New Product Styles and Concepts in the Bicultural Context

This paper explores how designers develop new product styles and concepts by combining elements and features of two distinct cultures. Looking at historical events, the author indicates that cultural adaptation could bring novel manifestations of arts and design. He applies the concept of dialectics to analyse the formation of novelties and then proposes three levels of design schemes to facilitate product innovation in the bicultural context. Finally, two cases are presented to demonstrate key factors of the proposed approach. The results suggest that cross-cultural communication and inquiry learning are important tactics for fostering creativity and product innovation.