The Culture Based Model: A Framework for Designers and Visual ID Languages

The globalization of instructional design is the direction for the 21st century and beyond. Future designs of instruction, like the emerging VIDL, must consider culture as an integral component to the design process. Culture is a core construct of all design decisions; however its potential to improve the design process has been mostly ignored in the field of instructional design (Subramony 2004; Young, in press-a). This lack of interest in culture as a design construct may be prevalent for various reasons. First, designers are not sure how to represent culture in the design process, what to look for, nor what to include. Second, there may be conflicts between the culture of the target audience and the technology; and many designers are grappling with how to bridge these communication connections (Chu & Reeves, 2000). Third, a comprehensive framework in which to integrate culture into the analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation (ADDIE) process has not been available. Finally, the inclusion of “cultural frames abstract