Design Brief
Design Brief
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Research
Personas
Rachel
24, SF, Editor, Chinese, Live in CA for half a year
Integrating into local life as soon as possible allows me
to get into work faster and get more job opportunities.
—Hardworking Person
Motivations
She wants to know the social norms and is curious about fresh things.
She wants to join local events to make more friends.
Situations
Due to the transfer of work, she needs to leave his hometown and work here alone for three years.
She just came to work in Silicon Valley and has no friends except new colleagues.
Harana
74, Berkeley, Retired, Filipino immigrated, Come to U.S. for 8 years
Why do you interview me? I'm just a grain of sand
in the desert.
—A Fish Out of Water
Motivations
She is lonely without friends here. Taking part in social activities can enrich her life and at the same time have a common language with her grandchildren.
Situations
She can live comfortably in her own life circle almost without speaking English.
Her granddaughters and grandson have fully integrated into the local circle, but due to their large cultural differences and poor communication, she wants to change her life in recent years.
Michael
17, LA, Student, Korean, Live in CA for 5 weeks
Everyone else laughed out loud in the class, but I don’t
get it. Why is it so funny?
—Youth Rebellion
Motivations
He wants to quickly improve his language. Many times his ideas cannot be expressed accurately and there will be a lot of misunderstandings.
He wants to make more friends through common hobbies they have.
Situations
His parents do business here, so he has transferred from high school to continue his studies here.
He has just arrived here, and he is still uncomfortable with his current new life.
Interviews
Research Method
Interviews are a fundamental research method for
direct contact with participants, to collect firsthand personal accounts of experience, opinions, attitudes,
and perceptions.
Interview Guide
Problem
When leaving one's familiar environment and cultural background to move to a foreign country, a new "home" can result in unease or loneliness for newcomers and expats. How do they integrate into local culture and pace of life in America is a problem that needs to be solved.
Overall Goal
To investigate the real thoughts and real needs of living like a local as the newcomers and expats.
Problem Question
How do newcomers and expats integrate into local life in America?
Expectations
The interview will last 15 to 20 minutes and will
not include any personal or sensitive information. There is an online survey to collect the basic information and then I will be proposing questions through zoom to get some ideas and thoughts based on my topic.
Interview Navigation
Introduction
Ask for permission to record
Thank you for setting time aside to talk with my project
Self-introduction
Project introduction
Basic information collection
Hi, I'm Evelyn. I am a graphic design student at the Academy of Art University. I am conducting
this interview for my thesis project on how to integrate into local life as the foreigner.
· What's your name?
· Where are you from?
· How old are you?
· What's your gender?
· What's your job?
· How long have you been here?
· Why do you come here?
Main Questions
Yes
When you settle in a new place, how long do you think it takes to fully feel like a local? Why?
How do you think about living like a local?
What are the important things for living abroad?
Do you think you have integrated into the local life? Why?
What are your suggestions for living like a local?
Do you have some experience to share?
Do you want to reintegrate into local life? Why?
No
Wrap-up
Thank you for your time
Any comments, concerns, feedback?
Interview Summaries
Sherise
Andrew
61, SF, Editor, Burmese American, Live in CA for 25 years
35, SF, Business owner, Fijians, Has come to U.S. for 20 years
A group of friends with the same passions can
sit together, and different cultural backgrounds can
enrich the content of the conversation and result
in unexpected sparks.
Get out of the comfort zone and throw yourself out there to
really blend in with the locals.
thinks it takes more than six years to feel like a local
is a local in Bay Area
a really great way is to get to know local friends and cultures based on people’s own interests
Comfort is one of the most important things
loves to live in such a diversified big city, because
there are different surprises and challenges happening every day
Dare to express one’s own ideas is one of the ways
of communication
thinks it takes more than ten years to feel like a local
thinks of himself as a local
feels that he is a local, because his values are about
the same as locals
Communication is one of the most important things
Only by constant practice can progress be made. Opportunities are for those who are prepared
Developing more areas you are interested can make more friends with same topics
Koyi
Eric H
22, San Jose, Student, Chinese Immigrated, Live in CA for 10 years
25, Wenzhou, Software Engineer, Chinese, Has come to U.S. for 7 years
Although our family has immigrated here, I am not sure
if I can be called local.
Finding a lifestyle that suits you is the most important thing.
thinks it takes more than five years to feel like a local
can integrate well into local life
It is necessary to integrate in work and study, but
not to force it in life
Knowing cultural shock is one of the most
important things
Chatting with people with similar backgrounds will resonate and make her easier to make friends
It’s important to have a common topic
thinks it takes more than eleven years to feel like a local
can integrate well into local life
Mainly get along with friends of the same cultural background. Life and work is different
Language is one of the most important things
Cultural differences cannot be changed easily, and there is no need to deliberately adapt to things you are not used to
Cultural diversity is very important, which allows the Bay Area to provide many ideas and opportunities
Coco
Zirong
21, Seoul, Student, Korean, Live in LA for 2 years
31, Qingdao, Product manager, Chinese immigrated, Has come to U.S. for 9 years
You need to figure out how to meet the local people
not only your classmates but also other people.
I think that’s the difficult part for an international
student to go with
Language is the most important thing for me, because you need to know what they talk about.
thinks it takes more than seven years to feel like a local
cannot integrate into local life
It is not necessary to live like a local
Common topics is one of the most important things
can learn about their life style but maybe she doesn't like it and she still want to keep her own life style
Sometimes, it depends on personalities, if you are very
outgoing and like to socialize, it will be easier
It takes more than fifteen years to fully feel like a local
can integrate well into local life
There are definitely many benefits to blend in local life as soon as possible. For example, you can know a lot of
hidden gems
Language is one of the most important things
Observing the social norms of locals will help a lot
Some social activities may help to integrate into local life,
such as church activities, etc.
Research Themes
How do people think about " Live Like a Local" ?
How do we define " Local" ?
What is multi-cultural communication?
Research Insights
The degree of acceptance and adaptation to the new culture and environment is related to the previous living environment and background.
The degree to which people want to integrate into the new culture and reach out to the locals is staged.
Most people need a motivation to reach out to the new things , especially after living here for a while.
If people have lived in a multicultural environment since they were young, they will quickly integrate into a new place. If they have been living in a single cultural environment and suddenly change their cultural environment, it will be more difficult to integrate.
Affinity Map
First Version—Based on the questions
Improved Version—Based on the same topic
