Concepts on sustainability, proposed by Chen Di and Larissa Rena for Concept Workshop (course leader: Eli Blevis).

1. THE SUSTAINABILITY OF
FAMILY HERITAGE
CHEN DI (11550119G)
LARISSA RENA MANSURA (11526120G)
SD5520 CONCEPT WORKSHOP – SUSTAINABILITY AND DIGITAL MATERIALITY
COURSE LEADER: ELI BLEVIS, PHD.
MDES INTERACTION DESIGN
SCHOOL OF DESIGN
THE HONG KONG POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY
2011/2012

2. PREDISPOSITIONS
For a couple of hundred thousand years most people’s stories were an oral history, passed
down for a generation or two and then forgotten. A few lucky people escaped this information
black hole with a thumbnail entry in an encyclopedia. But encyclopedia imposes a standard of
notability that few people can meet. It doesn’t consider everybody’s story, not for your story, my
story, not for each family’s story, because those have been considered as the story "not
important enough" or “notable” to be included.
But the truth is everybody’s stories belong to the history and they can and should be recorded.
Thanks to the development of technology and the boom of digitized lifestyle, now everyone’s
story can be written into history by using a variety of different ‘digitized’ ways. Each of our
individual story is being recorded in exponentially richer detail.
Speaking of human history recording, as well as our own family history. Family story or history
can be viewed as one kind of precious heritage that needs and should find a specific way to
sustain and be passed down to our descendants. That being said, history is only history if it
lasts—which begs the question whether the heritage from each our family history can be
considered as a potential opportunity that will continue as we bring more of our history and
memory into today’s modern world.
Think about “Who do you think you are?”. Are you curious about “Will our future generations
look back and not know what life was like before them?” These helped the vast majority of us
get started in our genealogy and explore the sustainability of our family heritage that still last in
the modern life.
We’ve been thinking about if human memory , here is our family heritage is going to find a way
to maintain sustainability through a wrenching transformation way, the current period is
crucial in how we could found an outlet elsewhere that bring the past history into the present.
[1]

3. RESEARCH
LITERATURE STUDY
The online survey found that more people than ever are interested in learning about their
family history but today they (on average) know even less about their genealogy. 80% of
respondents were very interested or interested in learning more about their family history (up
from 78% in 2007). On the other hand only 40% were able to name more than one great‐
grandparent (in 2007 50% were able to). Survey shows family history knowledge declining
despite growing interest.
Wikipedia contains entries for just over half a million individuals from history, suggesting that
just one in 100,000 people from history has been lucky enough to be remembered. Even
including the blogs, Facebook pages and Myspace profiles left behind by those who have passed,
less than 0.1% of people in history are remembered today.
[2]

4. In contrast, the 7 billion people alive today are much more likely to live on in the history books.
Over 1 in 10 people alive has a Facebook page and on top of that there are services like
LinkedIn, RenRen and others that capture even more people. The best way to estimate the
overall number of people using social media today is to take the 2.1 billion of us with Internet
access and multiply by the 70% who in surveys say they use some form of social media. That
suggests 1.4 billion social media users, which is one in five people alive today.
We examined how much information different generations have online versus offline. As a
proxy, we commissioned a survey to see how many physical and digital photos individuals have.
Taking the median response in each age group, we calculated the "percentage of our history
which is digital." The results are striking—a teenager today is 86% digital, whereas a 65‐year‐
old is only 12% digital.
Reference: 1000 memories (http://1000memories.com)
[3]

5. STORY COLLECTION
We conducted interviews with several people, asking about any possession that they would
consider as family heritage.
Respondent Family Heritage Remark
Victor 18th century city stamp, “I learned about my grandpa’s way of
25, French books, and painting from thinking through the books he read.”
grandfather
Gracia Necklace from grandmother “How I’m gonna treat the heritage
24, Indonesian depends on my grandma’s will.”
Fara Ring from grandmother She wears it all the time along with
24, Indonesian her wedding ring.
Janny Grandfather’s calligraphy “I wish I could show my grandpa how
25, Norwegian painting I proudly display his painting at my
house before he passed away.”
Harald Vase and trunk from He has difficulty storing the trunk as
32, Norwegian grandmother it’s too big for his apartment space.
Andini Purse from grandmother “My grandma gave it to my mom
24, Indonesian ‘cause she thought she would like it
more than her other children, and
my mom did the same way to me.”
Bilawa Traditional weapons and “My family passed on antiques
24, Indonesian musical instruments from according to the capability of taking
grandparents care of them.”
Woody Stamp collection from father “I sold it when I was a teenager, I
29, Chinese didn’t realize its value yet.”
Emily Bowl from great grandmother “I didn’t really know my great
23, Chinese grandma, but she gave me a bowl.”
Nicole Birth necklace and bracelet “Every newborn in my family gets a
23, Chinese necklace and bracelet. We still keep
them as part of our life even when
we’ve grown up.”
Bindy Pictures and knick‐knacks in “It can be funny for my next
23, Chinese a shoebox generation to see these memorabilia
of my childhood.”
Otty Batik and jewelleries from “Wearing these remind me of my late
54, Indonesian mother mother.”
Soeparwoto Farming land from parents “The farming land is far from where I
55, Indonesian live, it’s hard to manage it. My family
considers selling it.”
Listya Plushie from fiancé and wrist‐ “These are the things that I treasure
24, Indonesian watch from mother and I’ll pass on to my next
generation.”
Nurul Medical center from “The medical center doesn’t always
26, Indonesian grandfather return profit, but our family manages
to keep it running, in honor of our
grandpa.”
Cindy’s parents Chin dinasty treasures from “These treasures value much more
Chinese parents than the money we can get out of
them”
Cindy Birth coin and piggy bank “I want to pass these valuable stuff to
23, Chinese my next generation”
[4]

6. Some respondents were able to share pictures of their family heritage.
[5]

7.
[6]

8. INSIGHTS
Heritage items can serve as a media for intergeneration dialogue and symbol of family identity.
Things considered as heritage items may include:
1. Objects of high economic or social values
2. Memorabilia of important life events
We also discovered several issues that revolve in the process of inheritance, from the side of the
previous generation as well as the next generation’s.
Concerns of the previous generation:
1. How can I pass on my values and identity through the heritage items?
2. Will the next generation love the heritage items as much as I do?
3. Will the heritage items be preserved well, long after me?
Concerns of the next generation:
1. How can I fully understand the values and identity of the previous generation through
the heritage items?
2. What can I do if the heritage items do not suit my personal taste?
3. How can I keep the heritage items safely, even if I can’t afford the space and cost?
4. Will I be able to pass on the values and identity through the same heritage items to my
next generation?
[7]

9. DESIG
GN CONC
CEPTS
Analyzin
ng the insigh
hts that we have genera
ated, we com
me up with t
three design
n directions.
.
1. DIG ITAL PRIV
VATE MUS
SEUM
A herita age item is n
nothing mor re than the oobject itself, without the
e values andd identity em
mbedded
to it. It’ a media for commu
’s unicating tho importa message over gen
ose ant es nerations. However,
H
there’s a gap of ho well the next gene
ow e eration can adapt the p
previous geeneration’s mode of
m
thinking g. Oftentime
es, there is n
not enough information about a her ritage item.
In the o times, stories are p
old passed on o
orally. Such an example is how gr
e randparents tell the
s
family hhistory to thheir grandch
hildren. Thiss oral communication ca an be easily forgotten iff there is
no reco about it We would like to hel recording those ama
ord t. d lp g azing family history in a more
y n
sustaina able way.
The Dig
gital Private Museum is a reposito where family mem
e ory f mbers can st
tore pieces of their
family s
stories in the
e form of wr
ritings, pictu
ures, videos
s, and audio records. Tim
me after tim
me, other
family m
members fro om any geneeration can access them better understanding about the
m to have a b
identity
y of their fam
mily.
[8]

10.
2. COLLABORATIVE UPCYCLING
While it is true that heritage items are very much loved by the generation who owns it the
firsthand, it may not suit the needs and interest of the next generation. The next generation may
have ideas to modify the heritage items into something that they can use better, but they’re
unsure whether it would contradict the previous generation’s will.
[9]

11. We propose a platform where both generations can collaborate in upcycling the heritage items
into a new form that is more preferred by the receiver while still holding the essential values of
the giver.
3. JOINED PHYSICAL MUSEUM
As more and more people move from one place to another, the existence of bulky or even
immobile heritage items may be a burden for them. The lifestyle also changes, that it’s no
longer practical for them to take care of the heritage items. In the other hand, people still wish
to keep the heritage items the way they are, as tangible proof of history.
Our idea is to have a physical museum where anyone can submit their family heritage items that
are related to a common theme, such as a city. In a small scope, a family heritage belongs to a
family. Once combined with other items from other families, they form a bigger picture of
heritage that belongs to the society. We got the inspiration of a joined physical museum from
The Museum of Broken Relationships (http://brokenships.com). It turns out that learning about
other people’s personal objects can be an enlightening experience.
[10]