Design Literacy Grounded in Place Atmosphere and Ethnographic Recording

A Collaborative Program between Musashino Art University and Central Academy of Fine Arts

Abstract

Abstract : This paper examines how design literacy can be formed through ethnographic recording grounded in place atmosphere. In a collaborative workshop between Musashino Art University and the Central Academy of Fine Arts, 24 participants walked through designated urban areas, photographed over 200 images, and restructured 30 selected photographs into sequences. Analysis of the outcomes revealed that bodily engagement with place activated attention to subtle differences and atmospheres, and that the process of selecting, arranging, and annotating fragments functioned as an editorial practice for structuring experience. The paper also identifies limitations where bodily perception was prematurely reduced to conventional explanatory categories.