Written by Ardela Nabila | Read in Indonesian

Cisarua Creative has become a household name in the creative industry. The collective, which has extensive experience in the art and visual design scene, is back in the spotlight after being chosen as a collaborator for Synchronize Fest 2024.

For the first time since its establishment, the 6-member collective–comprising artists, designers and illustrators–is tasked to create the key visuals of Synchronize Fest.

Key visual is a specific illustration used consistently by a brand for branding or marketing purposes.

FYI, the name Cisarua Collective was not taken from the hometown of the members.

They came up with the name to respond to the viral phenomenon of the distorted “ugly” tiger statue. With the spirit of “Fun Follows Fun”, they continue growing boldly, even outside their safety zones.

Hence, it is only to be expected that their visual processing works come across as honest, bold and authentic.

Unlike trendy designs which are all about minimalism and often detached from everyday life, Cisarua Creative creates eclectic visuals based on local values and everyday objects.

The harmony of Cisarua Creative's organic spirit and sense of humour with the fun, vibrant, playful and youthful visual genetics of Synchronize Fest is what makes this collaboration special. 

This year, Synchronize Fest carries "#TogetherBersama" as its theme, with an "Eclectic Kitsch" perspective in its research.

“This is the first time that Synchronize Fest is collaborating with a design collective and applying visual approach through research. This collaboration happened organically, because they are already a part of our creative team,” said Synchronize Fest Art Director Saleh Husein.

Cisarua Creative’s ability to translate Synchronize Fest's identity into stunning visuals is another reason why it is selected as this year’s collaborating artist. 

“We are very proud of Cisarua Creative, because art can be done by anyone. But not every artist has the ability to create art that is relevant to all festivals. They are also open to other concepts and idealism; so every communication process is what Cisarua Creative translated,” said the Communication Director of Synchronize Fest Aldila Karina.

Creating cool visuals after a long research

To create those key visuals, Cisarua Creative explored several markets in Jakarta in order to capture and collect various visual elements that carry the nuances of diversity and local identities.

The field research, done at Pasar Santa, Pasar Baru and Pasar Asemka, was centred around “Vernacular Typography & Found Object” as the artistic direction.

Through such a technical approach, Cisarua Creative tried to combine several creative techniques to create an eclectic aspect.

“The market concept we carry for Synchronize Fest 2024 very much represents the event in its entirety, where the festival is known for its market-like crowd and visitors with diverse characters,” said a representative for Cisarua Creative who does not want their name published.

They added, “We visited those markets to see various visual identities for an entire month. It was part of our journey in creating the key visuals for this year’s Synchronize.”

The implementation of the concept was what made them decide on the mixed media method in creating the visual art, i.e. by combining analog patterns, from vernaculars, Internet memes, old lyric books, sticker and label collection and street typography art to fluorescent ink colours. The process of combining the research results was quite long, taking up to two months. 

That is because each object must be re-selected because they have different characteristics. This is an important step to create harmony, especially in the process of picking the font for the typography.

"We re-traced and assembled the collection of typography that we obtained during our research to make the fonts. So the letters used in this year's Synchronize are based on those fonts. [We do] the same with media communication. We also used panels like those found on the market as complementary elements," they explained.

Exploration is important, but considering functional aspects is no less essential to ensure that all information can be conveyed clearly to the audience.

“We have diverse disciplines, so this mixed media actually unites people in our collective. This is also in line with the 'Together Bersama' theme," said another representative.

Another member of Cisarua Creative added, "Apart from that, it is in Cisarua Creative’s DNA to experiment and try new things. This method suits the market narrative with its wide array of content, as well as rich backgrounds and activities, which ultimately aligns with the mixed media technique."

All these elements are mixed digitally, creating a sense of beautiful chaos that is relevant to the lives of Indonesians.

Later, these concepts and methods will be consistently applied in other visual works that will be released until the festival.

“This research-based approach is important and really fun. With so many music festivals taking place, Synchronize Fest 2024 has a unique standpoint. We highlight how local elements that are closely related to society always present and thrive," Saleh concluded.

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