Culture characterises a society. It brings a sense of identity to a person, the culmination of their social and economical status, history and way of life. The world is made up of many different cultures bouncing off each other, often containing conflicting ideas on the way a person should live and how a society should be maintained.
Culture buries itself within every aspect of the world we have created. It shows itself through agriculture, religion, architecture, art, music, fashion and lifestyle and is forever being manipulated and transformed through the modernisation of societies all over the world.
Culture does not necessarily affect the physical wellbeing of a person, but it enriches countries, giving people definition and a stronger identity.
Cultivating a sense of identity within a community is a way of bringing people together regardless of social status as it is an aspect in which these people can relate to one another. The word “culture” provokes the idea of the accumulative beliefs, values and experiences of a society, thus creating a strong sense of community. Through using these similarities such as religious ideals, history and experiences as a foundation we can begin to build the idea of a society.
Factors such as habitat, upbringing and lifestyle can be considered as a catalyst for the way a person thinks and chooses to live their life. When a person is born into a society, be it consciously or subconsciously they are manipulated and moulded by its surroundings and background, absorbing the information they have been taught and observing the behaviour of the people close to them, they themselves begin to reflect these traits and in turn are able to create a sense of self. Cultural groups can have conflicting ideologies but this is not to say any one is wrong. The constant modernisation of these factors such as habit, lifestyle and backgrounds allows cultures to expand and therefore allows people to express them selves creatively within the standards set within their communities, thus creating an eclectic range of cultures through out the world.
History of Culture.
Throughout centuries cultures have developed and expanded in order to cater for the ever transforming and modernising world. The phrase “History of Culture” is one which can open an endless debate. Culture is a word which categorises and characterises people from all different areas of the world. It is a word that has no beginning and no conclusion. As long as there has been a civilisation, some form of culture has been prevalent.
"both sides of human consciousness - the side turned to the world and that turned inward - lay, as it were, beneath a common veil, dreaming or half awake. The veil was woven of faith, childlike prejudices, and illusion; seen through it, world and history appeared in strange hues; man recognized himself only as a member of a race, a nation, a party, a corporation, a family, or in some other general category. It was in Italy that this veil first melted into thin air, and awakened an objective perception and treatment of the state and all things of this world in general; but by its side, and with full power, there also arose the subjective; man becomes a self-aware individual and recognises himself as such." – Jakob Burckhardt
In this passage Burckhardt refers to the Renaissance in Italy. He discusses the idea that people are manipulated by their surroundings and are in a sense indoctrinated to fit into a structure. He refers to a time in which people seemed to be breaking free of this predetermined formation and in turn allow themselves to become an individual. There has certainly been a prominent change in the structure of many cultures, particularly that of western civilisation, but we can still recognise today many societies and religions that maintain the strict moral codes which were enforced thousands of years ago.
Gender for example, is an issue which has affected many cultures for thousands of years and is in constant flux. In Britain for example, no more than 50 years ago, men were considered as superiors and women were given little rights; unable to work and vote. Over the past decades, after woman’s rights activists groups such as the suffragist and the suffragettes fought for the case, the social status of women began to shift. This in turn can be considered a development in our culture. Social and political issues change, and therefore allow us to move forward as a society. By doing this we are granted a form of freedom and identity, yet still maintain the basic foundations of our cultural backgrounds.
Considering gender as a cultural issue, we can examine current societies, in which religion dictates patriarchal ideals. It is still common in many parts of the world for woman to be the submissive and inferior being, a structure which is conformity of various religious beliefs. This is an example however of a strict religious stance. As Society moves forward and allows people to express themselves, many religions have also incorporated their ideals into modern society, again allowing people to have their beliefs yet not constrict themselves into living a specific lifestyle.
Political, economical, social status, religious ideals, life-style and backgrounds amongst many other issues, collectively create a society. As these factors expand and transform, as do cultures.
Culture and Design
“Ethnography, as I use the word, consists of the processes and products of research that documents what people know, feel and do in a way that situates those phenomena at specific times of individual lives, including pertinent global events and processes…If we pay attention to cultural variability among individuals, we make the reality of social groups, the existence of cultures and the location of cultural boundries empirical issues that require explicit test for construct industry.”- The Construct Validity of Cultures, Culture Theory and a Method for Ethnography- W. Penn Handwerker
Culture is an area of design which must be well considered in order to create a successful product. A design must be made with the intention of a target market. Awareness of social, political and current affairs is an integral part of an effective design.
In Roland Barthes essay “The Rhetoric of the Image” he discusses these ideas in depth. He investigates ideas of the semiotic theory, linguistics and epistemology- a branch of philosophy that investigates the origin of human knowledge. This exemplifies the idea that a design cannot be created purely for the sake of design. A design must be contextualised and relevant to the consumer.
We can look at clothing as an example of the ways in which culture effects the outcome of a design.
Clothes can be used as a way of expressing religious views, beliefs and social status. We can recognise this throughout the world through various cultural groups.
“What accounts for the discrepancy between Kalabari claim and the director’s dictum? How does this relate to dress ethnicity? The answer emerges from Kalabri history, geography and culture. As traders in a global marketplace, they established a reputation for independent spirit and were selective in their taste for trade goods. Their competitiveness and fierce pride, as members of one of the smaller ethnic groups in Nigeria, resulted in a continued effort to distinguish themselves visually from others, and produce their unique Kalabari forms of dress.”- Joanne B. Eicher and Tonye V. Erekosima
To consider culture in relation to design we as designers must hold an extensive knowledge of the market our design is aimed towards.
Cultures throughout the world have conflicting ideologies, beliefs and backgrounds and this must be considered throughout the design process.
The Fabric of Cultures: Fashion, Identity and Globalisation.
Handwerker, W. Penn, American Anthropologist, The Construct Validity of Cultures, Culture Theory and a Method for Ethnography.
Eicher, Joanne. B (1995), Dress and Ethnicity, Oxford, Berg Publishers Limited
Material Religion; Religion & material culture at the V&A museum.
Barthes. R, Rhetoric of the Image
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