Study On Cultural Composition Design Methodology And Application

In modern society with intense market competition, users concern a product’s functionality as well as its spiritual character. Cultural experience is becoming one of the most important issues which decide the success of a product. As individuals, we require international cultural identification and recognition. Our country is expecting to expand the influence of Chinese culture by exporting values and exhibiting artifacts. In recent years, "Chinese style" has appeared in many design areas such as packing design, architecture, furniture design, poster design, logo design, fashion design and product design. However, "Chinese style" often leads to controversy. Many designers and scholars believe that the over-using localization style in design indicates a sense of inferiority as well as a sense of self-esteem for certain nation. They disagree with binding products and cultural icons together to express Chinese culture. Therefore, I started to reflect on following questions:What conditions are best for design to use cultural elements; what kind of design is a good cultural composition design that transfers the soul of Chinese culture and is recognized by general users; what kind of cultural composition design meets the requirements of modern esthetic as well as product context.This dissertation collected samples for cultural composition design experiment such as cognitional experiment for cultural image. Analytic Hierarchy Process and continuous fuzzy KANO model have been used in cultural image satisfaction study. Cultural image identification rules in cultural compositional design have been concluded. Based on study of cultural symbols, rules for matching design requirements and cultural symbol characters have been built. Cultural composition design oriented cultural symbol database index system has been built. Design case, "echo for the silk road", has been studied to validate cultural symbol database index system and cultural composition design methods.Innovation points of this dissertation:(1) Based on visual symbol layer, behavior habit layer and mental layer, AnalyticHierarchy Process has been used for figuratively recognizing cultural images and KANO model has been used for abstractly recognizing cultural images. Quantitative study and qualitative analysis have been used to study the relationship between traditional cultural elements and users satisfaction on different layers. Rules for recognizing cultural images have been concluded:On different layers, traditional cultural elements have different influences on users’satisfaction. Designs with high cultural recognitions have more design features focusing on visual symbols. However, putting simple cultural symbols together cannot effectively promote cultural image and soul of a product. Traditional cultural images on behavior habit layer and mental layer can increase users’ cultural satisfaction to products. Aesthetic value and utility value leads users on selecting cultural products and services.(2)Cultural symbol is the start point for cultural composition design. Cultural symbol’s characters, design requirements and cultural symbol’s characters matching rules have been concluded:Design features on visual layer are forms, colors, materials, textures and patterns, visually recognized mostly and the efficiency for recognizing is prominent. Design features are matched based on isomorphism form rules; On behavior layer, design features are primarily operating processes and connections to parts, mostly recognized by movements, touches and visual perceptions and the efficiency for recognizing is weaker than it on outer layer. Design features are matched based on similar movements and logic relevant rules; on the mental layer, design features are literary works, thoughts and ideas, mostly recognized by mental sympathization. Some designs’ outer layer features contribute to cultural reorganization on inner layer, mostly matched based on perceptive sympathization and meaning consistency rules.(3)Developed "Cultural composition design oriented cultural symbol database index system", collected cultural symbols covering restaurant business, animals, plants, personal dress, opera and drama, architecture, festivals and ceremonies, living goods, religions and philosophies. According to design processes, extracted and refined eighteen terms representing traditional cultures, which can be used in cultural composition design to build systems, assist designers to filter, match and propose cultural symbols.