CULTURE MATTERS Part 2: Cultural Ideals and History
Culture cannot be identified by one factor but is “learned, shared, symbolic, integrated, and dynamic.” (Anthropology 4u, “Characteristics of Culture”) Many cultures evolve constantly and designers need to understand local culture in order to expand and market overseas, creating inclusive and universal designs.
With the advancement of technology, South Korea and the US serve digital products in similar types of services, ranging from e-commerce to finance tech. In the previous CULTURE MATTERS, I mentioned Snapchat and SNOW, how they both exist with the purpose of AR lens features. Yet, they designed different user experiences, because Americans and Koreans have different values, beliefs, and needs — influenced by their own cultures. While Snapchat aimed at humor, SNOW aimed at cuteness. Culture influences the way we think, act, and speak. Though both have AR lenses, their different uses target separate markets.
The U.S. design culture progressed quickly with a fast-paced economy from agrarian to urban society during the Progressive Era. From graphic design to product design, an emphasis on the idea of modernist aesthetics and functionality existed from the very beginning. Without an ancient history, America capitalizes in pop culture.
Coca-Cola’s branding design and Mickey Mouse’s illustrative character show an evolution from hand-drawn to digital graphics. The US growth economy perpetuated an evolutionary cycle that brought out the biggest buyers and the largest consumerist culture in the world.
“Form ever follows function, and this is the law. Where function does not change, form does not change…” (Louis Sullivan, 1896, “The Tall Office Building Artistically Considered”)
Sullivan’s quote places a strong emphasis on today’s functionality and user-centered design in the United States. Form and functionality has a significant influence on the consumerist culture and the prioritization of function in UI/UX through digital platforms. From a designer’s perspective, decorations that exist for the sole purpose of visual aesthetics are an unnecessary design element that disrupts the purpose of the application. Specifically, the functionality of buttons, text, and interactivity in product design can be aesthetically pleasing without unnecessary decorations. For instance, if we look at CTA (Call-To-Action) buttons today, we tend to design with a simple shape and text because users are aware and familiar that ‘if they click this button, it will go to the next screen’. Thus, if we add more elements into our CTA button, such as icons, gradients, and division between the icon and text, users will often feel confused and unable to have a good user experience.
American products lead in design with practicality and accessibility in mind, catering to user-friendliness and preferences. Designers do not only exist to create something beautiful but to help users easily understand the information in a visual sense — that “design is problem-solving.” (Zamarrón, 2017)
So, what deems a good design?
Today, most consumers rely on their phones to check businesses’ websites, apps and reviews to determine whether what they provide meets their needs. Designers must work more in the world of digital design as opposed to traditional ones, such as magazines, billboards, and flyers.
“Classic designs are harmonious, well-proportioned in form, and often restrained in style. To reinterpret a classic design, the original form needs to be respected, and the underlying structure of the form understood before making changes. Decoration applied must be suitable for the form and take into account the function of the object, although ‘classic’ does not necessarily mean the style needs to be minimalist in nature or lacking in decoration.”
(Design Technology, “6.2 Classic design, function and form”)
The current golden rule is: good design draws attention to the eye and makes a product easy to use on a digital screen. Every element in any form of design is made with the intention to clearly communicate the message to its audience. In other words, a good design is when the functionality is prioritized as a form that first serves the purpose of the product or application and secondly, be aesthetically pleasing.
Capitalism.
The South Korean economy was hardly established until the 1950s due to the Japanese colonization and the Korean War. After the war, the Korean government was deeply concerned with its economy and wanted to strengthen its country through commercialization. The country’s visual identity, initially influenced by Japanese ideals and values, led the country to have an ambiguous design identity.
These examples show the similarities of organic patterns and curved roofs between South Korean and Japanese traditional architecture. The colors and symmetrical patterns are evidence of how Japanese design impacted South Korean designs during the Japanese colonial rule.
Many Japanese and Korean graphic posters demonstrate how Japanese and Korean designers share similar placements of visuals and linework illustrations. The Japanese motifs are strongly evident in this Noryang Battle poster for Jeonju International Film Festival 2019.
What is Korean design? What are the elements that distinguish Korean from Japanese design?
“Many teachers of this generation were trained during Japanese colonial rule or in Japan, which created an understanding of graphic design through a Japanese lens.” (Letterform Archive, “This Just In: Contemporary Design of South Korea”)
The Japanese influences also led South Korea to look beyond its borders, competing with other countries’ trends, economies, designs, and developments.
“One of the ways to have facilitated global expansion is through the manifestation of Korean capitalist-consumerist cultural modernity in media products such as dramas, films, music videos and variety shows.” (Chua, 2010; Kavoori, 2013)
By 1970, the South Korean design industry advanced immensely from the Korean Institute of Design Promotion (KIDP) with its support “to develop Korea as a design pioneer, support design research, stimulate private investments, and raise the general awareness of design.” (Sven Schelwach and Changmyong Jeon, “Contemporary Traditions: South Korea’s Emerging Design Identity- An Exploration among Professional and Academic Design Experts Aged 30–50”)
Through the support of KIDP, many Korean designers reference their design identity from traditional artifacts, clothing and architecture to today’s electronics, packaging, and interior design.
At the beginning of the Josun period in 1881, traditional Korean clothing was first introduced, what is known as Hanbok. This iconic traditional artifact strongly represents Korea’s identity. Hanbok’s elegant material and colorful patterns are maintained as part of Korean decorative motifs today.
Sven Schelwach and Changmyong Jeon conducted a study where they interviewed South Korean designers, professors, and CEOs to gain insights as to what designers describe or identify as Korean design. As a result, they found that there was no “fixed design identity.” Many described it as “vernacular feelings’’, “balance “, “trendy and adaptive”, and “attention to detail”. Therefore, an experienced, culturally sensitive design leader and team are necessary to determine those nuances and understand what’s authentic.
While Korean designs and designers have been influenced by other countries, they still maintain their traditional values and cultures. Korea has a strong appreciation for “harmony with nature of shapes, the beauty of smooth curves, and styles of grace, elegance, simplicity and honesty.” In their designs, Koreans appreciate the attention to detail in its aesthetics through advertisements, commercials, decorations, products, and more.
On the one hand, the Korean culture having Japanese influence made Korean aesthetics more ambiguous. On the other hand, the Japanese influence has helped Korean culture expand internationally.
Through the Korean War, South Korea was also heavily influenced by American culture. As South Korea transitioned to a democratic capitalist economy, they embraced consumerism. This made a major impact on South Koreans’ brand consciousness and the way they design.
“Under the Korean Wave, also known as Hallyu, Tong and Lin (2008) stated that South Korea is portrayed as a modern capitalist state and its vibrant consumerist culture emphasized. They explained that these representations, which are embedded in the visuals of media products, are welcomed internationally because the consumerist lifestyle is scripted according to global cosmopolitan aesthetics.” (Elween Loke, “The Influence of the Capitalist-Consumerist Culture in Korean Wave on consumerist: A Postmodern Understanding”)
These factors lead South Koreans to romanticize a more urban lifestyle and strive towards modernist designs and technology, all of which is influenced by the Western lifestyle.
South Korean tech company, Samsung, began as a humble “grocery trading store” in 1938. By the Post-Korean War, Samsung “focused heavily on industrialization with the goal of helping his country redevelop itself after the war” (Britannica, “Samsung”) and started to expand its electronic products overseas in the 1970s.
Today, South Korea is one of the biggest powerhouses of innovative technologies.
Through historical explorations between the US and South Korea, despite the similarities and differences in cultural history, they’re both synchronized in a progressive movement towards digital and technological innovations. Although Korea has been impacted by foreign cultural influences, it continues to uphold its traditional cultures and values, while competing in the global economic market.
Both the US and South Korea have a bottom-up movement in consumerist culture as designers are focused more on the user’s needs and wants. It is most interesting to note that while Japanese and Chinese brands have clashed with American products and culture in the past, South Korean products have entered into the US market quite seamlessly.
