Visual Exchange
The Goethe-Institut Indonesia promotes the exchange of language and culture between Germany and a large number of countries in Southeast Asia. Since 2021, we have been designing visual identities for projects in the fields of film, art, literature, sustainability, media and technology.
Goethe-Institut Indonesien
Visual Exchange
2021
The KinoFest is the annual festival of the Goethe-Institutes in Southeast Asia for contemporary German cinema. In 2023, it showed films reflecting Germany’s complex history under the program title “Migration, Connections and Interdependencies in Contemporary German Cinema”. Special emphasis was placed on films by filmmakers and with actors from marginalized communities in Germany.
The key visual consists of the number of the year “23”, which also forms a heart. A symbol for the connection between the people who come together at the festival. This not only refers to the characters in the films: the festival connected people internationally and locally: the films were shown in Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, New Zealand, Malaysia and Timor Leste.
From the event series “Arthouse Cinema” to the anniversary events on Beuys (2021) and Kafka (2024), the “German Cinema Festival” and the art and culture management fellowship “beyond projects and spaces”, or the “Monumen Antroposen” project, we have designed a variety of visual appearances. Some of them are shown here:
The Arthouse Cinema has been organizing regular film screenings since 2012. The series presents a remarkable selection of films that take the audience on an exciting journey through various genres and themes.
For the Arthouse Cinema key visual, we selected stills from the films shown and traced the faces of the protagonists. Put together, several characters merge into one. A symbol for the inspiring impressions and cross-connections that arise from enjoying the diverse films.
To commemorate the 100th birthday of Joseph Beuys, the Goethe-Institut Indonesia organized a series of events. The spirit and ideas of Beuys were explored and reinterpreted from an Indonesian perspective. We designed a modular and versatile key visual, which constantly restaged and yet visually held together the numerous public readings, workshops, work shows and film documentaries.
The “beyond projects and spaces” fellowship provided an opportunity for arts and culture managers to shape their learning through an individual and project-based fellowship program through Goethe Institut Indonesia. The design of the key visual plays with forms that are unfinished and under construction. This creates space for something new.
“Monumen Antroposen” is an activist, collective art project and a think tank to promote the circular economy. Artists, scientists, environmental activists and people from all walks of life come together. They address environmental issues and focus on the processing of used materials and waste treatment systems. According to this concept, a new building will be constructed on a former sacred site that was most recently used as a garbage dump. A makerspace, cultural center and upcycling factory are to be built here.
Together with the local team, we created a comprehensive corporate design that reflects the holistic approach of the project. The characteristic black blocks, pressed from the waste of the former landfill on which the complex is being built, serve as the key visual. A lighthouse project for the circular economy and best practice for regional development: local workers will be stakeholders in the design and operation of the plant.
“German Cinema” is the annual German film festival launched in 2012 and organized by the Goethe-Institut Indonesia. For the 8th edition, we designed a key visual that represents the infinite diversity of the film art presented and refers aesthetically to the 8th edition of the festival. We were able to create it using only the existing elements of the brand logo.
Kafka’s story “A Report for an Academy” combines functional and aesthetic aspects. In the play by Ibed S. Yuga and Kalanari Theatre Movement, sign language is specifically integrated into the performance. It thus highlights traditional themes: the act of grasping and perceiving between the humanized and the dehumanized, respect and disrespect, issues related to otherness, from discrimination to inter-ethnic conflicts.
Our concept was about breaking out of all cages: Civilization, ethnicities, powers. The graphic creatures are difficult to interpret: Humans, animals, aliens? In any case, they are all at eye level. Their bodies seem to be behind a cage, while their eyes (and therefore their souls) are already free.
