GRAPHICS
in Paradise
by Mara Jevera Fulmer
page
5
The challenge of creating good work was compounded
by the lack of consideration by many of our clients for the cultural context
of the audience they were aiming for. Quite often, the lecturer was an
expatriate like myself who knew their subject very well but in their own
cultural context. However common mnemonics that might apply to a westernized
society such as the United States may not be understood by the diverse
cultures of the Pacific islands. So the manner in which we developed the
illustrative matter had to be re-thought out in the Pacific context.
What of the light bulb? A common symbol for the new
or "bright" idea? Does it mean the same thing to a prospective
student with little or no exposure to western culture? A student who might
very well be doing his studies by the light of a kerosene lantern? Other
common symbols I kept at hand, the dollar sign, religious symbols, flags,
people, all had to be modified for this diverse "market", whether
it was used for a brochure for prospective students or as an illustration
for a book or other educational materials.
The cover of a
book and video tape on learning styles of Pacific ISlanders presented to
a UNESCO conference in Geneva, Switzerland. The seashell holds great importance
as a metaphorical symbol in the Pacific.
Art Director/Designer/Illustrator: Mara J. Fulmer
Suva, Fiji --
A Cultural Crossroads
Within the metropolitan community of Suva, Fiji's
capital and home to many international offices and diplomatic missions, it
is interesting to observe how communications are developed, what symbols are
used and how both western and local cultures combine in day to day communications.
Approximately 47 percent of the population is Asian Indian, descendants of
indentured laborers brought to Fiji by the British to work the sugarcane plantations
at the turn of the century. Another 49 percent are indigenous Fijians, and
the balance are other Pacific Islanders, Chinese and "Europeans" (a
catch-all name for anyone who is white).
At Diwali, a Hindu festival of lights usually
celebrated in October or November, Chinese fireworks of all kinds are sold
by the gross. Colorful strings of electric lights are hung all around, sold
in their original Christmas packaging, many of them with little electronic
music boxes that play various European Christmas carols. But next to the packages
of fireworks and Christmas lights are tables of diwas (above is a stylized
symbol of a diwa), little clay bowls which are filled with oil and a cotton
wick set to burn in a more traditional display of Diwali lights.
Ironically, with Christmas just around the corner,
the marketing fever dims, even though Coca-cola displays colorful posters of
a traditional North American white round-bellied Santa Claus holding an "ice-cold" bottole
of Coke while balancing on a surf-board. If it weren't for the rather captive
market Coca-Cola already had, I would wonder how much the average person in
Fiji really relates to that image. Most store vendors display it for three
or four months for its decorative rather than marketing qualities.
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This article was originally presented in
August.1995 to Syracuse University. Mara Fulmer lived and worked in Fiji from
September 1991 through July 1997.
Article Revised September 1998. Copyright 1998 Mara
Jevera Fulmer. All Rights Reserved
