Ancestry Diary
What did you make and why?
For this project, I am making a journal that is made of recycled paper and kombucha leather. The initial inspiration for my design came from actually looking for diaries online and not being able to find anything that looks like what I have in my mind (various kinds of colors and page design). Therefore, before I had even begun with this project, I already wanted to make this myself during free time. The reason why I chose this design particularly for this class is because I can source all the materials locally from school using the materials I already have. Another reason is because of my identity. Growing up as a South African born Taiwanese with Hong Kongnese siblings and received international school education all my life, I never felt a sense of belonging one country or one identity. With the rise of interracial marriage and immigration, I feel like my future offsprings might experience this more often. By writing down these messages, hopefully, those that have to experience what I’ve experienced will feel less disoriented and more included.
In what ways will this object be useful to me after 50 years of change? How will it promote resiliency?
If there are no accidents, this diary will not only benefit me for 50 years but my entire bloodline until the end of time. In terms of the change aspect, this diary will serve me by allowing me to reach a different conclusion to life every decade and letting myself see that transition over time.
Because of the purpose of this diary, I feel like it might help promote resiliency within my family more than it would among other unrelated people. I can definitely see how sharing this book can help bond my descendants and making sure that different families will still find the time to stay connected despite how far apart and busy they might be from each other. This is especially important to the Taiwanese culture.
What specific event(s) of environmental change will it help me adapt or address?
The use of kombucha leather may be directly addressing animal extinction and animal cruelty since most leather comes from animals. The use of recycled paper may be addressing deforestation.
What materials do I intend to use, given what I’ve learned this semester about changing resources and material availability?
The materials I intend to use for this project include Coconut oil, beeswax, kombucha leather, recycled paper, food coloring, and sewing kit. If food coloring does not work well, I might be forced to incorporate a small amount of watercolor paint. Generally, most of these materials can be sourced locally and are both sustainable and healthy to the human body.
How does y object offer function and aesthetics over time? How does it fulfill the Long-Life Design criteria to the best of my ability?
For my object, I believe the older it gets the more aesthetically pleasing and useful it becomes, because the content of this diary will only increase overtime.
This design matches nine of the ten criteria, which are 2. Cost, 3. Sales, 4. Manufacturing, 5. Function, 6. Safety, 7. Planned Production, 8. User, 9. Environment, and 10. Design. The only criteria it does not match is 1. Repair. Since this design is a book. I doubt there will be many ways to repair this object. Regardless, I feel like the less “perfect” this design is, the more aesthetically pleasing it becomes.
System’s Map & Repair Story
Systems Map PDF Repair Story PDF
Curated Images
