Design Revitalizes Small Businesses... Dongseo University Design Support Project

Small business owners and students are taking a commemorative photo after the 'Hinyeoul Cultural Village Small Business Design Support Project Results Presentation.'

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, trainee reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Dongseo University College of Design held a results presentation for the ‘Hinyeoul Cultural Village Small Business Design Support Project.’ The project is being promoted to practice the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The ‘Hinyeoul Cultural Village Small Business Design Support Project’ was conducted as a project-based course for design college students.

The project aims to “solve social problems through the power of design” by supporting the design needs of local small businesses struggling due to COVID-19 and practicing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The project was carried out with support from the Dongseo University LINC+ Project Group’s Living Lab program.

Starting with a field survey of Hinyeoul Cultural Village last September, 30 students were divided into 7 teams to identify issues faced by the Hinyeoul Cultural Village Prosperity Association and six businesses. The student teams proposed design solutions to address these issues.

The students communicated with each business owner to create logo designs, in-store signage or menu posters, and cultural products symbolizing both the Hinyeoul Cultural Village locality and the businesses.

In the design proposals, to practice the Sustainable Development Goals, plastic materials and disposable items were excluded, and ideas utilizing coffee grounds were suggested, reflecting the characteristic abundance of coffee shops in Hinyeoul Cultural Village.

Cha Seung-gyu, a student and representative of the Graphic Design Route who participated in the project, said, “I felt proud to discover the value that social problems can be solved through the power of design.”

Lee Sang-jin, chairman of the Hinyeoul Cultural Village Prosperity Association, said, “We discovered problems in the village that we had not thought of before and received ideas, and the satisfaction level among each business is very high.”

The local ‘Small Business Design Support Project’ has been ongoing for six years from 2016 to this year. Over six years, 156 students have participated, supporting the design activities of 42 businesses.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.