Forgotten: An Autoethnographic Exploration of Belonging Through Graphic Design
Date
Authors
Shan, Kexin
Mortensen Steagall, Marcos
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
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Volume Title
Publisher
Universidade Anhembi Morumbi
Abstract
This article presents a practice-led artistic research project that asks: How to represent an international Chinese student’s sense of belonging (or not belonging) through the aesthetics of visual poetry? The project looked into concrete poetry as a visual strategy to develop a design outcome consisting of two publications using an experimental typographic layout and two corresponding posters. This research employs autoethnography and heuristic inquiry as a methodological approach to the creative process to achieve high levels of originality. Based on personal experience, this research project explores the lack of sense of belonging faced by a Chinese student in an unfamiliar place when initially studying in Aotearoa New Zealand. In a design response to this temporary loss of belonging, the project investigated profiled individuals to analyse two specific negative emotions: restless and lonely. In addition, the study applies poetic writing to self-narrative to enhance the potential of personal expression, metaphorically telling stories while creating a visual typographic artefact that breaks with the traditional written prose form. The project is a retrospective of the self, graphically articulating two unforgettable emotions arising from two of the most profound periods affecting the researcher. On the one hand, the project takes a further step towards self-understanding and helps the viewer understand the issues of belonging experienced by Chinese students in a foreign country. On the other hand, it contributes to the discussion of autoethnography and heuristic inquiry to achieve originality in graphic design.Description
Keywords
Autoethnography; Belonging; Design Research; Poetic writing; Self-Narrative
Source
DAT Journal, ISSN: 2526-1789 (Online), Universidade Anhembi Morumbi, 8(1), 293-335. doi: 10.29147/datjournal.v8i1.690
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Copyright (c) 2023 DAT Journal. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.