Emphasizing the Human Touch in the Bintaro Design District 2024 Visual Identity by SatuCollective
On July 7, 2024, the Bintaro Design District (BDD) announced their call for participants for this year’s edition of the event on their Instagram page by unveiling the first poster and theme for 2024. ‘Analog Reality’ on the surface refers to non-digital design. However, a deeper look reveals that the theme seeks to highlight and emphasize the human element in design, whether it be breakthroughs or limitations, which is especially poignant in the digital age. Moving away from the digital and automation, an analogous design practice allows for more humanity in its approach, with its focus on the process of design, and therefore more humanity and variety in its possibilities. Tasked with translating this theme into an impactful visual identity is Jakarta-based design studio SatuCollective.
This is not SatuCollective’s first time working with Bintaro Design District, having been responsible for the visual identity design for last year’s edition of the event. The big idea of this visual identity is inspired by the curatorial text laid out by Danny Wicaksono of the BDD curatorial team outlining the importance in looking back at the analog era and returning to a focus on the process. The thematic logo designed for BDD 2024 utilizes the IBM Plex Mono font, a typewriter-inspired monospaced typeface. SatuCollective founder Seto Adi Witonoyo explained, “From the font, we actually used one inspired by typewriting. Typewriting that has transformed into monospace. We're using the IBM Mono font. So, it's like the first computerized font that was used, which was actually adapted from typewriting and script letters. So, in a way, even what is computerized has adapted from the analog typewriter."
The monospaced nature of the thematic logo font then inspired the overall theme of visual identity which is measurement. The SatuCollective team would pull from imagery like that of rulers and tape measure as the core visual element. This visual language was distilled into the concept of ‘Measuring Reality’, a nod to the very human tendency to search for and recognize patterns. From the golden ratio to calendars of varying cultures, this concept is a recognition of measurement as a tool for humanity beyond the professional creative realm, but also as a central part of all societies. The concept highlights the role of measurement as a bridging concept between ideas and realization. This culminates in the design of the measuring duct tape in the quintessential BDD blue, a simple yet essential tool in all creative and design pursuits. “Tape may seem like something simple, but it’s something really functional for measurement and marking. And, because it’s not just an ordinary tape but shaped like a ruler, it truly becomes something essential.” Seto explained.
The measurement element is also implemented in the BDD ID Pass designed by SatuCollective. The lanyard is the BDD blue measuring tape actualized and the pass cards reminiscent of geometry trace rulers are fully functional. “We initially decided to focus on analog tools. Then we realized that analog is a process in itself. And what is more fundamental than the tools themselves is the measurability, like weight or distance. So, this is an object that can represent all fields in the creative industry at the upcoming BDD exhibition and can be used by all of them,” Agan “Kawur” Handoko, Senior Graphic Designer at SatuCollective explained.
BDD 2024’s visual identity is also much more participatory in comparison to the visual identity SatuCollective designed for the 2023 edition of the event. The idea is that the blue measuring duct tape and a blank template of the original BDD 2024 poster for participants to take part in creating their own posters using said duct tape—creating a connection between the concept and the general public. “So in a way, the branding isn’t just from us, from SatuCollective and the BDD team who are promoting BDD, but also from the participants. We will distribute the tape to them so they can stick it everywhere and respond in any way they like,” Seto elaborated. The key visuals also serve to bridge a gap between the young generation of designers and the analog history of the craft itself. As the industry moves further and further into digitalization, the key visuals displaying the old analog tools of the trade invokes a sense of nostalgia towards analog craftsmanship.
With BDD being an event held over such a large area, the implementation of this visual identity is no simple undertaking. However, this distilled and interactive visual identity crafted by the SatuCollective teams lends itself to the possible implementations on site. With the visual identity being so adaptive, the designs by SatuCollective actually enables the large-scale event to still present itself under a unified visual language. The participants have free reign on how the blue BDD tape responds to their work.
The BDD 2024 visual identity crafted by SatuCollective is an adept showcase of a team that truly understands the content and context of the event. Their often implicit ingraining of the theme through the core visual element, the thematic logo, and the overall implementation of the visuals is a sophisticated execution of an identity that truly understands their audience. The mix of seemingly contradicting concepts—the precision in measurements and the often unpredictable factor of human imagination—is married together successfully to communicate a considerably complex and broad theme of this year’s Bintaro Design District.
