A Masterclass of Design Excellence at Share Screen 2024
Jakarta Convention Center was already buzzing with anticipation early Sunday (29/09) morning. The queue for the Merak Meeting room grew long well before the doors opened in excitement for the first edition of Share Screen, a design conference organized by the Jakarta Chapter foto the Indonesia Graphic Designers Association (ADGI) held in conjunction with this year’s Ideafest. Armed with a visual identity designed by Tomo Studio, the conference invited six different design studios curated by the association to present and unpack a project from each of their portfolios.
The morning kicked off with opening remarks from Ritter Willy Putra, Art Director at Thinking*Room and Chairman of ADGI’s Jakarta chapter. He explained that the name of the event, Share Screen, was a nod to online meetings and the need to confirm if all participants are able to see the presentation, which became increasingly commonplace after the pandemic period. Ritter stressed that while the event showcased was a way to not only share the incredible work of some of the best that Indonesian graphic design has to offer, but to also allow the audience a look behind the curtains—revealing numerous drafts, the extensive effort, and the highs and lows of each project—in hopes that, “Next time, it could be you sharing your screen on this stage,” he said.
First to present was Gumpita Rahayu, Founder of Bandung-based type foundry Tokotype. Gumpita showcased the extensive creative process behind the creation of Rupa Family, the font family they designed for GoPay. He explained that GoPay needed their own font family as a unifying element for the GoPay brand style. The Tokotype team knew that the font they designed had to be something that was uniquely Indonesian and organic yet modern. Rupa Family also needed to fulfill a broad range of needs, from large promotional campaigns to the body text in the application itself. The final results, Rupa Serif, designed for headlines and subheadings with its characteristic ink traps, and Rupa Sans, for body text needs, took many revisions to create with constant feedback from GoPay. Gumpita Revealed that the italicized typeface alone took three months to develop as it was a struggle to find a cursive style that would achieve the same impression as the ink traps on Rupa Serif. Gumpita concluded his presentation by emphasizing the power of typography as something essential in forming a brand’s cohesive visual identity as well as how injecting the element of local culture, whether it be in the design itself or in the design narrative, can breathe new life into type design.
Following Gumpita was Jakarta-based design studio Visious, represented by Co-founder and Creative Director Rege Indrastudianto as well as Design Director Derrie Kleefstra. The two creative leads of the studio gave the audience a deep dive into the extensive and comprehensive journey behind the Jaya Suprana Institute (JSI) rebrand. Triggered by their relocation away from MOI to their new brand new building, the project was a massive undertaking with the rebrand of JSI itself as well as the many entities it encompasses including the Jaya Suprana School of Performing Arts (JSPA), the MURI gallery, and more. Derrie explained that after extensive deliberations with the Visious team and the JSI team, their approach to the rebrand focused on the big idea of JSI as the “home of Indonesian prodigies”. This influence is especially evident in their color palette of Jaya Red, Ivory White, Legam Black, and Medal Gold. The Visious team was also conscious of Mr.Suprana’s legacy as a musician, conductor, TV personality, and cartoonist. As such, they also implemented a number of Jaya Suprana’s cartoons into the visual identity. According to Rege, one of the Visious team’s biggest takeaways from this project is the value of collaboration with so many different parties having worked together not only with the JSI team but also with SPOA, Serrum Studio, and more.
Third on the Share Screen stage was Gema Semesta and Shan Shavaro of gemasemesta.co. They showcased the logo and identity they designed for the Indonesian Heritage Agency. The Indonesian Heritage Agency, or IHA, is a relatively new government agency in the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology which encompasses all publicly owned museums across the nation. Gema amusingly remarked that due to their drive to win the competition, their initial drafts were designed in the same vein as the many existing government entity logos, resulting in rigid and stilted design prototypes. The studio found their footing when they took a design approach closer to their true style and tastes. The logo they designed is inspired by the many relic ornamental statues at these museums. While the ADGI team initially had concerns that the logo could come off as “too extreme”, the organic nature of their logo allowed their design to stand out and was chosen by all the stakeholders involved.
After a short lunch break, next to present was Cuatrodia Creative CEO Nuansa Agi Perdhana and Creative Head Cherry Meikal. They showcased their work on the visuals of Joko Anwar’s Nightmares and Daydreams for Netflix. As the project was quite high stakes, they explained that confidentiality of the project was crucial. Cuatrodia Creative was entrusted to execute the title treatment and the key visuals. Their team looked towards existing genres of horror for reference in the “hollow earth” series’s title treatment.
Ira Carella, Art Director of Thinking*Room, was up next to present the work they’ve done for Pura Mangkunegaran. With the passing of Kangjeng Gusti Pangeran Adipati Arya Mangkunegara IX and the coronation of the principality’s tenth Duke, or Adipati, Sampeyan Dalem Ingkang Jumeneng Kanjeng Gusti Pangeran Adipati Arya Mangkunegara X, came the need for a new emblem or crest to mark his reign. Beyond the emblem, Thinking*Room has also been involved with the visual identity development of the various entities and events encompassed by Pura Mangkunegaran including their 267th anniversary celebrations. The creation of this emblem also came with the young Duke’s vision to breathe modernity and relevancy into Pura Mangkunegaran. Irta went into the nitty gritty of the team looking back at the emblems of past Adipati to break down the elements of the emblem. They also looked towards royal emblems of other kingdoms in Indonesia and abroad. The new logo and identity Ira explained that one of the core lessons of the project was the importance of preserving history to bring it to the future.
The last presentation in the Share Screen Conference line up was Wanda Kamarga and Andreas Junus, Co-Fouders and Creative Directors of The 1984. This Jakarta-based design studio showcased their work for this year’s Joyland Festival in Bali and Jakarta. The 1984 has been long-time collaborators of Plainsong Live, the organizers of Joyland Festival. The music festival has maintained their existing logo for quite some time but the design of the key visuals is where The 1984 comes in. The key visuals they designed for the upcoming festival to be held in Jakarta later this year November was greatly inspired and involved Joyland’s audience. As a studio well known for their risograph designs, this printing technique takes center stage in these key visuals with the animated Joyland crowd dancers. Wanda and Andreas wryly admitted that they were quite ambitious in using risograph printing as this made the animation process more labor intensive.
The Share Screen Conference was an eye opening summit for many designers in the crowd. Events like this conference are becoming increasingly crucial in raising the standard of design quality in the country. It is incredibly valuable for young designers to get this behind the scenes look from the best our industry has to offer both to benchmark their own creations better but also to open their eyes to all the different possibilities design can bring. With the success of Share Screen 2024, we look forward to what the conference will bring to the table next year.
