| Abstract: | Today’s graphic design students embody inspiration from sources associated with globalisation, not least online, as well as local impulses from everyday life. In this article, we draw upon the work of two student groups – one in Norway, one in Singapore – to investigate the relationship between input and how they are used to design the packaging of food products. Two classes got similar design briefs and worked simultaneously in two countries, communicating through a common Facebook group. By the end of the project, each class discussed and analysed their sources of inspiration. The design solutions were dissected in separate design elements to look for national characteristics, despite similar international digital inspiration. By investigating cultural differences and similarities in designing based on the hypothesis that design students in Singapore and Norway have the same online design inspiration, this article demonstrates how international sources of inspiration affect the local visual traditions of designers. However, the prioritisation of design elements reveals that despite living in a global network society, designers still adhere to national design traditions. |
