MFA THESIS BY ELITA JINGFANG CHEN
MFA THESIS BY ELITA JINGFANG CHEN
Contents
1 INTRODUCTION/ Me, My Family & My Topic › 1 ››
2 AS A MOTHER/ Insights › 2-15 ››
3 AS A LISTENER/ Research & Interviews › 16-51 ››
4 AS A DESIGNER / Design Process & Outcomes › 52-129 ››
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Int rod u ct ion
As a M ot h er
As a Listen er
As a De s i g n e r
Me, My Family & My Topic
As a mother raising two kids in the U.S. after growing up in China, I sometimes felt lost between two cultures.
My husband was raised in the states, and has certain ideas about how to raise children. We are fortunate to have a lot of support from both my parents and my husband’s parents, but sometimes cultural differences can cause a lot of conflict. Different ideas around how to raise a healthy child can be interpreted very differently across cultures, and even though these ideas are based on love, they are not always seen that way.
I originally thought that my situation was unique, but now I can clearly see that these kinds of situations are actually very common.
I thought I would be on my own in figuring out how to navigate between the two cultures to do what is best for my kids. After living here for a while and making friends with other parents who also have a mixed cultural background, I can see that these situations are actually very common and that culture shock exists for almost every mixed race couple who are raising children.
As a graphic designer, I want to use my skills to help cross-cultural families have a better understanding of cross-cultural parenting.
In my thesis work, I have used my skills and knowledge to research and design a set of materials for multicultural parents to use. Through this work, I hope to help others gain a better understanding of how to appreciate and accept cultural differences when making family decisions, so that they can raise children that can take advantage of the best of both cultures.
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Chapter 1
AS A MOTHER
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Int rod u ct ion
As a M ot h er
As a Listen er
As a De s i g n e r
As a mother raising two kids in the U.S. after growing up in China, I sometimes felt lost between two cultures.
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1
Insight
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Int rod u ct ion
As a M ot h er
As a Listen er
As a De s i g n e r
Cross cultural parents think their situation is unique, when many of the joys and pains are common and culture-related. There is Chinese culture and American culture, but there are also commonalities in the hybrid culture of the two mixed together.
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Culture Shock
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Behaviors that could be seen as normal in one country may seem completely odd in another. Cross-cultural parents face culture shock frequently: not only do they have to understand both cultures, but they also have to interpret with their kids and other families.
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2 Insight
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Int rod u ct ion
As a M ot h er
As a Listen er
As a De s i g n e r
Understanding “tough love” through the lens of each culture.
• Discipline: tough love (U.S.) or candy (CHN) • How to measure successful kids: independent thinker (U.S.) vs. best at everything (CHN) • Retirement: go travel (U.S.) or take care of grandkids (CHN) • How to show love: affection (U.S.) or food (CHN) › 9 ››
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American families often say “I love you.” to each o t h e r s , a n d a re m o re direct when it comes to expressing their thoughts and feelings.
In general, Chinese parents are more reserved compared to American parents. For example, they usually show their love by making good meals for the family instead of saying “I love you.”
Expressing Love
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Insight
3 #1: Insight
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Int rod u ct ion
As a M ot h er
As a Listen er
As a De s i g n e r
What you do when you are young sets the tone for the rest of your life.
• Crib sleeping vs. co-sleeping: Is it better to have independence at a young age (U.S.) or rely on parents at a young age (CHN) ? • Help in raising the kids: is it more respectable to raise the kids on your own (U.S.), or have as much help as possible to better shape the kids (CHN) ? › 13 ››
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Int rod u ct ion
As a M ot h er
As a Listen er
As a De s i g n e r
American kids are allowed to have an opinion, and parents believe that questioning authority is a basis of creativity in America.
Obedience to parents is one of the key elements of the Chinese style of parenting. The American parenting culture tends to be more open.
Obedience to Parents › 15 ››
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Chapter 2
AS A LISTENER
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Int rod u ct ion
As a M ot h er
As a Listen er
As a De s i g n e r
I originally thought that my situation was unique, but now I can see that these kinds of situations are actually very common.
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1
Question
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As a M ot h er
As a Listen er
As a De s i g n e r
What are the difficulties parents have in communicating with each other when they come from different cultures? A: Conflict, misunderstanding and miscommunication are usually caused by cultural clash or culture shock. Each of us belongs to multiple cultures that give us messages about what is normal, appropriate, and expected. When others do not meet our expectations, it is often a cue that our cultural expectations are different. We may mistake differences between others and us for evidence of bad faith or lack of common sense on the part of others, not realizing that common sense is also cultural. What is common to one group may seem strange, counter intuitive, or wrong to another. When the cultural groups we belong to are a large majority in our community or nation, we are less likely to be aware of the content of the messages they send us. Cultures shared by dominant groups often seem to be “natural,” “normal”—“the way things are done.” We only notice the effect of cultures that are different from our own, attending to behaviors that we label exotic or strange.
— Culture and Conflict, Michelle LeBaron, Professor of Law and Director, UBC Program on Dispute Resolution. July 2003. › 19 ››
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Barbara
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Int rod u ct ion
As a M ot h er
As a Listen er
As a De s i g n e r
Barbara is the mother of four children, and grandmother of four as well. She spends her free time volunteering as an art docent in the local school district, as well as being a teacher’s aide for autistic children in the local elementary school. As a grandmother of cross-cultural grandkids, learning to adapt to the cultural differences is a new challenge for her.
“
I have a difficult time speaking with my son’s Chinese in-laws, because we don’t speak the same language. The communication is hard that way, and everything is interpreted through the children and grandchildren. I would say there is something very different in a cross-cultural family, because of the language difference. But culturally too, I could see my daughter-in-law’s mother helps her a lot with her children back in China. When she came here, I had to say to my son: “I’m sorry, I can’t be a Chinese mother-inlaw because I work full time, and I have my parents to take care of. Though she understands this, it is still difficult for someone who comes to this country, because she is not used to it. —Barbara
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In American culture, it is common for children to sleep alone in their cribs. Many children have their own room from birth, and are expected to sleep there by themselves. In America, both pediatricians and parenting handbooks would recommend crib-sleeping at infant age because co-sleeping is risky and may lead to spoiling the baby.
In Chinese culture, it is ve r y co m m o n to h ave mothers or grandmothers co-sleep with infant and toddlers, so adults can take care of the kids during the night and make them feel secure.
Crib Sleeping vs. Co-Sleeping › 23 ››
I slept in the bed with my parents for quite a while, but I always had a separate room, even from my birth. I was expected to sleep there by myself. But I would wake up in the middle of the night and climb in my parents bed and sleep with them. They were too tired to push me away. That’s largely the way it happens with our kids too.
Both me and my brother slept with parents until age 5 or 6, co-sleeping is very common in China.
We are the American type family. My mom spoke to us in English, and I had my own room. When I had a nightmare I would go to their room, they would console me, and send me back to my room and tuck me in.
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The co - sleeping was interesting for me when Dan and Jing had their children, and the baby slept with them, not in the crib. I was surprised. They didn’t get a lot of sleep, neither the baby nor the parents.
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2
Question
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Int rod u ct ion
As a M ot h er
As a Listen er
As a De s i g n e r
How much are other family members involved in your parenting? A: The Nuclear Family & the Extended Family. The Nuclear Family consists of a father, mother and any number of their children. It is defined by blood relation of the parents and children and the marriage of the parents. The Extended Family is the relatives of the nuclear family, such as grandparents, uncles and cousins. This is an important fact to be aware of and understand in cross-cultural parenting, especially when each of the parents are from opposite cultures. (Chinese cultures vs. American cultures) Nuclear family culture. Grandparents and extended family members are less involved in parenting. Families advocate equality. The husband and the wife usually have an equal voice in decision making, and on certain matters, family members are regarded as friend who should treated equally in daily life. Extended family culture. Family members depend on each other for support and they are required to show loyalty to the family and demonstrate virtuous behavior. If this is not done, the whole family loses face. The meaning of “face” should be viewed in relation to the gain or loss of the social status of the family, not just of the individual. Chinese culture emphasizes the collective quality in the nature of the individual’s life and behavior. Grandparents are highly involved in parenting.
— Culture and Conflict, Michelle LeBaron, Professor of Law and Director, UBC Program on Dispute Resolution. July 2003. › 27 ››
Warm M ilk , Cold M ilk / Ch in ese Am erican Parent in g
M F A Th es is
El i t a J i n gfang Chen
Chinese family example 22 specific titles shown
Jiujiu Jiuniang
Shushu
In the Chinese extended family example, each Ayi
extended family member
Shenshen
has a unique title, which shows the blood relation-
Mama
ship between the members of the family. Depending on the name, one may
(Mom)
Yifu
Gugu
Waipo
be closer or further from another relative. With this
Nainai
(Grandma)
(Grandma)
type of naming, it’s immediately obvious which side of the family a relative is
Child
Biaoge
Guzhag
on. It is inappropriate to call elder relitives by their
Waigong
names instead of their family titles.
Yeye
(Grandpa)
Biaodi
(Grandpa)
Baba
Tangge
(Dad)
Biaojie
Tangdi
Tangjie
Biaomei Tangmei
The mother’s side of the family
The father’s side of the family
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Int rod u ct ion
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As a Listen er
As a De s i g n e r
American family example 9 specific titles shown
Grandma Grandpa
Grandpa Showing that which side of the blood line a rela-
Grandma
tive comes from is not as
Auntie
important to the American culture. In the American
Mom
family tree, it’s not so clear which relatives come
Auntie
Uncle
from the mother’s side of the family and which come from the father’s side. Simple titles like
Brother
Uncle
Child
Sister
Auntie
A u n t a n d Un c l e , a n d even Grand mother and Grandfather don’t make this distinction.
Auntie
Uncle
Dad
Cousin
Cousin
Cousin
Cousin Cousin
The father’s side of the family
The mother’s side of the family
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Int rod u ct ion
As a M ot h er
As a Listen er
As a De s i g n e r
In American culture, grandparents are take a back seats and let the parents be in charge.
yé
yè
爷爷
nǎi
nai
奶奶
In Chinese culture, grandparents play a substantial role in children’s lives. Family roles are structured by gender and age, and deference is given to elders. Grandparents are expected to be highly involved in childrearing, responsible
wài
gōng
wài
pó
外公 外婆
for decision making, and caring for children throughout their lives.
Grandparents
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“
M F A Th es is
Warm M ilk , Cold M ilk / Ch in ese Am erican Parent in g
When I arrived in America, I felt like a princess that fell down to earth, having to do everything on my own from then on. I had a really nice motherhood when my first kid was born in China. I had my parents and a nanny to help me. I didn’t have much knowlege in parenting at the beginning. After being a new mother for one month I moved to America from China and being in a strange country, I had to adjust to these two things at the same time: not only learning to be parent but also adapting to the new culture. I slowly felt I didn’t treat my children quite right. For example, every time I yell at my children, my mother-in-law gets quiet and walks away. She is upset, but we never have real anger, we both avoid having conflict. —Snow
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Raised in China, Snow moved to the Bay Area with her husband and two kids, and managed to survive while living in her inlaws’ home for many years. Now she has her own home with a big backyard, and has really gotten quite the green thumb. Her once desolate backyard now has all kinds of amazing plants and things to eat too!
Snow
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How hard! There is such a difference between mom and mother-in-law, about how firm we are and what we believe in for our grandchildren. Chinese grandma is more ‘in there’, paying attention to the kids. I’m more stepped back because I’m not the parent. I hope this is not interpreted as not being as caring.
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My mother-in-low must have thought I was abusing the kids by doing things in such different ways, she couldn’t understand. I always tell her no sugar for breakfast for the kids. She doesn’t seem to agree with me. I think the difference is, sweets are mildly sweet in China. Maybe our sweets are so sweet that is bad to have them for breakfast; the Chinese sweets are never so sweet that is okay to have for breakfast.
I didn’t have much knowledge in parenting at the beginning. After being a new mother for one month I moved to America from China and being in a strange country, I had to adjust these two things at the same time, not only learning to be parent but also adapting to the new culture. I slowly felt I didn’t treat my children quite right. For example, every time I yell at my children, my mother-in-law gets quiet and walks away. She is upset, but we never have real anger, we both avoid having conflict.
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3
Question
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Int rod u ct ion
As a M ot h er
As a Listen er
As a De s i g n e r
How important it is for the child to feel identity with both cultures? A: Bicultural Identity: the condition of being oneself when pertaining to the combination of two cultures. In regards to Bicultural Identity, an individual may face conflict assimilating into both cultures and/or finding balance between both cultures. An individual may face challenges assimilating into the whole, collective culture. Similarly, an individual may face difficulty balancing their identity within themselves due to the influence of both of their cultures. Bicultural identity also may have positive effects on the individual, in terms of the additional knowledge they acquire from belonging to more than one culture. Furthermore, with the growing number of racial minorities in American society, individuals that identify with more than one culture may have more linguistic ability.
— “ Multiracial Identity Integration: Perceptions of Conflict and Distance among Multiracial Individuals”. Journal of Social Issues. › 37 ››
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Int rod u ct ion
As a M ot h er
As a Listen er
As a De s i g n e r
Some things that parents can do to balance the cultural identity of their children is to be sure and participate in customs from both cultures, such as having Santa leave presents under the Christmas tree, and giving gifts of money in red packets for Chinese New Year. Food can also play a big role in maintaining the balance in cultural identity, since it pays such a big role in every culture.
Balancing Cultural Identities › 39 ››
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Romi
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Int rod u ct ion
As a M ot h er
As a Listen er
As a De s i g n e r
Romi is from Mexico and her husband is from Spain. Even though they share a common language, they found many differences in how to raise children between their cultures. Now living in a third country, they struggle to make sure their son has a strong understanding of where their parents come from while still fitting into American culture.
“
We raise Pablo more in the American way, because we want him to feel he belongs here. At home we try to keep the customs and Spanish, but outside the house he needs to have things in common to share with his friends and classmates. Our kid’s first language is English; we are now starting to speak Spanish to him and he seems happy to learn it. Having him understand Spanish is less of a problem for myself, because I was frustrated that English wasn’t my language but I had to speak to him day and night in a foreign tongue. I feel the unity of the family when we speak the same language. —Romi
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My dad is Irish and my mom is Japanese; she came to the U.S. when she was 23 and didn’t know any English. I remember I had to sit with a straight back, and put my left hand on my lap when we ate at the dinner table (Japanese manners) until I finally left the house when I was 17.
I look Chinese, but I would identify myself as American. My dad came to America as a young boy while my mom arrived in her 20s with lots of Hong Kong traditions and cultural ideas. I try to gain wisdom from her while still keeping with mostly American ideals.
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My son goes to a public school in San Francisco which has many Chinese students and teachers. Chinese is so prevalent that all of the school handouts are written in English on one side and Chinese on the other. At school, Thomas gets to learn about American traditions, but also gets to celebrate Asian holidays and customs too.
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4
Question
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Int rod u ct ion
As a M ot h er
As a Listen er
As a De s i g n e r
Is the goal to have the child fit into the society to be ordinary, or to stand out to be exceptional? A: Culture shapes parenting styles. Culture shapes people’s values and beliefs. Previous studies have shown that specific attitudes and values are usually different between individualistic and collectivist societies (Triandis, 2001). An individualistic culture tends to give priority to independence and the pursuit of individual achievement. On the other hand, a collectivist culture places more of an emphasis on the individual contributing to the well-being of the family and community (Darling & Steinberg, 1993). As a result, these values and beliefs will likely shape parents and their interaction with their children and their parenting style. In collectivist countries, parents tend to promote values such as helpfulness, conformity, and interdependence within their family (Darling & Steinberg, 1993). Child outcomes will also likely be affected because each culture will have different goals and expectations of their citizens and the children will be socialized under different conditions. Thus, an effective parenting style in one culture may not be as effective in other cultures.
—“ Parenting Styles and Child Outcomes”. http://hdf600.wikispaces.com/ Parenting+Styles+and+Child+Outcomes+in+Different+Contexts › 45 ››
Investment
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Americans are more financially independent and have a credit culture. Besides loans from banks, the U.S. government also provides student loans to support education.
In Chinese culture, grandparents play a substantial role in children’s lives. Family roles are structured by gender and age, and deference is given to elders. Grandparents are expected to be highly involved in childrearing, decision making, and caring for children throughout their lives.
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Dan
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Int rod u ct ion
As a M ot h er
As a Listen er
As a De s i g n e r
Dan, now in his early 40s, spent much of his 20s teaching English and doing freelance programming along the way. He planned to make it all the way around the world, but after arriving in China and meeting his future wife, those plans all changed, and now he’s quite the settled-down dad.
“
I think most Americans think about the phases of their life, and everybody in America talks about having a bucket list of things to do before you die; you want to make sure you save money to do things for yourself. Raising kids is one of the phases, and then you have the phase of saving money for a nice retirement. Maybe it is different in China, the joy is mostly from kids and grandkids. —Dan
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M F A Th es is
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I think Silicon Valley culture is about passing opportunity to your kids, passing on the passion of achieving something.
I think parents in America spend more time telling their kids that when they go to collage they need to be independent. You are on your own when you are 18.
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Int rod u ct ion
As a M ot h er
As a Listen er
As a De s i g n e r
Cross-cultural parents have to face the need to select a way to raise their kids that they both agree with.
Kids are the center of a family in China. Chinese parents would help them to set their life path, from young age to marriage. Parents save up money to invest on children’s education, and then they help them to buy apartments when they get married, and then help to raise the grandkids. Children take care of parents when they are old. That’s how generations extend.
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Chapter 3
AS A DESIGNER
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Int rod u ct ion
As a M ot h er
As a Listen er
As a De s i g n e r
As a graphic designer, I want to use my skills to help cross-cultural families have a better understanding of cross-cultural parenting.
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Int rod u ct ion
As a M ot h er
As a Listen er
As a De s i g n e r
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M F A Th es is
Target Audience /
“S ome people really look down on women that make a con- “ As an attorney and a father, I have a big responsibility to scious choice to stay at home with the kids, but I feel it’s
my firm, but an even bigger responsibility to my children. I
extremely important for them to have this in their lives.
want to do whatever I can to give them the best opportuni-
I spend most of my time volunteering at their schools,
ties to succeed in life. Sometimes I rarely see my kids dur-
helping them with their homework and generally sup-
ing the weekdays, and while our wonderful live-in nanny is
porting them. I really am the CEO of my household, and
great I often am envious of the time she gets to spend with
raising these kids is absolutely a full-time job. Being a
them. I really savor the weekends, when I can spend qual-
stay-at-home mom can be hard sometimes, but I wouldn’t
ity time with my kids outside and around the house. They
trade it for the world.
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”
are the thing I work so hard for.
”
Int rod u ct ion
As a M ot h er
As a Listen er
As a De s i g n e r
” With my only daughter living abroad so far away, the thing ” Family is the most important thing to us. I really enjoy I look forward to the most is having my daughter home to
spending time taking care of my grandchildren, keeping
visit. When she comes with her American husband and our
the house in order and helping with the cooking so that my
two lovely grandchildren, this is the best time of the year
daughter and her husband can have a good life and career.
for us. It’s not always easy and sometimes there is a prob-
I know that one day when I get older and need some help
lem with communication (since my husband and I don’t
getting around, my daughter and her family will be there
speak English), but seeing the sparkle in our grandkids’
for me. That’s just the family way.
KEY
eyes makes it all worth it.
”
Gender
35
EN Speak English
CN
Age
Speak Chinese
Married
Chinese Origin
”
Have Children
U.S. Origin
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M F A Th es is
” In running family counseling sessions, I try and be the ” With such a diverse group of students that come in and objective person that everyone in the family can talk to,
out of the school every year, it’s really important to me to
and I help give them tools to help communicate better.
share others’ cultures in the classroom environment. For
This is hard enough to do with a family where everyone is
some kids that speak a different language at home and
from the same cultural background. Being able to under-
have a very different upbringing than me, it can be hard
stand cross-cultural issues is really important, both for me
for me to relate to certain problems that kids may have.
and the families I work with as a family counselor. I always
Understanding these cultural differences help me make
love books and other materials that I can share with my
sure that all the kids in my class can learn equally.
clients to help them communicate and understand each other better.
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”
”
Int rod u ct ion
As a M ot h er
As a Listen er
As a De s i g n e r
” Moving to another country and making a fresh start is hard. It’s not really a fresh start at all, but a new way of
viewing what I know through a different lens. I want to give my kids every advantage that comes from living in he U.S., but I also don’t want them to forget their heritage. We travel to China every year for a few months with the kids, so that they can spend time in my home country and speak my native language. We also have my mother come and stay with us in the U.S. each year for three months so
KEY
that she can help us raise the kids.
”
Gender
35
EN Speak English
CN
Age
Speak Chinese
Married
Chinese Origin
Have Children
U.S. Origin
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M F A Th es is
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Design Objective /
My design objective is to help Chinese and American multicultural parents overcome cultural barriers, and integrate the best parts of their two cultures into their parenting.
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Int rod u ct ion
As a M ot h er
As a Listen er
As a De s i g n e r
Why I decided to start with the Chinese and American audience. In my research, I found a lot of material that targeted multicultural relationships and multicultural parenting, but not a lot that focused specifically on the issues that come up in Chinese culture. While there was a lot of broad material available, there wasn’t a lot that I could relate to coming from China. I saw an opportunity to provide some insights to my target audience that don’t exist in the marketplace today. Providing narrowly targeted insights based on specific cultures is something that I see as being a benefit, and I hope that the series can be extended in to provide this benefit to other cultures too.
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M F A Th es is
My Goals /
To foster reciprocal understanding.
GOAL
1
Mom
Dad
Child
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Int rod u ct ion
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To create a space that shortens distance.
GOAL
2
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Design Solutions /
5. Promotional Web Site • • • •
One-page scrolling web site Introduction of the app Promotional video App preview link Link to digital book
4. Educational Tools & Social Networking • • •
iPhone app where users can: Take quizzes around parenting and culture that let you know if others are like you. Join a vibrant community of parents and comment on quiz topics. See community events around nearby area that relate to Chinese and American culture
3. Educational Tools •
• •
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A 60-page mini book. Will provide guidance on how parents can overcome cultural barriers and integrate the best parts of their two cultures into their parenting. Will be filled with examples that cover both cultures. Designed to be used by people from both cultural backgrounds as a way to come to some common ground and understanding on child rearing.
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1. Brand Identity Logo
2. Promotional Video One to two minute thesis summary/ promo video.
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For this project I worked with a small team which included a web programmer, two illustrators, a voice-over specialist and a motion graphics animator. I provided the design direction, and we worked through many iterations of each part of the site before arriving at the final version.
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Logo
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I kept coming back to the ways that each culture thinks about hot and cold. When coming up with the logo for my thesis project, I began by listing out the cultural issues that seem to conflict the most between people from China and those from the U.S. As I pondered these, I kept coming back to the ways that each culture thinks about hot and cold. Serving a bowl of breakfast cereal with cold milk seems completely normal to an American but is a very odd concept to those from China. And the thought of boiling a pan of milk to pour over a bowl of Cheerios seems equally as odd to an American. The title Warm Milk, Cold Milk does a good job of introducing the idea of cultural differences around milk (the main food for babies in both cultures) and is interesting enough to pique people’s curiosity. The logotype itself was designed to show contrast between warm and cold, while at the same time incorporating curves to indicate friendliness and harmony. It is designed to appear in both blue and red, to indicate the American and Chinese sides of cultural ideas that come with parenting. I chose the font Balance because it comes with several weights that can work together to create contrast. It also works well across both print and digital, and works quite well at smaller font sizes needed for display on mobile devices. This font also has a name that stood out to me when I was narrowing down the choices of which one to use.
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Moodboards for Logo Design /
[ Contrast ]
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[ Harmony ]
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Logos /
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Style Sheet /
Typefaces /
Balance OT Bold ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 Regular ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890 Light ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890
Icon Style /
Illustration Syle /
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RTWS Yue Gothic 造 字 工 房 悦 黑 在中国文化中，爱通常以婉转微妙的方式表达出来，譬如通过准备 餐点或间接的措辞。
RTWS langQian 造 字 工 房 朗 倩 在中国文化中，爱通常以婉转微妙的方式表达出来，譬如通过准备 餐点或间接的措辞。
Color Palette /
R 208 G 72 B 44
C 0 M 88 Y 97 K 0
R 134 G 199 B 221
C 57 M0 Y 11 K 0
R 194 G 217 B 105
C 27 M0 Y 75 K 0
R 111 G 126 B 137
C 63 M 42 Y 37 K 6
R 224 G 162 B 80
C 2 M 41 Y 8 K 0
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App
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I learned how to build an app from the ground up. The goal of the app is to let people learn about cultural differences that relate to parenting and to provide a way for them to connect with other parents who are going through similar experiences. With a quiz-like format, users can find out how Chinese or how American they really are in a fun and interesting way. When I began thinking about the target audience for my thesis, I knew that an app would be one of the most efficient ways to reach out to my demographic. I decided to spend a semester taking an interaction design class where I would learn how to build an app from the ground up. I started with information architecture and then moved on to user flows and wireframes. I then started doing visual research and began the visual design of the app. In the months following the completion of the class, I began to prototype my ideas and put them in front of users for feedback. Over time, I continued to refine and refine until I had a functioning prototype.
There is Chinese culture and American culture, but there are also commonalities in the hybrid culture of the two mixed together.
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Personas /
Amy
Sandy
Single Western Mom with Chinese Fiancée
First Generation Immigrant Mom
Age: 33 Gender: Female Goal: To understand her fiancée’s culture. Languages: Native English, Intermediate Mandarin Partner: Engaged to Ming (40, Chinese) Children: Zoe (6), Claire (4) Birthplace: San Jose, CA
Age: 27 Gender: Female Goal: To meet people with more things in common with her and her husband. Languages: Native Mandarin, Intermediate English Partner: Lawrence (28, caucasian) Children: Lucy (1), Charles (4) Birthplace: QingDao, China
Cynthia
Ben
Second Generation Chinese American Mom
Hardworking Chinese Dad
Age: 33 Gender: Female Goal: To make sure her kids don’t lose their Chinese heritage and to get back to her Chinese roots. Languages: English only Partner: Dave (33, also second generation Chinese) Children: Bart (18 Months) Birthplace: Richmond, CA
Age: 38 Gender: Male Goal: To share his Chinese background with his wife and son. Languages: English, Cantonese, Mandarin Partner: Rhonda (28, African American) Children: Arthur (4) Birthplace: Beijing, China
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Trend Research /
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User Flow /
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View questions Quiz Quiz
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App Map /
Quiz list
Landing Screen
Profile wizard Quiz Quiz
Take a tour Quiz Quiz
Splash page
M F A Th es is
Ask parents list
Will not be designed
May be designed
Will be designed
Designed
El i t a J i n gfang Chen Warm M ilk , Cold M ilk / Ch in ese Am erican Parent in g
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Sketches /
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Wire Frames /
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Inspiration Board /
Typefaces /
Photo Style /
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Graphic Elements /
Color Palette /
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Book
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Use humor to contrast the differences, but in a balanced way. My book, No! Your Mom is Crazy! is a bilingual guide to parenting for new parents, grandparents and others who come from different cultures. Using humor and illustration, this book walks the reader through the different ways that each culture handles parenting issues, and is designed for both Chinese and Americans to learn something about the other. This book does not teach you how to raise children, but instead provides a way for people to have a peek into others’ cultures, which can lead to further discussion and learning. I began this project by reviewing all the research I did on cross cultural parenting, including the interviews I did with other parents. I then started refining the research by grouping together different cultural parenting issues into themes and began sketching out potential ideas around these themes. I then worked with two illustrators to create the book. One of the illustrators was able to take my sketches and create vector assets that could be used in the spreads for the book as well as for other purposes such as web and motion graphics. The other illustrator helped me create a visual narrative to go along with the written content of the book.
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About the Characters / While many families that are in my target audience may be more diverse, I chose to design this set of characters because they best reflect the most common type of Chinese/American parent relationship in the U.S. and in China.
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Book Title & Covers / The title No! Your Mom is Crazy! comes from the idea that new parents will likely look at their own upbringing (especially that of their mom) as a basis for how to bring up their own child, and in a multicultural family, these ideas are likely to conflict. I designed this book with two front covers—one in English and one in Chinese. The book contains insights into issues around raising kids where each issue has a Chinese version and an American version. The reader gets to compare how each culture views the issue through the eyes of a Chinese grandma and an American grandma. As the book unfolds, the illustrations and text let the reader see why some of the customs from their culture may seem odd to their in-laws, and vice-versa. I chose to bind the book with short sheets in the middle of the illustrations in a way that visually lets the reader compare the different cultures.
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Web Site
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It's all about the user experience design, collaboration and iteration. This promotional web site highlights the details behind my thesis. With this site, I am able to explain my main deliverables (the book and app) via a singlescrolling experience which uses the same illustration style as the deliverables themselves. This site features a video walkthrough which engages the viewer through a narrated experience that showcases the work with animation. Just like the book and the app, I made the web site available in both English and Chinese. For the users that visit the Chinese version of the web site, I also added Chinese subtitles to the video. I began creating this web site by sketching out some of the key screens. I then created some wireframes that gave me a chance to think about how the navigation might work, as well as how the user might experience the different sections of the site when they scroll down the page. For this project I worked closely with a web developer who was able to take my designs and create the HTML and CSS needed to translate it to the web. As we collaborated, we had to consider the technical constraints and update some of the designs to make them work appropriately in the browser.
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Visual Site Map /
Project introduction
To the home page
To the product page
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Switch languages
Project introduction
To the home page
To the product page
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www.warmmilkcoldmilk.com
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Video
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How to tell a compelling story in 80 seconds. The video provides a brief overview of the work that makes up Warm Milk, Cold Milk by telling the story of cultural differences with narration and animated illustrations. The video features an upbeat soundtrack, and highlights both the book and the app in a “Kickstarter” style similar to the modern Silicon Valley product demos. The challenge for me in making this video was to figure out how to combine the most important aspects of my thesis in less than 90 seconds. It took me a long time to pare down the script, which started out to be three minutes long. Once I had a script, I started to build out a series of storyboards that supported the different parts of the script. I was able to take the base elements that my illustrator put together for my book and create a style guide that the animator could use to begin producing rough animations. The rough video demo helped me get a sense for the pacing, and I practiced reading the script aloud with the video to get a sense of what the voiceover would be like. After working with the animator on the pacing, I hired a voiceover specialist to provide the final narration, and also sourced music for the soundtrack that fits well with my theme. It all came together, but very slowly. We needed to make multiple edits to both the video and the audio as I refined my thesis: the logo was not yet finalized, and I was still receiving feedback from my instructors which made finalizing the video really hard. We also spent a lot of time refining the motion transitions —it took a long time and a lot of communication to get them just right.
There is Chinese culture and American culture, but there are also commonalities in the hybrid culture of the two mixed together.
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Video /
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Watch the video online Scan to watch the video
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User Feedbacks /
“ “
I like how these examples are neutral. They are not trying to make fun of one culture but they are quite balanced. I see that you are using humor to help tell the stories and explain the ideas. Humor I think can really work well here to get people interested. —Oliver, father of two boys, American
These quizzes are fun and the questions totally relate to our experiences. It’s funny that now I am really more American in some of my answers after adjusting to living here for so long. This is a really good idea, we would be willing to contribute our stories and experiences if we knew it would help other people out. —Snow, mother of two boys, Chinese American
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Wow, I can tell from looking at this book that there’s a lot to think about that I haven’t considered yet. Even without having kids, I can relate to some of these differences based on [my wife] Jenny and her parents. Jenny and I have been together now for four years and we keep having the talk about having kids. she says one of the great things about having a kid is that they take care of you when you get old. I don’t get that at all, but it makes sense to her. —Rhett, American
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Next Steps /
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This work is extendable, and can be realized. The design framework that I have developed for my thesis was consciously put together to be extended beyond American and Chinese parents. The work I have created so far is merely the first in a larger series of books and apps that could be used to describe the pain and joy of raising children from any two cultures. I see potential to publish No! Your Mom is Crazy and follow its launch by working with other writers and researchers to extend it. I would like to thank all of the parents, grandparents and parents-to-be that took time out of their busy lives to share their thoughts and insights with me. This project couldn’t exist without people like you. I hope that my work inspires others to continue to share their stories and insights about raising children with both cultures in mind.
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Bibliography /
Amy Chua. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. USA: Penguin Group. ISBN 978-1-59420-284-1 Brett R. Kuhn, Ph.D., and Joe Borgenicht, D.A.D. the toddler owner’s manual. USA: Chronicle Books. ISBN 1-59474-026-7 Multiracial Identity Integration: Perceptions of Conflict and Distance among Multiracial Individuals. Journal of Social Issues. Parenting Styles and Child Outcomes. http://hdf600.wikispaces.com/Parenting+Styles+a nd+Child+Outcomes+in+Different+Contexts Culture and Conflict. Michelle LeBaron, Professor of Law and Director, UBC Program on Dispute Resolution. July 2003. Traditional Chinese parenting: What research says about Chinese kids and why they succeed. Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., 2011-2013. Amber Dusick.Parenting: Illustrated with Crappy Pictures. Ontario, Canada: Harlequin, 2013. ISBN 978-0-373-89274-7 Pierre Ostrowski, Gwen Penner. It’s All Chinese to Me: An Overview of Culture & Etiquette in China. North Clarendon: Tuttle Publishing, 2009. ISBN 978-0-8048-4079-8.
Picture Credits /
p. 46
http://ignite.me/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/cognitive-piggy-bank.jpg
p. 56-59 http://babies-dangerous-wild-animals.blogspot.com/2012/05/mara-animals wildlife-safaris.html http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_irPxcWyLEmo/TP8k1GUp3LI/AAAAAAAAAD0/ wIGvKoqhb-M/s1600/African_Lion_King.jpg http://www.mightyheaton.com/2011/10/31/pandas-are-dumb/ http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/wild-animals/images/2614076/title/ polar-bear-wallpaper http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Giraffe08_-_melbourne_zoo_edit.jpg http://wakpaper.com/id147388/the-elephants-wallpaper-named-elephant 065-free-download-2825x1874-pixel.html http://www.flickr.com/photos/12182644@N00/8521319581/ http://www.etsy.com/listing/99773641/illustrated-wildlife-treasury http://www.flickr.com/photos/dusanzidar/5257156555/
Student Name /
School /
Printing /
Elita Jingfang Chen
Academy Of Art University
Blurb
Student ID / 03202752 Phone / 408.348.7772 Email / elitajfchen@Gmail.com Website / Mynameisjing.com
Graduate School of Graphic Design Course / MFA Thesis Semester / Spring 2015 Instructor / Phil Hamlett
Text Stock / Proline Uncoated 100# (148 Gsm) Typeface / Balance OTC RTWS LangQian RTWS Yue Shang Gothic Software /
Š All rights reserved. No part of
Carolina De Bartolo
Adobe CC Indesign
this publication can be reproduced
Title of Book /
Jeremy Stout
Adobe CC Illustrator
without express permission from
Warm Milk, Cold Milk
Amir Bahadori
Adobe CC Photoshop
Elita Jingfang Chen
WWW.WARMMILKCOLDMILK.COM