Author: Vicky Chen

For the group project, Ashley, Sabrina, Theresa and I worked on building a website for the Sapporo Upopo Hozonkai (Preservation Society). Before we start to actually design the project, we all first did some primary research on the history and culture of the Ainu and later on asked them for their specific needs and requirements on the website during the meeting. 

After the video meeting, we divided the work into website design and video editing. Theresa and I mainly worked on designing the website while Ashley and Sabrina worked on editing the videos. Theresa and I decided that despite the basic pages a website usually includes, we want to specially add three pages- the sounds of the Ainu where we showcase their traditional instruments, the textiles of the Ainu where we set a gallery for the pictures of the details of the embroideries, identity where we interview the Ainu people who came to Shanghai and ask them about their life experiences growing up as an Ainu. Below are the basic layouts we came up with initially.

On the day the show was held,  we interviewed each member of the team. Before the interview, we presented the basic layouts we planned for the website and showed them some templates, they gave us really useful feedbacks on things we need  to pay attention to. They said they want the website to be simple and easy to change. Therefore,  we decided to choose WIX to build our website.  Besides, we decided to add a member page where they can put the pictures and names of each member. Also, they wanted all the blogs to be shown on our website, so we also transported the blogs on the original website to the new one. In terms of the colours, they said they want it to be the colours used in their clothes, so we picked blue as the main colour for our website. After understanding their needs, Theresa and I started to work on the layouts and design of the website. We each worked on a different template, just to give them more choices to choose from. 

Below is what we had for the first in-class feedback session. 

 

During the first in-class feedback session, someone pointed out that the colour yellow and blue might be a little too much for the website, so we sent Roslyn the colour schemes to ask for their preferences and they picked green, blue and white as the main colours. 

During the second in-class feedback session, someone suggested that the “sounds of the Ainu” and “textiles of the Ainu” does not correspond to the other tabs. Thus, Theresa and I decided to add a culture tab and put the sounds, textiles and performances under this tab.  Also, we improved the hovering on the home page and added fade effect to make it clearer.  After getting feedback from the class and people from the society, we decided to continue our work on Theresa’s design.

Th last few weeks we basically worked on improving the design and adding the information and videos into different tabs. Under the “sounds of the ainu” tab, we used the anchor function and put pictures and videos under each instrument. For the “textiles of the ainu” tab, we created a small gallery with pictures and a short description of each embroidery.  For the performances tab, we first put the edited video on top and listed videos for each performance with a short description. 

Below if the live demo of our website.

In all, I am really happy to see what we are able to achieve in a short period of time and I also want to say special thanks to my teammates and everyone who helped us throughout the way. You guys rock!!

The map I created was a guide around my home. In the map, I highlighted several places where I would go to very often and landmarks that I think are recognisable. On the map, I marked out my favorite noodle place and café as well as the ring-shaped Sheraton hotel, which I believe is one of the landmarks in the city. I first drew out the main roads and than marked the places with different icons. The icons I used to represent different places are very straightforward, for example, I used a bowl of noodles for my favorite noodle place. The map is certainly not complete since I only drew out places that I am personally familiar with and left out some other places. But I think this would be a useful guide if I am going to introduce the surroundings of my home to someone who has never been there before.

Jorge Luis Borges’s “On Exactitude in Science” talked about how mapping changed and evolved among different generations. Different generations have different needs and their needs would be reflected on their design of the maps. I think it also shows the fact that even though we often view map as an objective thing, it may get subjective sometimes depending on the users’ demands.

Trevor Paglen’s Experimental Geography: From Cultural Production to the Production of Space discussed geography in a more philosophical way. He proposed the idea of experimental geography that emphasises on the combination of both cultural production and the production of space in geography. He believes that production of space in experimental geography should not only be viewed as an ontological condition, but also an integral part of people’s own practices. I am especially interested the implications behind the idea “the production of space”- human activities and material surroundings together create a feedback loop where human activities create material space and in turn, the space constraints upon subsequent activities of human. The ideas in this article was rather new to me, but I really enjoyed reading it.

The information in the podcast was rather straightforward. They presented several examples of how they involve different senses into mapping. The examples given in the discussion was really interactive and creative. Also, I agree with what they said that “Maps have meaning because they filter out all the chaos in the world and focus obsessively on one item.” I think this is a precise definition of what map and mapmaking really is.

The Ainu: Beyond The Politics of Cultural Coexistence gave me an overview of the long history of how Ainu fought for their cultural independence as indigenous people in Japan. Obviously, the Japanese government took some wrong actions at the beginning that ignored the cultural heritage and their racial identities when trying to assimilate them into modern Japanese society. What particularly attracted me is the part what Tahara Ryoko commented on the new law, “Ainu culture is not limited to language or ceremonies or dance. It is Ainu life itself. Whatever happens every day within the household is Ainu culture.” (Suzuki 1999) I personally think that it is impossible to separate the cultural heritage from the land where the culture was actually nurtured. Thus, I believe the key to the success of actually realizing the “coexistence” and “reconciliation” between Ainu culture and the existing mass culture in Japan is to give them the rights to use and take control of the land where their culture was nourished. In this way, they could be “modernized” while still keeping their own cultural heritage.

The 2012 Tegner Report provided quite a lot of data that would certainly benefit us for our project. What interested me the most is the information of oysters on the menu. It’s interesting for me to see the change of oysters on the menus in different times in New York. In terms of visualising the data, I am thinking of creating a map that shows different species of oysters that were served in the restaurants according to the locations and times. We can definitely make it more interactive by showing the real pictures of oyster dishes that were served in different areas and different times.

 The WCS information sheets provided information of what Wildlife Conservation Society in New York is has done and is working on right now. I am especially interested in their project of getting rid of plastic straws in NYC. I have seen a lot of news and articles on how marine animals are suffering from the pollution of plastics. Whales are killed every year from plastic bags in the marine environment since they often mistake plastic bags for food like jellyfish. I’m happy to see that organisations are putting efforts on this topic and I hope that more countries and government can pay attention to this topic and start to take actions.

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