floor Mapping.

80

Simultaneously, I conducted another mapping exploration called Mobile Mapping
where I lifted the cards off the floor to link and hang them from the ceiling. Again,
I incorporated the same major nodes from the Floor Mapping.
This time though, I printed these major nodes on transparent film papers and
then first organized them into three categories—Rootlessness, Weak connectivity/
Bonding, and Bridging. Afterwards, I placed the consequences or outcomes of
the three categories and marked them with coloured stickers. This draft iteration
provided me with the necessary structure for how to hang the cards. Also, this
structure later enabled me to better synthesize new insights by correlating them
with their original categories and cross-referencing the sub-categorical nodes.

Figure 30.
Preparation for
Mobile Mapping.

Walking through and around the mobile web, I was using my whole body as a
way to observe the map from different viewpoints and proximities. Through this
exercise, I found new connections between nodes that were not noticeable before
(when placed on the floor). For example, I was able to ask questions such as “is
TCK’s attention-seeking characteristic caused by being a victim to fate mentally?”
And also, “is divergent education a cause for TCKs weak connectivity?”

81

APPENDIX 1
FLUX MAPPINGS

Figure 31.
Still frames from Mobile Mapping
video recording. See the full video at
https://youtu.be/x76isL9mGYw

82

TRANSPARENT
VENN DIAGRAM

The third mapping exercise, Transparent Venn Diagram was specifically aimed
to map out the relationship among different categorical groups of people within
transcultural identities. Keeping a generative approach, I once again used
transparent papers to add malleability to this exercise. Explored categorical groups
consisted of CCKs, TCKs, global nomads, mixed race, bi-cultural, international
students, multicultural, immigrants, minorities, and refugees. This particular exercise
helped me to gain a better sense of who I can design for— target group—and how
transferable my design research can be to other tangent cultural groups.

Figure 32.
Transparent Venn Diagram
iterations.

83

APPENDIX 1
FLUX MAPPINGS

All three mapping exercises and their iterations were performed simultaneously to
interweave all the insights and inquiries to generate further explorations. This nonlinear process allowed a more cohesive exploration and was especially effective in
synthesizing qualitative data gathered from different sources, which in turn, allowed
a broader and holistic understanding of the topic.
As the project progressed, these mapping exercises became an opportunity to
explore and speculate different types of mapping methods and strategies. Moving
away from customary mapping strategies, I was able to explore different ways
of mapping such as layering, visually externalizing information using physical
interactions—hanging and linking cards, and walking around and through maps.
Such experiments offered fresh and different perspectives and helped reveal
hidden affiliations among different nodes.
Also, by focusing the design intent to insight speculation rather than problemsolving, these mapping activities created a site for raising awareness and
insightful conversations on various topics of transculturalism, identity, design
processes and method.

84

As such, I was curious to extend such activities that required physical engagement
to actual transcultural identities. Such activities from card sorting to mapping
showed potential as a tool to gather real-life experiences, traits, and perceptions
that form transcultural identities’ sense of self. One of the insights I aimed to
explore further was how transcultural people’s identities transform as they go
through numerous transitions in life.
Documentation was mainly done in the form of photographs and video recording.
Photographs were used to capture different iterations, which later enabled me to
notice changes in the maps. On the other hand, video recording was an effective
tool to capture my movements and corporeal relationship to the maps.

Figure 33.
Interconnectedness of all
mapping exercises.

85

APPENDIX 1
FORM & MATERIAL STUDY
Material Research & Participatory Activity
The last project was intended to gain insights to shape the direction for the next
primary research phase. This project first started with material practice which
allowed visceral learning of materials and their materiality.
The materials used include paper, cardboard, aluminum foil, plastic, fabric, cotton
stuffing, wood, air-dry clay (water-based polymer clay), and non-drying clay (oilbased soft clay). Depending on the materiality of the materials, I chose different
methods to manipulate and achieve desired forms and shapes. Contrary to what
was expected, the air-dry clay dried up quickly making it easier to subtract or carve
out details. On the other hand, I was able to build up volumes when using the nondrying clay allowing later modifications possible.
Overall, I created 25 objects and included five extra manufactured objects to provide
as prompts in the participatory activity. I invited a couple of my cohorts at a time to
participate in two successive activities, and there were four of these activities in total.

Figure 34.
Sketch and ideation of
prompts.

The first activity focused on the study of form. Here I aimed to explore forms and
materials that best trigger memories and enable better storytelling.
86

Also, I intended to examine the extent to which object identifiers such as logos,
colour, function, and size could be erased while still triggering memories.
Regarding the prompts, I have selected objects that are fairly universal in order
to gain enough participant responses. With the selected items, I have made
three variations of each. Some varied in material and others varied in the level of
abstraction or obscurity of the form.

Cup variations:
paper/take out,
fabric/abstract form, clay/mug
Remote variations:
clay, plastic, styrofoam
Computer mouse variations:
paper, fabric, clay
Phone variations:
card board/flip phone,
clay/smart phone,
styrofoam/analogue phone
Pencils variations:
wood, real object, card board
Shoe variations:
styrofoam, clay, real object
Candle variations:
wood, clay, plastic
Cassette variations:
clay, paper, plastic/case
Key variations:
clay, aluminum foil, card board
Figure 35.
Materials and form variations of prompts
(descriptions overlaid beside the image—clockwise from top-left—by the author).

87

APPENDIX 1
FORM & MATERIAL STUDY

Participants in Form &
Material Study: Master of
Design 2018 students from
Emily Carr University of Art
+ Design.

24

I asked participants24 to pick as many objects that triggered stories or memories
in their life and to place the selected objects in front of them. Then I inquired why
they chose those specific objects when there were other variations of the same
item; and whether it was the form or the material that influenced their decision.

Realistic shoe:
Realistic + detailed objects were picked most
often. However, white (no colour) objects abled
participants to project their own object in the story

Weight of objects:
Objects that resemble the
weight of the actual object
triggered most memories

Figure 36.
Participant responses and
discoveries during the first
Form & Material Study
(descriptions overlaid around
the image by the author).
Paper cassette:
The materiality of paper evoked
emotions attached to the
participants’ story of cassettes

88

Old objects:
Objects that are no longer used
but were common in the past
triggered a lot of responses

Although the responses to the inquiry were not uniform, there was a general
agreement that fairly realistic forms best triggered specific memories. However,
many participants claimed that the absence of colour and printed identifiers helped
them project the object in their memory onto the prompts in front of them.
Other interesting responses were related to the materiality of the objects. For
example, the clay mouse weighed similar to an actual computer mouse and was
relatively heavier than its other variations. For some, this similarity in weight was
a key factor in triggering memories attached to a real computer mouse. Others
commented how the materiality and the texture of the paper cassette tape had
stimulated emotional responses as they provoked memories of their childhood.

Figure 37.
First Form & Material Study
in action.

89

APPENDIX 1
FORM & MATERIAL STUDY

Simply move them around

Assemble:
i.e. stack w/o binding material
Bind w/ removable adhesive:
i.e. tape
Change form:
i.e. squeeze, break, rip, etc.
Bind w/ permanent adhesive:
i.e. crazy glue

Figure 38.
Different levels of manipulation on the target board.

90

The second activity involved material study using the same prompts. In this material
study, I intended to explore materials participants felt comfortable to play and
manipulate the forms. Using a target board where each ring stood for different levels
of manipulation, I asked participants to imagine a situation where they were asked to
mash up these models and to speculate how much they could manipulate the prompts.
Then, I asked them to place each model accordingly on the rings where the centre of
the target represented the least malleability.
Each of the workshops produced different outcomes. However, there was a consensus
that low fidelity models made out of familiar materials provoked most playfulness,
making it easier for participants to manipulate their forms. Such materials included
paper, cardboard and also non-drying clay (oil-based soft clay). Many of the participants
felt the urge to squeeze the clay mouse since it was perceived to be unfinished.

Figure 39.
Second Form & Material Study
in action.

91

APPENDIX 1
FORM & MATERIAL STUDY

Some of the feedback I received was to diversify the prompts. Since all prompts
lacked unique elements such as colour and patterns, participants shared that it
would be interesting to see what will happen if these were incorporated. Also,
objects that best triggered memories in both activities included analogue phones,
flip phones, and cassette tapes—old technologies no longer in use. Things of the
past intrigued participants to strongly reminisce their past stories and brought
a sense of nostalgia, which was then commonly empathized by others. As such,
it would be effective to broaden the spectrum of prompts to include coloured,
detailed, obscure forms, and objects of the past.
The process was documented using photographs and videos. Photographs
were used to capture the beginning and the end of each workshop and was not
used during the activities in order to prevent disturbing the flow of the activity.
Later viewing the video recordings, I was able to notice not only the moments of
contemplation but also the time participants took to recollect their memories as
responding to each prompt.

92

Paper + clay cassette:
Easier to change form (break
or rip) due to commonality
and familiarity of the material
Clay mouse:
Comfortable to assembly, but
difficult to break it because of
participant’s unfamiliarity to
using clay
Card board flip phone:
Easier to change form
(break or rip) due to
commonality of the material

Clay mouse:
Easier to change form and
bind w/ permanent adhesive
due to the malleable,
unfinished, and undried state
of the material
Card board flip phone:
Floppiness of the folded form
encouraged playfulness
Paper mouse + clay cassette:
Easier to change form and
bind w/ permanent adhesive
due to familiarity and
craftiness of the material
Figure 40.
Participant responses and discoveries during the second Form & Material Study
(descriptions overlaid beside the image by the author).

93

APPENDIX 2
Primary Research
In Summer 2017, two successive activities—first, the cultural design probe and
second, a co-creative workshop—were conducted with transcultural participants in
the 25 to 35 age-range residing in Vancouver.
Participants were recruited through the use of social networks, mass emails,
university networks (students and faculty) and personal networks. With the approval
of the Research Ethics Board, all communication was made clear that participation
was voluntary, confidential, and can be terminated at any stage of the process.
For the probe, I was able to recruit 15 participants and had 100% compliance and
return. The cultural probe workbooks were distributed face to face, where I had
the opportunity to review the rationale and purpose of the proposed activities with
each participant. Also, I verbally went over the consent process and presented the
informed consent form and media release agreement.

94

CULTURAL DESIGN PROBE

This activity was intended to inspire participants to reflect and recollect their
personal journey as a transcultural identity working through the provided cultural
probe workbook. The workbook was designed for participants to answer questions,
complete simple exercises, and document their process. The purpose of the
probe was to gather richly engaging and genuine first-person data over a longer
period which an interview session could not offer (Mattelmäki, 2008). By offering
an opportunity to immerse in the cultural probes activity, I aimed to sensitize
participants to my research topic and to prepare them for the co-creative workshop
which they were invited to participate. Also, I intended to gather insightful primary
data of real transcultural life stories.
The first three activities in the probe were to validate whether transcultural
identities, other than myself, also struggled with a sense of belonging. I asked
them to graph the level of their sense of belonging according to their transitional
experiences and places of residence. At the end of the third activity, I also asked for
their personal interpretation of a sense of belongingness.

Figure 41.
Flip through video of the
Cultural Design Probe.
See full video at https://youtu.
be/NgTnm-z6_qM

95

APPENDIX 2

Figure 42.
Participants’ responses for When and Where? exercise.

96

CULTURAL DESIGN PROBE

Figure 43.
Participant’s response for
When and Where? exercise
in detail.

As anticipated, there was a struggle. For most participants, there was a big
drop in their sense of belonging after a major move. Participants, who had the
chance to move back to their original home, struggled with an even lower sense
of belongingness. Interestingly, many of the participants did not fill out their
interpretation of a sense of belonging, and even the ones who did had very
vague answers.
97

APPENDIX 2

The next set of activities in the probe were intended to collect a wide range of
stories from their past. Participants were asked to share their Most Positive to Most
Negative transitions in moments of Saying Goodbyes, Saying Hellos, Moving Away
and Moving To. Some participants wrote elaborate stories, while others had fuzzy
memories of their past. It was also difficult to identify major patterns in the overall
transcultural transitional experience. Although there were some broad similarities,
the way they dealt with change was very personal and individualistic. Influenced by
the previous Tangible Visualization of Transcultural Journey activity in studio class,
I designed the next section to collect transitional memories attached to objects. I
intended to see if there was a particular transcultural material culture and if there
were unique cultural signifiers in the objects they bonded with.

Figure 44.
Participants’ responses
for Saying Hellos in Most
Negative Transitional
Experience exercise in detail.

98

CULTURAL DESIGN PROBE

Figure 45.
Participants’ responses for Most Positive & Negative Transitional Experience exercise.

99

APPENDIX 2

Figure 46.
Objects Gone and Objects
Carried instructions in detail.

This section was divided into two; the first asked the participants to share their
Gone Objects, which stands for objects discarded when moving from one place to
the next. The second section inquired on their Carried Objects, which stands for
objects they kept through transition periods.

100

CULTURAL DESIGN PROBE

Figure 47.
Participants’ responses for
Objects Gone and Objects
Carried exercise.

Counter to what I expected, there were no cultural signifiers that highlighted
participants’ attachment to these objects. Also, there was no distinctive
transcultural material culture. Like everyone else, transcultural identities bonded
with objects based on personal experiences and memories. Even within these
stories, some were very sentimental, while others were plain practical.
101

APPENDIX 2

Figure 48.
Participants’ responses for
Phrase Sorting exercise.

The last activity in the probe was to collect any common traits and perceptions
among the transcultural identities. I placed an assortment of unfiltered statements
and memes gathered from transcultural communities online and asked my
participants to circle the ones they most related to.
Some of the most relatable phrases were:

102

•

“Where are you from?” has more than one reasonable answer;

•

Home is not a place... It’s a feeling;

•

All of your friends are all over the world, and keeping in touch with all is hard;

•

Calling friends in different time zones.

CULTURAL DESIGN PROBE

According to participants, this activity gave them an opportunity to reflect and deeply
think about who they were and who they have become as a person living a mobile
lifestyle. Also, they were excited to know that there were other people like themselves
which normalized their experience and challenges as a transcultural identity.
The main things I learned from the Cultural Design Probe included:
•

Some participants found it difficult to recall details from their memories;

•

Participants do not share a distinctive transcultural material culture;

•

Personal stories are much more significant than cultural associations;

•

Participants had different and vague interpretations of the meaning of sense
of belongingness.

103

APPENDIX 2
CO-CREATIVE WORKSHOP

Figure 49.
Participants during the
co-creative workshop.

In response to the insights gathered in the cultural probe, I shifted and reframed
the sequential co-creative workshop which included five participants from the
probe activity. The co-creative workshop was intended to collect feedback on the
probe book to test the potential of tangible visualization as a tool to aid in deeper
reminiscence, the storytelling of self, and untangling difficult concepts. Here,
the first activity called How did you find the Probe? is presented. The other two
subsequent activities conducted during the co-creative workshop are introduced in
the thesis body.
Through the first activity, I collected my participants’ thoughts on the aesthetics,
content, flow, language, experience, and emotion of the probe by using colourcoded post-it® notes. Interestingly, one participant wrote, “It is difficult to retrieve
such small details about an experience from a long time ago.” This statement, to a
certain degree, validated the purpose of testing tangible visualization as a method
for deeper reminiscence and storytelling of self.
104

Figure 50.
Photo of How did you find
the Probe? activity.

Figure 51.
How did you find
the Probe? in action.

105

APPENDIX 4
ETHICS CLEARANCE

Figure 52.
Ethics application approval
letter. Emitted by the Emily
Carr University of Art + Design
Ethics Research Board.

106

PANEL ON
RESEARCH ETHICS

TCPS 2: CORE

Navigating the ethics of human research

Certificate of Completion
This document certifies that

Eugenie Cheon

Figure 53.
Tri-Council Policy Statement:
Ethical Conduct for Research
Involving Humans Course on
Research Ethics
(TCPS 2: CORE).
Certificate of Completion.

has completed the Tri-Council Policy Statement:
Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans
Course on Research Ethics (TCPS 2: CORE)
Date of Issue:

3 November, 2016

107

EMILY CARR UNIVERSITY OF ART + DESIGN

© Eugenie Cheon, 2018

A CRITICAL AND PROCESS DOCUMENTATION PAPER SUBMITTED IN
PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF DESIGN