User Perception of the Benefits of Function Following Form in Cross-Cultural Entertainment Environments

In the entertainment industry, many cross-cultural intellectual property (IP) are produced to promote global understanding and reinforce cultural identity. Many studies have been conducted on cross-cultural design such as on product, character, and environmental designs. However, no study has proposed the benefits of design elements in various media to guide concept designers. This study adopt three key elements of art and design from other industries: silhouette, skin (texture), and function. We created four large-scale cross-cultural environment prototypes representing different cultures between Thai and Japanese audiences. The prototypes were tested on audiences using 360-degree video and still-image media to examine how silhouette and function elements benefit each type of medium. The results revealed that silhouette is the most effective cultural promotion tool in 360-degree video, whereas the function element is noticeable only in still-image media. Silhouettes that do not originate from the audience’s own culture further emphasize the audience’s ability to recognize functional elements in the prototypes. In still images, audiences could observe changes in functional elements only in prototypes with silhouettes from a foreign culture. The overall mean score indicated that the Thai audience was more satisfied with and attracted to the cross-cultural environment than the Japanese audience. This result suggests that Thai audiences are more appreciative of contemporary art, whereas Japanese audiences are more conservative.