Question
How can I improve the aesthetics and functionality of school uniforms without increasing its cost?
Primary research
Secondary research
current situation:
Primary and middle school students are in their key period of education in aesthetics of dress. About 60% of students accept or love school uniforms and 40% of students treat school uniforms indifferent and passive, which shows a contradiction between students and school uniforms. From the perspective of the characteristics of adolescent psychological development, the main reason for this attitude is school uniforms can not endow students with a sense of beauty, glory and pride.
Stakeholder
I conducted an on-site investigation in an ordinary urban primary school and interviewed students and ten alumni. I found that school uniform has many different meanings for alumni. So, how can I make the school uniform meaningful?
Research includes:
1. Price of School uniform
2. Aesthetics
3. Functionality (taking school uniform photos, doing questionnaire survey and analysis) Students generally do not have high requirements for the style of school uniform. Many students want to add their favourite things to it. There are not many requirements for functionality, as long as it is durable.
Question:
1. How can I make their demands for school uniforms real?
2. How can I help students change their uniforms according to their will?
Interventions
Platform:
I contacted the school and the teachers to organize students to participate in the drawing collection. And I asked my sister to call her friends to attend the event.
Intention:
1. Pupils have their own style on school uniforms, so I can design new things according to their preferences. For future designs, these ideas and elements can be used to inspire.
2. To find the demand of customers.
Stakeholders:
Pupils who have their own views on school uniforms
Question supporting the intervention:
1. My sister always argues that she should wear her favourite clothes to school. She has her own opinions on her clothes. So what is Gen Z’s views on fashion sportswear? How to better use their creativity?
2. How can I design a collection of fashion womenswear through the drawings of school uniforms by pupils?
Activity/event allowing users to engage：
I noticed my sister’s school uniforms are basically sportswear, so I started a creative painting activity themed “Paint your desired school uniform” to fire their imagination.
feedback
The research outcome: The three works received show that pupils’ needed for school uniforms are simple. But students’ creativity needs to be improved.
One of the children added accessories and styled for the uniform. So how can reflect the personal character? On campus, it can be difficult to use uniforms to reflect personality. Perhaps accessories can make students personalities more distinctive.
Plan
Proposed solutions: taking the perspective of sportswear design Finally, a problem-solving school uniform design will be presented, which will be shown to students and their parents with a questionnaire to improve the design and make it adopted by the school.
Ideas
1. Why students need to wear school uniforms? What is school uniform culture?
2. Study on Chinese Primary School Uniform
3. Study on Primary School Uniform in Foreign Countries
4. Research on the demand of Chinese consumers for sportswear.
Why focus on this issue? Because my sister doesn’t like school uniforms. So didn’t I since I was a child. How can I let the school uniform become something that the wearer can decide?
Reflections/learnings
1. From the perspective of sustainable development, how can we recycle school uniforms?
2. How can I make the school uniform of alumni into a souvenir?
3. How can I endow such souvenirs with better visual induction?
4. How can I make school uniforms become something that the wearer can decide?
5.How can I make school uniforms a form of self-expression? How can make school uniforms a form of self-expression for students?
Challenges/limitations
60% of the students accept or like school uniforms. (REF) These students accept school uniforms. How can I improve their aesthetic appreciation and make them accept new things?
40% of the students treat the school uniform indifferent and passive. They ignore the beauty of the school uniform and are influenced by parents and the environment. How can I change this situation through design?
The old question was limited by cost, so how can reduce the cost? Students have few requirements for the style of school uniform, with asking for functionality and complex design.
Opportunities/next steps
As for the alumni, the school uniforms they wore have a special meaning. How can I make the worn-out uniforms into a meaningful thing?
Reference
[1] Tao Hui, Wang Xiaolei. Research on the importance of school
uniform development in education in the 21st century [J]. Dress
Design Engineer, 2002, (6) : 70-72.
[2] Zhang Li, Liu Guolian. Apparel Market Research and Analysis of
the Application of SPS [M]. Beijing: China Textile Press,2003.
[3] Zhu Baorong. Philosophy of Mind [M]. Shanghai: Fudan
University Press, 2004.
[4] Zhou Liya. Series children’s wear design [M]. Beijing: China
Textile Press, 2003:10.
[5] Liu Yaling, Wei Xiaojun, Ma Zhengyu. Research on the Design
of School Clothing for Pupils [J].Journal of Tianjin Polytechnic
University, 2004, 23(5) : 71-73.