Products with Cultural Identity: Connecting Design, Technology, and Tradition

When designing new products, it’s easy to focus on new technologies and futuristic forms, overlooking cultural heritage. This talk will explore how to take advantage of new innovative tools for designing, making, using, and connecting products, while maintaining a strong connection with the user’s cultural identity. An example of this process is Checho, a voice-controlled smart home hub that plays music, answers questions, and performs multiple tasks in and around the home, similar to Amazon Echo and Google Home. What makes Checho unique is its relation to Latinx culture. It’s made out of solid wood and accentuated with traditional Guatemalan fabric, which conceals its high-tech internal components. Checho was designed with Autodesk Fusion 360 software and fabricated via computer numerical control (CNC) milling, reinforcing the concept of using advanced tools without compromising traditional cultural identity. For more details on Checho, visit: https://www.rit.edu/artdesign/spotlights/checho-traditional-smart-hub