Sustaining the cultural design features of Kelantan heritage pottery through contemporary-cultural approach to achieve cultural continuity.

The aim of this study is to determine how the cultural design features of Kelantan heritage pottery can be sustained to achieve cultural continuity. Based on the Cultural Design Implementation Model employed in the study, an experiment was conducted to identify and analyze cultural design features on Kelantan heritage pottery, using the Phi-proportion and the two basic structural units (square and circle) associated with Malay motifs. The cultural design features were integrated into contemporary designs as surface decoration and the designs were evaluated using Semantic Differential Survey. In order to improve the conventional production process, rapid prototyping technology was introduced into the development process. Overall, the findings identify seventeen (17) heritage motifs as the cultural design features and they conform to the two basic structural units (square and circle) used in plotting Malay motifs. Eleven (11) out of the seventeen (17) motifs conform to nature’s order (Phi- proportion), which reflects the harmony between man and nature. In addition, the study also proves that the heritage motifs can enhance both the visceral and reflective level of contemporary product design while rapid prototyping technology can improve the production process, especially when integrated with artisanal skills as hybrid technique. Therefore, from the findings, the study concludes that cultural continuity can be achieved through contemporary cultural designs and hybrid technique (rapid prototyping and artisanal skill).