this draft design brief was produced by a client team 06 located in Vienna, Austria for a design team 03 located at Loughborough, UK for the Global Studio 2013: Re-imagining a Folklore project the design brief is exploring a theme of Re-imagining a Folklore set for the 2013 Global Studio

1. GLOBAL STUDIO
a briefing for Team 3

2. CONTEXT
Various masks and creatures play a large role in the Austrian folk culture across all regions of
the country and on the course of several seasons. At various occasions, adults will disguise themselves
as these creatures.
These costumes are used to empower moral values on children, using fear.
Myths and tales include:
Berchta or Perchta
Berchta has two forms, she may appear either as beautiful and white as snow like her name, or elderly
and haggard. Berchta roams the countryside at midwinter, and to enter homes between the twelve
days between Christmas and Epiphany (especially on the Twelfth Night). She would know whether the
children and young servants of the household had behaved well and worked hard all year. If they had,
they might find a small silver coin next day, in a shoe or pail. If they had not, she would slit their bellies
open, remove stomach and guts, and stuff the hole with straw and pebbles.
the Cuelebre
A beautiful maiden once did nothing but admire herself in the mirror and comb her long fluffy hair all
day, never helping to spin the wool or knead the dough. Angry at her pride, a water nymph turned the
maiden into a cuelebre , a snake with wings.
The only way to break the spell was if she met a knight who is is not afraid of her and finds her
beautiful.
the Krampus
Krokus accompanies St. Nicholas, who visits every home during the night and leaves small gifts in the
shoes of children who have been good during the past year. Those who have misbehaved, however,
may get punished by his helper. He might take back the gifts that St. Nicholas left for them, and leave
them a lump of coal instead. He might give them a birching with the switch he carries with him. Really
bad children might even get carried off in his sack and taken along. Traditionally, young men dress
up as the Krampus in the first two weeks of December and particularly on the eve of December 6 and
roam the streets frightening children with rusty chains and bells.
TEAM 6 | AUSTRIA | GLOBAL STUDIO : Re-imaging a folklore | FIRST BRIEFING OCT.2013

3. TASK
We want you to research, which masks/faces from austrian legends and myths are reacurring elements throughout
the country. You may have to draw your own from text descriptions.
The “Faces” you discover should be broken down into physical modules, offering children, aged 4 to 8, the possibility
to create their own masks.
The mask elements should reflect the contrast in moral values depicted in the tales and should be produced locally
in kindergardens, schools or at home: thus using materials such as cardboard and/or 3d printing (since this market
is rapidly expanding)
The pricing in materials and retail of the blueprints should not exceed 10 pounds per complete mask.
GOAL
The aim is to offer the children a playful approach to fear and brutality from certain myths, give them a sense of
empowerment towards what used to scare them, yet understanding the morality of the stories. The children should
have the possibility to design their own monsters or enemies and possibly inherit them.
CONCLUSIO
- moral apects: good behaviour, kindness, hard work, pride, humility
- roleplay and empowerment
- exchangeable elements
- low-cost physical product
TEAM 6 | AUSTRIA | GLOBAL STUDIO : Re-imaging a folklore | FIRST BRIEFING OCT.2013