“信.不信.”
Oh... Really? : A Personal Exploration of
Chinese Superstitions in our Modern Society
Superstitions are losing hold of their influence with contemporary societies, while some interesting customs are being blindly followed. This project seeks out the relevance and underlying meanings to superstitions and taboos which still holds true to the Millennial Generation (years 1980-2000), and also aims to surface notable values that can be found in Chinese superstitions, through Visual Communication Design.
This project aimed to find out how Chinese superstitions and taboos had evolved over the years and then to expose these practices to the younger generations as traditional knowledge becomes increasingly irrelevant in our modern society. This project is a personal journey to explore and interpret the meaning behind some commonly held Chinese Traditional Superstitions. It also aims to investigate and present the perspectives of young Singaporean adults towards traditions of Chinese superstitions and taboos through social experiments in the videos below.
The social experiment brought out a clearer picture of how the Millennial Generation handle Chinese Superstitions, as it also surfaced their understanding towards such taboos. Based on the social experiment conducted, the result showed that many are following such practices just to be safe from bad consequences although they may not fully understand their rationales. The project aimed to focus on bringing a positive perspective towards Chinese superstitions as research usually showed that people were practicing such customs with a negative mind set.
Even Buddy Series
The Even Buddy series focuses on the well-being aspect. In Chinese superstition, odd numbers are considered inauspicious and should be avoided in any circumstances such as when one arranges for traveling, preparing gifts, or even running businesses.
Dark Gift Series
Certain gifts are seen as inauspicious for the Chinese. The Dark Gift series aimed to counter unlucky gifts as the box is made of wood which insinuates ‘to touch wood’, a generic superstition to ward off bad luck and welcome good luck. This package includes a catalogue that has a guide-list of prohibited gifts, aimed to provide useful information on selecting gifts for a particularly Chinese superstitious friend.
Lucky Strike Series
The Chinese have customary superstitions related to good and bad luck. The Lucky Strike Series focuses on introducing a fun perspective about attracting good luck, as people tend to seek out ways to improve their luck for wealth, business, wellbeing and relationships. Rather than using a book as it sounds like the word “lose” in Chinese, the publication for this package is depicted in the form of a stack of dollar notes, with useful information regarding consultations on luck superstitions.
In summary, the project seeks to understand the perspective towards Chinese customs of superstitions among the Millennial Generation. Results from the social experiment showed that most people follow superstitions due to fear of bad consequences. The aim of this project directs its focus to bring about a positive perspective of handling such superstitions being practiced, by creating a series of products both functional and appealing to the masses to aid in superstitious practices in a fun manner. Hence, the brand mark and the use of colours were designed to appeal not only to local Singaporeans, but is also aimed at tourists who have cultural interests with Chinese superstitions. Through this project, the designer hopes to encourage a fun perspective while facing customs of superstitions and taboos that we all grew up and lived with. The designer also hopes to increase awareness of such superstitious customs and practices among the Millennial Generation, as it is part of the Chinese beliefs, values and systems that should be continued and passed on to future generations.
