Simple design: This simple, modern design by graphic designer Aditya Yoga has been chosen as the official logo for the 71st Independence Day. (Courtesy of the Ministry of Culture and Education)

Aditya Yoga hopes that this year’s Independence Day logo, with its minimalistic design, will represent a country that is more modern, simple and transparent.

Not many people may know the face of graphic designer Aditya Yoga, but many may have come across his work, thanks to his design that has been chosen as the official logo for Indonesia’s 71st Independence Day celebrations by the Creative Economy Agency.

The logo can be found everywhere, as the country is gearing up for the commemoration of Independence Day, which falls on Aug. 17.

Unlike previous years, when the Independence Day logo was chosen from a nationwide competition, this year, the Creative Economy Agency approached the Indonesian Graphic Designers Association (AGI), requesting they come up with a logo for the country’s big day.

Serving as AGI secretary-general, Aditya Yoga said there were discussions among members on how to approach this request from the government. They finally decided to allow their members to create and submit their own logo designs and let the agency chose the winner, which happened to be the one by Aditya.

“I am honored that my design was chosen, but I have to say that all of us involved in this project are winners. My work was merely chosen among the many designs submitted by my peers,” he humbly said.

Aditya’s logo stands out for its simple and modern feel, as he chose to rely more on shapes, angles and planes rather than on complicated patterns.

 “Basically, graphic design is about simplicity. I wanted to find a shape that is modern and simple, and combined that with the requirements set by the agency; that is how I came up with this year’s logo,” Aditya explained.

Aditya, who is also a semi-professional photographer, added that he drew inspiration from the responses of Indonesian people toward his previous designs.

 “One problem I see with Indonesians is that we do not communicate; we express what we really feel. That’s why I came up with such a simple design that is easily recognizable,” he said.

“My hope is that we as Indonesians are able to communicate better; be more transparent and straightforward with each other,” he added.

Aditya Yoga (JP/Tessa Warianto)

Aditya also added that he did not want to add drawings that would refer to certain ethnic groups but rather wanted to create a logo that purely represented Indonesia as a united country.  

 “I didn’t want the logo to feel too Javanese by adding batik to the designs, for example, or to add patterns that would only be meaningful to a certain group of people,” Aditya said, hoping that the simplicity of the design would allow every Indonesian to relate to it.  

“The logo is also meant to be reactive, meaning that people can incorporate their own drawings into it. If you see the logo, I purposely left the red circle blank, so people can fill that space with their own designs,” he said.

Another important aspect of the logo is the slogan “Kerja Nyata” (Real Work), which serves as the theme for this year’s Independence Day. The slogan is also included in the logo. This year’s theme is a continuation of last year’s slogan, which is “Ayo Kerja” (“Let’s Work”).

However, when the logo started appearing in banners and Independence Day memorabilia across the country, some social media users were quick to comment on the similarities between the Independence Day logo and the US infantry logo.

The US infantry’s 71st anniversary logo has a similar look in terms of the number 71 embedded within a circle. However, the number 71 in Aditya’s logo is slanted, breaking up the full circle.

When asked about the public’s reaction to the similarity, Aditya said that he had had no prior knowledge of the US infantry’s logo.

“I had never even seen the US infantry’s logo until I heard that people on social media were saying my design was similar. When I designed the logo, I was merely focusing on the request […] I think it would be stupid of me if I were to plagiarize a logo that is intended for a nationwide project,” he said.

However, Aditya said he understood why some people would see similarities in the two designs, as both were quite simple.  However, he insisted that the designs were actually quite different.

“There are many layers in designing a logo. There is the shape itself, the layout, the colors and the meaning behind the logo,” the graphic designer explained.

 “I play with shapes, and if you look at it from a designer’s perspective, the two logos are very different. In the US infantry’s logo, the number 71 is within the circle — in my design, I am breaking up the circle with the number 71.”

Throughout this whole experience, the lecturer at the Art Institute of Jakarta said he was most grateful for the government’s decision to reach out to Indonesian graphic designers to be a part of this year’s Independence Day celebration.

 “The agency’s decision to approach the AGI for designing the logo for the 71st Independence Day proves that the government is finally acknowledging the importance of this profession,” he said.
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 The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post

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