Third-round Intervention Design and reflection on designing

English Version

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Research Title: If Chengdu Cuisine Became Fashion, What Would It Look Like?

Phase 1: Brainstorming

Objective
To translate the outcomes from the second intervention — teahouse, Sichuan pickles, roasted duck skewers — from culinary experiences into the symbolic language of fashion.

Tools / Stimuli
Prepare a set of stimuli such as bamboo chairs from a teahouse, teaware, tea leaves, pickle jars, pickle ingredients, and photos of roasted duck skewers (replace photos with real objects if possible).

Next to each stimulus, provide keyword cards:

• Color: derived from the conclusions of the previous round
• Shape: deconstructed into geometric forms, allowing participants to freely rearrange them
• Texture: for material images, describe the tactile qualities
• Mood: drawn from the last round’s conclusions

Participants are invited to freely combine these.

Guiding Questions

• Choose one element you like. If it were transformed into a fashion collection, what would it look like?
  • (First, select an element; then sketch your ideas on draft paper — it could be silhouettes, patterns, hairstyles, makeup, accessories, etc.; finally, share with the group.)
• After listening to others’ ideas, do you feel inspired to add or expand on your own?

Outputs

• On a whiteboard, map food elements → fashion associations to build an inspiration board.
• Conclude with several design directions, e.g.:
  • “Communal vibrancy”
  • “Fermentation-time aesthetics”
  • “Street vitality”

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Phase 2: Workshop / Making

Objective
This is an improvisational exploration, not about producing “finished garments.” The goal is to generate silhouettes and design directions, transforming abstract associations into visual / material expressions.

Materials
Each participant selects a food symbol (e.g. teahouse, pickles, roasted duck skewers).

• Basic materials: white fabric, colored fabric scraps, scissors, glue, thread & needle, paint, markers, tape, paper
• Exploratory materials: mesh, transparent PVC, hemp rope, bamboo weaving fragments, spices, vegetables

Rationale for material preparation:
I cannot predict exactly how participants will act. From my own projections, a few scenarios may occur:

1. They paint patterns onto plain fabric
2. They sew using colored fabric
3. They cut and collage fabric scraps into silhouettes

Since I believe many unanticipated approaches may emerge during testing, I divided the preparation into three categories:

1. Foundational materials to meet basic making needs
2. Exploratory materials inspired by the three food elements
3. Flexible options to leave space for unexpected experimentation

Experiment Methods

1. Paper Collage Experiment (inspired by Crazy 8s rapid ideation)
   • Participants select an image they feel drawn to
   • Tear the image apart
   • Recombine the pieces on paper to create multiple “silhouette drafts”
   • Post the collages on the wall and briefly introduce:
     • Which elements were transferred?
     • What emotions do they convey?
2. Silhouette Experiment
   • Participants pick their favorite silhouette and bring it to the mannequin
   • Translate the collage into a 3D silhouette using both basic and exploratory materials
   • Allow iterative adjustments until the form stabilizes into a “most convincing” scheme
   • Each participant completes one presentable silhouette

Showcase & Reflection

• Which food did you choose?
• How was it translated into this silhouette?
• If there were a next step, how would you improve it?

Reflections on Designing the Intervention

I consider this intervention to be a significant challenge. The first stage (brainstorming) demands considerable mental energy. The second stage (workshop) requires participants to move from silhouette experiments to the making process. I am concerned that some participants might drop out midway, or disengage and complete the task perfunctorily. If that happens, the results may become arbitrary and lose research value.

To address this, I plan to provide food for energy and play music during the workshop to ease participants’ mood and improve both physical and emotional endurance.

Another concern lies in the silhouette experiment itself. Traditionally, designers repeatedly deconstruct and recombine a single element into dozens of variations — sometimes up to 40 sketches. Some designers may feel too protective of their work, and might view such rapid, improvisational silhouettes as unrefined or not worth serious consideration, thus questioning the validity of this step.

What I hope to demonstrate, however, is that even in an improvisational setting, the outputs can still hold conceptual depth. The ultimate goal is to ensure that the results are not only spontaneous, but also stand up to reflection and critical analysis.

Chinese Version

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研究题目：“如果成都美食成为一种时尚，它会是什么样子？”

阶段一：头脑风暴

目标：把第二轮intervention得出的结论茶馆、四川泡菜、冒烤鸭从“饮食体验”转译成“时尚符号语言”。

操作建议：

1. 触发工具
   • 准备一些刺激物，例如：茶馆的竹椅、茶具、茶叶、泡菜坛子、泡菜的材料、冒烤鸭的照片，(如果能在网上买到这些物品就把照片替换掉)。
   • 每个刺激物旁边准备关键词卡（颜色：由上一轮得出的结论；形状：几何化物品再拆分这些几何图形，我想是参与者可以自由的变换这些几何图形；质地：只有图片的材料需要描述质地；情绪：由上一轮得出的结论），让参与者自由搭配。
2. 引导问题
   • 任意选择一个你喜欢的元素，想象如果它变成时尚系列会是怎样的？（首先请参与者选择一个喜欢的元素；并得到一张草稿纸，画下他们的想法可以是廓形、pattern、发型、妆造、饰品等等；然后分享想法）
   • 听了别人的想法，现在有没有更多的灵感，可以讲述一下吗？
3. 成果输出
   • 用白板，将食物元素 → 时尚联想做成灵感集合版。
   • 最后归纳出几条 design directions（如“热闹社交感”、“发酵时间感”、“烟火市井感”）。

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阶段二：工作坊（Workshop / Making）

目标：这是即兴探索，不需要做“完整衣服”，而是生成廓形和设计方向。把抽象的联想转化为 视觉化 / 物质化 的作品。

操作方式：

1. 选择材料
   • 每个人选择自己喜欢的食物符号，如“茶馆”、“泡菜”、“冒烤鸭”。
   • 提供创作材料（基础材料：白色布料、彩色布料碎片、剪刀、胶水、针线、颜料、彩色笔、胶带、白纸；探索性材料：网纱、透明PVC、麻绳、竹编碎片、调味料颗粒/香料、蔬菜）。

workshop准备材料这个板块我一直在思考如何准备材料可以给设计师一个开放式空间。首先，我没办法提前预设他们会怎么行动，例如在实际操作这一块，我自己在构思可能会发生的场景都有几种。1是准备白色的布料和颜料他们可以在上面绘制图案，2是我准备一些彩色的布料他们可以缝纫一些东西，3是他们会将布料剪碎拼成一个轮廓。这是我能想象到可能会发生的场景，我认为在测试时还有很多目前我相信不到的方式将会发生。所以我在准备材料这块分为3个部分。首先是基础部分满足基本的制作需求。第二是探索性材料我根据这3个元素的特点能联想到一些相关材料的准备。

实验方式

• 纸面拼贴实验（借鉴crazy 8s方式，快速完成）
• 1每位参与者从图片中挑选自己感兴趣的图片。
• 2把图片撕开。
• 3在白纸上重新组合，形成多个“廓形草案”。
• 4每位参与者把拼贴作品贴在墙上，彼此简要介绍那些元素被转移进来了？它的情绪是什么？

• 廓形实验
• 1参与者选出自己最喜欢的轮廓带到人台上。
• 2用基础性材料和创意性材料把拼贴转译为立体廓形。
• 3允许不断调整，但要逐渐稳定在一个“最合理”的方案。
• 每人完成1个可展示的轮廓。

展示与反思

1. 你选择了哪个食物？
2. 它是如何转译成这个廓形的？
3. 如果有下一步，你会怎么改进？

设计完整个干预后，我认为本次的intervention是很大的挑战，第一步是一个头脑风暴这很消耗一个人的脑力。第二步workshop需要参与者进行从轮廓实验到完成制作整个流程。我很担心有参与者中途退出这个实验，或者是摆烂完成实验。如果是这样那么这个测试结果就会非常随意不具备参考价值。我想提供一些食物补充能量，在播放一些音乐舒缓参与者的情绪。这样应该会对大家的体能和情绪方面有一些改善。

同时，我也有另外一方面的担忧。按照传统的设计思路在轮廓实验这个步骤是会采用同一个元素将它不断的拆解成不同的形状，再进行组合。而这个轮廓实验可能多达40个方案。我很担心有些设计师他们很爱惜自己每一次的作品，会认为这种短时间的轮廓实验是一个没有精心打磨的结果。因此对这个实验环节产生质疑。

我希望通过这种即兴输出的结果，在最终的得出的结果是经得住推敲的结果。