Visual Experience at Music Festival
The annual Synchronize Festival took place on September 1-3 at Gambir Expo, Jakarta. In addition to featuring performers from different eras and genres, the music festival offered a captivating visual experience. Collaborating with Sicovecas and Mahdi Albart as guest artists, Synchronize Festival provided a memorable visual experience for attendees to enjoy the music festival. Saleh Husein, the artistic director of Synchronize Festival, aimed for a creative direction this year that differed from previous editions and even from other music festivals.
In the midst of the music festival frenzy, Saleh chose not to use those various festivals as references, including music festivals held abroad. Moreover, the core values that Synchronize Festival wanted to emphasize were about locality. For Saleh, being different in this context can be elaborated into something non-static, and not turning the creative process into a template. In response to the numerous performers collaborating at this music festival, Saleh also thought to invite two artists to collaborate on the visual aspects of this year's edition.
During his five years as a creative director, Saleh consistently invited visual artists from outside Jakarta. He believed that artists in Jakarta already had a significant space for exploration. As an Indonesian music festival, he wanted Synchronize to accommodate artists from other regions. In the selection of guest artists and the creation of all visual design needs, both print and digital, Synchronize Festival collaborated with SPiCE Project. Raihan Kiagoos from SPiCE Projekt mentioned, "Initially, we met with Sicovecas. We invited him and proposed it to the Synchronize Festival team."
Afterward, the SPiCE Projekt team identified a need for visual artists with a strong illustration style. This sparked the idea and experimentation of combining two artists' works for this year's edition. Raihan stated, "We tried matching several illustration artists with Sicovecas in terms of attitude and visual style. Finally, we found Mahdi Albart." Although they had overlapping visual styles, merging the works of Sicovecas and Mahdi was not a straightforward task. It took several attempts for the SPiCE Projekt team to find the right formula and system to combine the two artists' works. According to Raihan, SPiCE Projekt treated Sicovecas' distinctive abstract illustrations as "disruptive" elements placed around Mahdi's illustrated figures. To achieve harmony, the SPiCE Projekt team also created a color palette derived from the colors commonly used by both Sicovecas and Mahdi.
After formulating this approach, the SPiCE Projekt team asked both artists to create the event poster and visual assets related to the event. "Mahdi was tasked with creating the event poster, fonts, and characters related to Synchronize Festival, such as guitar, piano, drums, gong, angklung, and more,." Raihan listed. "Sicovecas, on the other hand, was initially asked to explore abstract assets that could still be turned into illustrative elements. The visual identity developed from the works of Sicovecas and Mahdi was then applied in various ways, from the stage to signage on trash bins, to provide a comprehensive experience for the audience," Raihan further elaborated. He mentioned that the list of implementation needs was already in place and similar to the 2022 edition of the event. He also noted that this year, there was a slight difference in the stage area. Unlike the previous year, where only the works of guest artists were implemented, this year's organizers also collaborated with mural artists and gardenists in designing the stage.
Raihan explained that all derivatives and implementations were the result of collaborative ideas between the SPiCE Projekt team and Saleh Husein. For him, the fluid nature of Synchronize Festival as a music event provided ample room for exploration. This year's edition was used as an arena to address the shortcomings off the previous year's event. The comprehensive implementation of the visual design created by the Synchronize Festival and SPiCE Projekt teams not only provided an experience for visitors but also demonstrated an awareness of the role of design in adding excitement and vibrancy to an event.
For Saleh, Synchronize Festival will continue to evolve and explore, including in terms of visual presentation. The festival's character is not solely identified in a template-like visual form. Instead, it continues to evolve in line with the values brought by the brand itself. Equally important, the maturity of Synchronize Festival didn’t just happen abruptly. According to Saleh, the festival, including its visual aspects, is developed through a long and deep process of discussion and exploration.
