CHINATOWN VIGNETTES
Team: Annette Cheung and Shannon Boyd
We are a team of product designers interested in crafting compelling visual stories of people, places, and ideas. With this project, we were excited to have an opportunity to experiment with developing creative visual concepts and interactions, while focusing on an outcome that supports cultural stewardship.
Mentor: Dr. William Odom, co-director of the Everyday Design Studio at the School of Interactive Arts and Technology in Simon Fraser University.
Special thanks to Linda Tzang and Karen Tanaka from the Chinatown Storytelling Centre and the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation. Their support and guidance was invaluable to us throughout this project.
Project overview
Over the course of this semester, we consulted with the curatorial team from the Chinatown Storytelling Centre (CSC) to better understand their goals and challenges in order to determine how our project could support their mission through a digital intervention that strengthens and highlights Chinatown’s tangible and intangible heritage.
We are particularly interested in how to present the stories and exhibitions showcased at the CSC to a wider audience, with the aim of helping them realize greater value in the neighbourhood and hopefuly become advocates for the community.
Process
This project is based on primary ethnographic research conducted with the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation in 2018 and more recently in 2021. Over three weeks, we researched various digital storytelling frameworks, mixed media narrative strategies, and technology stacks to identify the most viable approach for our project. We conducted a competitor analysis of other mobile apps and digital experiences in the cultural heritage space. We also worked with stakeholders from the CSC to define key personas and establish a visitor journey map for this project. Finally we defined a visual direction and media asset framework to deliver a set of flexible digital web pages that are scalable to various locations and forms of content.
Key learnings
1.
Learned how to use tools such as Origami and Figma for prototyping, After Effects for animation, Audition for audio mixing, and Webflow for building a case study

2.
Learned more about Vancouver Chinatown’s history during the Boom Years, and the rich culture of the era

3.
Learned about documenting and showcasing cultural artifacts, and the best practices for employing digital technology to a museum visitor experience
4.
Learned about the capabilities and limitations of various technology stacks for delivering a mobile digital experience
5.
Learned about designing for localization as the physical and digital touchpoints needed to adapt to three languages — English, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese


Project outcomes
1.
Created a concept that allows the CSC to extend the museum experience into the surrounding neighbourhood
2.
Delivered a design solution for the partner stakeholder that is light-weight and scalable
3.
Designed a visitor experience that leverages digital and physical touchpoints to augment a contemporary location with its history and culture
Final form
The photos below represent select elements of our project. To see more, please view the full case study
