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Design As Catalyst

Yiman Yuan

about-Yiman Yuan

Even though we are in technologically advanced lives, we still have problems that can't be solved by science and reasons. At that time, we always ask divination to give us guides. What if designers cooperate with fortune-tellers? What will happen if we use products produced by this cooperation? Can we change our destiny?

I developed a different divination-design process： working with diviners to design products and instructions for use to solve specific problems.

Through the process, come up with three products: Barbed gloves to purify your life, knotted pillow for confidence and attraction, and teabags to communicate with your departed grandmother. I want to know whether divination can bring us more positive influence. Humans defeat superstition through science and rationale, but we will miss the positive impacts it can get that are calming people's hearts and improving performance.

I want to break the rigid design system and embrace more diverse opinions and stakeholders through this kind of teamwork so that we will take the emotion and spiritual meaning to our products.




Divination Design Studio

Divination Design Studio, where designers work with diviners to serve clients who believe in the power of divination. We provide the client with a design contract, which indicates the consultation cost. After receiving the order, we will start to design products by the process, and the client will get a product with a specific ritual to use it. If the user feels that the product doesn't work, they can start the design project again within three months.

*Use these gloves to clear your mental space when you're feeling upset.

During the investigation, we found that the user's living environment and mental state were not very healthy due to his long-term residence at home. So we wanted to use thorn's cleansing powers to initiate a cleansing ritual to help him cleanse his spiritual space.

Barbed Glove, media item 1
Barbed Glove, media item 1
Barbed Glove, media item 2
Disease
Disease
Barbed Glove, media item 4
Instruction
Instruction – Contaminated negative energy can be removed by recycling the gloves.

*It is wise for two people to live separately. But if you need emotional support while living alone, knot the pillow.

This pillow helps long-distance couples strengthen their connection. The ritual of tying knots can enhance a sense of faith in the relationship, especially if one partner is feeling anxious and upset.

Knotted Pillow, media item 1
Knotted Pillow, media item 1
Knotted Pillow, media item 2
Knotted Pillow, media item 3
Knotted Pillow, media item 4
Instruction
Instruction – According to the zodiac, boys give girls more confidence and security. So during the Mercury retrograde time, when a girl may need more companionship, this pillow will be most helpful.

*When you miss late grandmother, you can communicate with her by making her a cup of tea. Different types of tea bags are provided for different members of the family.

The palm contains rich blood vessels, enhancing our perception of things. Different gestures have different meanings and people can use them to convey information. In this project, I designed a set of tea bags using different gestures for family members to express their feelings to their dead grandmother.

Tea Gesture, media item 1
Make a wish
Make a wish
Respect
Respect
Chatting
Chatting
*After the tea ritual, pour the tea on the soil to the east side of the house. The east is where the sun rises, where the souls gather.
*After the tea ritual, pour the tea on the soil to the east side of the house. The east is where the sun rises, where the souls gather.

Yiman Yuan is a product and interaction designer studying Design Product at the Royal College of Art. Working in various roles, including graphic design, interaction design, and CMF design, makes her sensitive to colours, patterns and materials. She is good at communicating visually.

Yiman is interested in all kinds of strange and unusual things and then uses the inspiration they bring to promote her designs. She pays more attention to the hidden emotions and stories behind the interaction between humans and objects, creating higher emotional value for products by designing new experiences.

Show Location: Battersea campus: Studio Building, Third floor

Yiman Yuan-statement

The project of Divination Design inspiring by an internship experiment I had, and I noticed that clients would bring their designs to fortune teller for advice. So I wondered, is there a way to involve diviners as stakeholders in the design process? Will the diviners' views help break through the limitations of design?

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Royal College of Art

Registered Office: Royal College of Art,
Kensington Gore, South Kensington,
London SW7 2EU