The IKN logo created by Aulia Akbar and the POT Branding House team. Photo : Detikcom.
BANDUNG, THE NUSANTARA POST – Joy, pride, and happiness mixed in the mind of Bandung native Aulia Akbar. This 31-year-old man has made history as he and his 9 friends won the competition to create the Nusantara IKN logo initiated by President Joko Widodo.
The Tree of Life theme, which now becomes the logo of Nusantara IKN, was created by Aulia and his friends at the POT Branding House studio located on Pesantren Street, Cigadung Village, Cibeunying Kaler District, Bandung City.
detikJabar had the opportunity to have a conversation with Aulia at the ITENAS Campus in Bandung. As known, Aulia is an alumnus of ITENAS’ Visual Communication Design (DKV) batch of 2010. Accompanied by the Rector, Prof. Meilinda Nurbanasari, Aulia expressed his happiness.
“Talking about the feeling, it’s surreal, I can’t believe it,” Aulia said with a happy expression on his face.
He mentioned that he participated in the logo design competition organized by the Indonesian Graphic Design Association (ADGI). Along the way, there were 500 individuals or teams participating in this competition. Out of the 500 logos submitted by the participants, the competition organizers selected 10 logos.
According to Aulia, making it to the top 10 already brought him joy, and he and his team were even more surprised when their logo made it to the top 5. It’s worth noting that when it reached the top 5, President Jokowi also provided an assessment.
“In terms of mentality, from the beginning, we were already resigned to contributing with our 10 designs, and we were very happy at the office. Especially with the selection, I hope it’s not just me because I’m just representing the team, there are many people involved, around 10 people, including friends from the community, there are many who focus on literature and others,” he expressed as quoted by The Nusantara Post from Detikcom.
According to Aulia, this competition was excellent because it followed the standards set by the International Council of Design (ICOD). “So, all the designs that weren’t chosen still have their merits, and as professionals, we are very happy about that,” he said.
The assessment of the five selected logos was not only done by the organizers and President Jokowi but also by the Indonesian people. “From the five logos, the President initiated their release to the public, so everyone can see and feel them,” he added.
The Meaning of the Tree of Life
Therefore, Aulia stated that the Tree of Life theme, which became the Nusantara IKN logo, was the choice of the Indonesian people. When asked about his opinion on the selection process, Aulia admitted that he was confused because all five logos in the top 5 were the best.
“Actually, why these five were chosen, I don’t know the criteria because we don’t have the reality of being a president, so we don’t know how the visual identity is viewed from the president’s perspective. That’s what we’ve been able to do so far,” he said.
During the meeting with President Jokowi, Aulia didn’t have extensive conversations. “There was no specific discussion, yesterday when I met the President, we only made eye contact and greeted each other. And it should be remembered that this chosen logo is the people’s choice, not the president’s. That’s why this effort is a joint one,” he concluded. (DC/TNP)
