After reading the book The Culture Code by Clotaire Rapaille, I thought about decoding the concept of “design” in Ukraine. What does the author mean by the phrase “culture code”? The unconscious meaning of this or that thing or phenomenon, be it a car, food or a relationship in the context of the culture in which we are brought up. A small excerpt from the book explains Rapaille’s course of thought: “When people have a baby, a human being is born, and not a bird, fish or alligator. This is predetermined by the genetic code. A child born into an American family is a small American. And the point here is not in genetics but in culture. The culture code works here. For example, ‘sun’ in French – ‘lе soleil’ is a masculine noun. For the French, it is associated with the Sun King Louis XIV. From a young age, the French are accustomed to perceive the sun as a male creature and extend this image – radiant and brilliant – to men in general. The woman, on the contrary, is associated with the moon – in French, the word ‘la lune’ is feminine. And, of course, the moon does not shine itself, it only reflects the sunlight. Thus, we can understand a lot about the relationship between French men and women, as well as what imprint these concepts have left in the minds of the people of France since childhood. It’s the opposite in Germany. The sun – die Sonne – is feminine, and the Germans believe that it is the woman who brings life-giving heat and light into the world, raising children… The captured image and code is approximately like a lock and the code to it. Knowing the sequence of numbers and letters, you can open the lock. Understanding the culture code provides us with an excellent new tool, a kind of new glasses through which we can study ourselves and our behavior. It turns our worldview, changes our views on everything around. Moreover, it confirms the truth that we have always intuitively felt, that despite the common human nature, people from different countries are really very different. Culture codes will help to understand this difference.”

Clotaire Rapaille spent more than thirty years to decipher the culture codes of various concepts. He managed to apply his theory in business, more than half of the companies from the Fortune 100 were his clients. During that time, Rapaille developed an effective methodology, which I used to disclose the cultural design code in Ukraine. In a number of individual conversations, I did not ask my respondents what designer was ideal for them, why they preferred one design solution to another or chose one or another design object. After all, I remembered that the first principle of the study says “do not believe what they say.” This does not mean that people deliberately lie or try to present themselves in the best light. We, as a rule, answer the direct question what people want to hear from us. Therefore, I asked my counterparts about their first, earliest impressions when encountered with the concept of design. Gradually, it became clear what exactly the Ukrainians are waiting for from design. They want to be different, they want to show their “otherness”, which is very closely connected with the desire for freedom. The stories of people were emotional, accompanied by pride in themselves or admiration of what they saw. Emotion is the second principle used by Rapaille to solve codes. And, as it turned out, the design for Ukrainians must necessarily be emotionally colored and cause strong feelings. The third principle is “the main thing is the structure, not the content”. In my conversations with people, I tried to pay attention not to specifics (whether they were memories of glasses, clothes, an armchair, or an interior), but to the connection between the person and the design, between experience in using or contemplating the design and the feelings it aroused. The identification of this structure showed that Ukrainians expect the design to confirm their ability to be different, to belong to the world of free people.

The fourth principle of Clotaire Rapaille is “imprinting,” that is, a combination of some experience and the accompanying emotions. According to psychologists, the image imprinted in childhood controls thought and determines our actions in the future. Both I and the respondents interviewed by me spent the childhood years in the times of the Soviet Union. We lived in an era of total deficit, so the possibility of owning any object such as Czech kitchen, the German cupboard or Yugoslav boots was comparable in emotion to the effect of a bombshell. We remember how our parents were proud of such acquisitions, how they rejoiced that they managed to get it. I can not say that the design occupied a large place in the life of Ukrainians at that time, we practically had no direct dealings with it. But we, Soviet children, from our earliest childhood learned that having an item of design sets you apart from the crowd, distinguishes you from everyone else and causes a sense of pride in yourself (I managed, I got it). The time has passed, we have become adults, and the Soviet Union has long gone, but today, when we are confronted with the concept of design, all these emotions latently lead us. We, Ukrainians, want from a design something that will distinguish us, which will cause a feeling of pride, a feeling that we are different – not like the rest.

If the customer has the taste and the architect or designer is skillful – this can give an amazing result – that’s why today the interior works of Ukrainian designers and architects began to receive prizes in international competitions. However, another option is possible here – there is no taste, but there is a desire to show the difference, moreover, to be proud of it, so that no one has such a thing – then we get a “golden loaf” and “golden toilet” and others like them. There is also such a page in the history of our interior design.

So, to understand the meaning of a captured image of a design in a culture, we need to know its code – this is the fifth principle of Clotaire Rapaille. By asking my questions to the Ukrainians, I tried to discover a common meaning. And revealing this meaning, reveal the culture code. These meanings are very different in different cultures, so the codes also different.

I dare to suggest that in Italy design is perceived as “beauty and luxury”, in America – as a “mark of excellence” (a sign of wealth, not “otherness”, as in Ukraine), in Germany – “the possibility of greater convenience, better function”, in France, “the preservation of traditions.” This fact is important to understand for our designers and architects who are trying to work for foreign customers (not for our customers who have some objects abroad, but for foreigners).

The considered principles indicate a certain attitude of a person to design in the light of the culture that educates him. To be successful in the profession, designers and architects need to have a good understanding of the culture design code in the country where they work. In Ukraine, the design should give a person the opportunity to be a dissenter, to feel peculiarity and difference from others.