M I C H E L L E
Foundation in Natural Built Environment
(FNBE)
BACK TO OUR ROOTS
Group Members:
This is the first project given to us for Culture & Civilization where by the project is divided into two parts: individual task and group task.
In pairs, both members are to discover and understand in depth about their respective family background. After gathering all the necessary information, we have to choose one family to work on. The pair will have to work on the chosen family and create a graphical timeline calender and an infographic based on the family's culture and tradition on 2 A3 sized boards. Boards can be made however depending on the pair's creativity and information acquired. The pair will have to study and gather information about the geographical, economy, political, culture, characteristics and achievements of the chosen family to be placed in the A3 sized boards.
The pair will also have to produce a 5 minute length short video about the chosen family. The video requires research done on the chosen family.
For the individual task, students are required to make an A5 sized infographic booklet based on their own family's culture and traditions. The information required has to contain practiced culture and traditions of the family which are passed down from previous generations until today.
The chosen family: Wong Family (My Family)
Project Introduction:
Project Brief:
For my individual A5 infographic booklet, I have gathered information about my family's culture and tradition which we still practice until today from my relatives. My grandmother and aunt are the 2 main sources for my information as they are the eldest in the family.
After gathering all the informaton, I have picked the topics which I find most special to be placed in my A5 infographic booklet. The topic I have chosen is practices of my family during festival celebrations.
Individual Task
Project Process:
For our group work, we have chosen my family to work on as there is more information about my family. We did not have a proper interview session with my grandmother, I asked her questions over the phone, so I gathered bits and pieces of the information we needed then sorted it out with my partner, Cham.
Group Task
Group Members:
Cham Zheng Chee
Michelle Wong
Drawing and colouring the cover for my A5 booklet
Drawing and planning the layout for the booklet
Colouring the pictures, icons and background for each page of the booklet
Final touch ups and writings
Writing and pasting information in the booklet
We understood the stories of how my ancestors travelled from China to Malaysia and organized the timeline properly. After understanding and organizing the bits and pieces of stories into a full story, we planned on how to design the graphical timeline and family tree board together based on different concepts and themes.
Information about my family's culture and tradition was also gathered, analyzed and organized properly. We followed the requirement on the brief to find out about geographical, politics, etc of my family and worked on the information from there. We understood in depth about each category given and chose the best information to be placed in each category.
We experimented on various different methods and materials when designing both the A2 boards based on different themes. We worked on the design of both boards together.
Graphical Timeline & Family Tree
Culture & Tradition Infographic A2 Boards
For the video, we did not have a proper interview session so we made a short film with narration out of it. We used pictures from the internet as backgrounds and made small characters as props to make the video. It is an animated video where the characters are moved along the family timeline from the first generation up to my generation.
We filmed the video together at campus and edited it with myself as the voice over.
Video
Discussion and understanding of brief
Planning and drafting the A2 boards with the available information
A draft of our layout and content
Experimenting on materials and methods to make the graphical timeline
Drawing and colouring done by Cham and I for the graphical timeline and family tree board
Colouring for the graphical timeline board
Colouring for the infographic board
Experimenting on water colour for the infographic board
Completing the infographic board layout with pasting and writing
Finalizing and putting the infographic board together
Layout of my family's timeline to be recorded for the video
Props
Props and characters for the video
Filming the video
Editing the video with Sony Vegas
Final A2 Boards:
The Wong's Journey
Graphical Timeline & Family Tree
Getting to Know The Wongs
Culture & Traditon Infographic Board
Cham and I with our final A2 boards
Final Video:
Final A5 Infographic Booklet:
 Cover |  Offerings |
|---|---|
 Ghost Festival |  Tea Ceremony |
 Tea Ceremony |  Back Cover |
Before working on this project, I have already been exposed to my family traditions especially traditionswhich are related to festivals such as Chinese New Year or Ching Ming. However, after completing this project, I have realized that what I know is only a drop in the ocean wher there is so much more I need to know about my family. This project has opened a horizon for myself not only in understanding traditions which are practiced in my family, but also my family's history and to why we continue practicing such traditions up until today.
From researching and interviewing family members to get information about my family, I now understand why the internet is not a world wide information tool or a dictionary. Some information, private and personal ones especially, are unique from other mainstream pieces of information. The information that I have managed to gether from my family members are unique and different from other family's traditions. Searching for a mainstream piece of information will only erase off the beauty of our current tradition. Anyone could have chose to search for traditions and taboos off the internet but my partner and I chose to not, as the most raw piece of information brings out the unique feel of my family even if going through research by interviweing, asking and sorting out information takes up a lot of time.
This project made me step out of the shell I have been hiding under, where I was oblivious to all the beautiful and interesting traditions my family has been having and practicing all this while. In a way, I have been taking my family for granted because all the little practices like every morning's prayers is done by the generation before mine.
As for the group work, communication is a key factor in finishing and completing the task at hand in the most effective way. Discussions are a must so that we are able to voice out our opinions for the others to understand what we need to finish for the project. As this is a pair project, the group only has yourself and your partner. If communication does not work well between the two, the work might either not be completed or one person might have to finish the work on their own instead of working as a group. As for being in pairs, we must be able to identify each person's strength in order to finish and complete the task at hand. In our case, after gathering the needed information, we started to plan and spread our work. Cham was in charged for drawing while I am in charged for colouring.
In a nutshell, research and extracting information is important when it comes to inforgraphic board planning so that the final boards will not look to crammed with too much information. Understanding each other comes in handy too so that we would be able to assign work to each other based on our strength.
Reflection:
TGC Aquired:
THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
DISCIPLINE SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE
