Sleep as Culture with IKEA x Wonderwhy? | Cynthia Darman
Mengubah majalah budaya jadi obrolan dua arah di depan panggung bukan hal yang mudah — apalagi ketika topiknya sesuatu yang seprivat tidur.
Bagi Cynthia Darman, Commercial Officer at Wonderwhy SEA, tantangan itu bukan soal menyampaikan riset sebanyak mungkin, melainkan membuka ruang supaya audiens ikut menemukan insight bersama.
Jadi, gimana rasanya presentasi Sleep as Culture bersama IKEA x Wonderwhy?
"The best part of a conversation is that: it is two-way. Our audience may think they're here to listen to us, but we're actually here to listen to them too."
Cynthia Darman
T& (T&DON): What did you notice from everyday life in Southeast Asia that made rest feel worth exploring?
CD (Cynthia Darman): At Wonderwhy, we aim to uncover the daily habits of Southeast Asians and the cultural stories that come from these observations. So far, we've covered walking, family, and food. For our fourth issue, we wanted to explore sleep because it's something all of us do every day, but we also wanted to emphasize that even in the hours when we're not awake, sleep is still a big part of our cultural identity. We rarely encounter sleep as a cultural topic. So we thought it would be a fascinating challenge to document how Southeast Asians sleep, and what makes it unique compared to the rest of the world.
T&: When brought to Better Rest Project—IKEA x Wonderwhy, which part of "Clean Sleeper" has to immediately join the conversation?
CD: We wanted to talk about home habits that IKEA also observes and applies to their design thinking. One thing we appreciate about IKEA is how they do home visits and take their understanding of human habits around the home seriously, by injecting it into their product and interior design. In particular, we were interested in how IKEA brings order to various types of home dynamics through systems and organization. So we looked at stories that showed homes with a certain tension: families that have different sleep schedules but still sleep together. From these stories, we wanted to spark a conversation about how cultural habits and norms affect home dynamics, and how IKEA translates that into home solutions.
T&: From a cultural documentary people read on their own to a room full of people, what changed when the story had to become a conversation?
CD: The best part of a conversation is that it is two-way. Our audience may think they're here to listen to us, but we're actually here to listen to them too. We craft our talk shows with the intention to hear questions, observations, and learnings from our audience based on our findings. How much of what we have documented is relatable? Which parts are, and which parts aren't? What's something they've never thought about until reading Wonderwhy? We do our best to make sure that our questions are typically things people have opinions or observations about. Because once the story becomes a conversation, the audience is no longer just receiving the material, they're also helping expand it.
T&: When you prepare the deck, how did you balance the proportion of information and audience engagement?
CD: First, introduction for context (but make it two-ways!). We always start with introducing ourselves to give context to our documentation on microcultures. Having a forum before we got into the nitty-gritty of the magazine was also intended to immerse the audience in this topic. Second, showcase our magazine. Then, we dedicate the most time to sharing about our magazine, to showcase the incredible work of our contributors, photographers, and editorial team, while using our findings to spark a discussion with IKEA. Third, let the conversation flow. Once we believe we've shared enough for the audience to understand the topic and its relevant cultural insights, then we can proceed to the discussion. So the balance is really about giving enough context, without turning everything into a one-way explanation.
T&: After everything you shared that day, what's one thought you still wanted people to take home?
CD: Clean sleep doesn't begin once you're tucked in bed. It actually begins the moment you wake up. How we live depends on how we sleep, and vice versa. How we make space for priorities and resources, and how we manage the different triggers of our lives can feel like an overwhelming responsibility. But really, it starts with our homes. I hope through the IKEA x Wonderwhy event, by uncovering cultural habits, both the good and the bad, and the design thinking behind possible solutions, our friends can rest easy knowing that cultivating better sleep habits is easier than we may think.
3 practical tips we can learn from Cynthia's experience:
1. Start from habits people live with.
A familiar topic makes it easier for people to enter the conversation through their own experience.
2. Expand findings through questions.
Don't just present data or stories. Frame them as questions that make people reflect, relate, or share their own observations.
3. Set the context before anything.
Before opening the discussion, help people understand the issue, world, and insight behind it. Once the context lands, the discussion feels much more alive.
