PreImpressions

Through our prep research in Sydney we could see some of the problems. We could see how a developing country could struggle to make a dent in a socially instituted problem. We could see how the industry within thenation caused issues and that our job would not be easy. But it was all theoretical. We didn’t really know anything about the city. We didn’t know how the food tasted, or that we’d be celebrities, or that we’d become mates with people from an utterly different cultural context. More importantly, we didn’t understand how we would help, we just presumed we’d be important, because our help and design skills were the purpose of the trip, right? But of course all the theory in the world would fail to illustrate the reality of Banjarmasin to us, and we felt thus as soon as we arrived.

Initial Mapping

As we recorded our observations we quickly realised we were trying to draw conclusions from what we’d seen; the reasons behind design and behaviour. Despite our efforts, our cultural ignorance and limited language isolated us from a genuine understanding of the things we were seeing. We imagined ourselves as bubbles of another culture floating in the much larger cultural bubble of Banjarmasin. This idea formed the foundation of our map; the misshapen bubble.

But realising our deductions were worth nought, we zoomed out to consider the larger structure of our observations; how did the architecture and the food and the work ethic link? We noticed a lack of urgency in behaviour and a fluidity of environment. The city is inconstant, and the people seem unconcerned. The cultural bubble is fluid. The reasons for this and the goodness or badness of it are beside the point; we don’t have the cultural comprehension to decipher it, we only have the authority to experience it.

Design Audit

Nonetheless we took quantitative data from our walk, giving us a better sense of the problem. We noticed that the market is predominantly male, with young people smoking more often socially and older men smoking whilst working. This was consolidated in one of our interviews, where the subject shared that smoking is considered masculine; it’s for the ‘gentlemen’. Street vendors and super markets seemed to be primary points of sale, with the most advertising in the city centre dedicated to L.A. Lights. Cigarettes are only purchasable by adults, but it is legal to smoke at any age, with children as young as 4 and 5 engaging in the activity.

Life in Banjarmasin

In addition to this research, we slowly gained cultural literacy through interaction with locals on the street and in shops and with food and in cars, but this was largely superfluous. More significantly, we learned by the friends we made–we were no longer scrabbling at the top of the culture, accepting what leftovers we could; we were invited to be a part of the city with them. This provided the comprehension necessary to deduce, from the little we knew, enough to develop relevant designs for the stakeholders. And even that is generous to say.

Concept vision

Rather than perpetuating the traditional fear campaign, we wanted to celebrate the vision of a tobacco-free Banjarmasin; a festival isn’t for playing on guilt or anxiety. So our inspiration came from fostering this positivity; healthy lungs for yourself, a safer environment for your family, a good example for your children.

Brainstorm

After establishing our vision, we had a mind dump session to brainstorm as many ideas for each pitch as possible. Some of the highlights included floating hashtags, Batik-styled imagery, and anti-smoking narrative, a 3D/layered frame, a cloth frame and lungs ‘as wings’.

Concept development

After consultation with Jess and Ali, we settled on a floral mobile frame, and a lung mural to develop as our final designs. We then invested in these to refine and improve them both in line with our vision and according to the advice from the tutors.

Inspiration

After taking the Sasirangan workshop we were inspired to adapt our concept development to incorporate the style into our illustrations, to offer more recognisable motifs through our final design.

In choosing colour, we collated our photos of the city to create a palette reflective of the city. We colour-swatched from the images and chose a colourful pastel theme, as shown below.

Collaborative drawing

In order to develop the floral theme, the four of us sat down together and drew free form interpretations of floral patterns. We took inspiration from one another as we did so and gathered the most successful elements to adapt as refined illustrations.

Refined visual elements

We did this in Illustrator, tidying edges and refining the forms to reflect the desired style, adding colour according to our palette. Our illustrations were designed to ensure relevance to both a mobile and static frame.

Final Mobile Frame Design

So to lean into the empowerment theme we had established, we used our floral imagery to encourage that positive association with the anti-smoking campaign. We borrowed from local floral and Sasirangan tradition for inspiration in our illustrations, and used pastel colouring to compliment the theme. We balanced the dimensions to maintain ease of use, for holding and carrying, whilst retaining it’s recognition as an Instagram reminiscent frame.

Final Static Frame Design

With our vision in mind, we modelled the lungs off wing murals around the world. Festival-goers could pose in between the healthy, life-filled lungs as though they were wings, becoming themselves a part of the art and of the message.

Hiccups

But the process was not smooth! The first mistake we made was in creating a to-scale photoshop(raster) document for the wall, making it a 12m^2 document. The laptop we were using couldn’t handle the size, capping the RAM and preventing us from saving. As a result, we were unable to offer a print version of our design.

On top of this, we took for granted our own role in the production process, and projected onto the VS team our experience of the design industry in Australia. This caused misunderstandings in the executables we needed to undertake, what we needed to follow up and what required further communications. As a result, we had a brief panic after realising we had potentially two large projects to construct and paint ourselves, one more than we’d understood to be in the brief, and only a couple of days to complete them. Fortunately, this stress was alleviated after realising that this was just an extension of our errors in communication.

Collaboration

Collaboration was woven throughout the whole process. After receiving our briefs, before beginning to undertake them, we met as a whole group to manage the thematic design of our individual responsibilities in order to ensure cohesion throughout the festival. Before completing our own brief, we assisted the hat group with preparation for and execution of their event. We communicated with them regarding materials and used their leftovers to avoid excess expenditure.

Though as valuable as the in-team collaboration has been, far more significant was the work of VS, in seeing our designs through their production, and working with the media and the local government to make all of it possible.

Passion

Of course, through this whole process we were keen to make what impact we could, but over the last few days that feeling has solidified into something more valuable. Now far from a costless philosophy, a city with which we’ve connected, people whom we care about, a movement to lengthen the lives of people we meet every day here, and many more across the nation. In our interviews we heard about worry for parents to the discomfort felt when a friend lights up. From pride in their own health to the tragedy of 5-year old’s smoking. The problem has become real, and our keenness has become a passion. Despite our ignorance we’re proud to be involved.

Our brief was to create 6 banners to be displayed on boats in a 3×3 formation as they drove down the river. They were to be visually striking with a thought-provoking anti-smoking message.

Inspiration and influences

On our initial exploration, we were surprised by the vibrancy of the architecture and public spaces. Locations such as the rainbow bridge, the post office and primary school exhibited striking yellows, blues, greens and pastels. Following the walk, it became paramount that we showcase these colours to portray the city appropriately. Our tour of the floating markets unearthed the ways in which the river underpinned the livelihood of residents. Families washed clothes, bathed, traded and played in the muddy water. This was the first time we truly understood that Banjarmasin was the City of a Thousand Rivers.

The meetings with Vital Strategies, the Mayor and Health Minister attributed the smoking problem to the context of Banjarmasin’s youth and highlighted their pride and commitment to health. The video workshop allowed our group members to build friendships with Banjarmasin high-school and university students, which slowly revealed deep insights into youth attitudes towards smoking and their interactions.

Process

We began our idea generation with an image of a fish across four boats, which progressed from healthy to ill from cigarette consumption. This metaphor played on the idea that cigarettes endanger Banjarmasin’s wildlife as well as its people. Our second idea was to have a photograph of schoolchildren displaying the “tanpa rokok” fist action we had performed at the mayor’s office. We hoped the image of innocent youths would generate sympathy and encourage proactive behaviour. Thirdly, we brainstormed a river inspired by Sasirangan patterns with an anti-smoking message interwoven in the design. This was celebrated as the one with the most potential in our first meeting, so we continued to develop it to be aesthetic and logical.

Feedback and iterations

In the meeting with other groups, we came to the conclusion that we wanted the spirit of the event to be positive and uplifting, so that we could inspire people to join together and make a difference. Vital Strategies emphasised that the banners should be brightly coloured and visible from the riverbank. This provided a slight challenge as when observed from this angle, only a sliver was able to be seen. We also experimented with large type across all of the boats, but didn’t want to result in one boat with the word “smoking” on it which would undermine the impact of the campaign. We settled on the idea of a tiled puzzle pattern which was more visually appealing than verbally affecting, and continued iterating our graphics and typography.

Decision making and outcome

We designed our Banjarmasin banner to meet four key challenges; puzzle, visibility, longevity and effectiveness of the message.

The river, an important and recognisable symbol of the city, is used to divide the chunks of colour and construct the puzzle to flow from one klotok to another.

While the detail of the banners will elude spectators on the riverbank, the vibrant colours chosen will hopefully catch their attention and encourage investigation, photography and social media activity.

Banjarmasin Tanpa Rokok is stamped boldly onto each boat, which allows them to travel separately in the future without one reading “Rokok”. The stamp design alludes to the commitment that the government and people have put into reducing the smoking rate in the city.

We designed a watermark, using the plant on Banjarmasin’s city crest to add another intriguing layer to our banner for people sitting atop the klotok. If the banners remain on the klotok after the festival, the anti-smoking message will continue to resonate through Banjarmasin.

The Sydney banner is designed to incorporate the same design elements as Banjarmasin’s banner. The watermark was an elegant wattle flower, and the river was simplified and took the shape of Sydney’s Parramatta River. The blue reflects Sydney’s oceans and rivers, with a message to inspire other cities to follow Banjarmasin’s lead.

Reflection

While the iterative process was lengthy with multiple iterations and rounds of feedback, it allowed us to establish a clearer idea of the brief. An important point of feedback was that we should have communicated with Vital Strategies in a way they allowed them to understand our design elements and share our vision for the banner. Given our vague brief, we made a recipe when we had been given a soup. We were grateful that we could take part in this enriching design process and produce something that is visually appealing, purposeful and enduring.