Teks: Hanindito Buwono
Foto: Screenshot “Knock! Knock! Indonesia”

Originating from Japan, DOOR to ASIA is here again for designers who want to learn how the role of design can contribute to the community. However, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, DOOR to ASIA will not be running a residency program, instead of holding a series of online talk events in the second edition of “Knock! Knock! Indonesia” to share solutions and challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

DOOR to ASIA presents a “designer residency” program that brings together different cultures and perspectives to solve problems posed by natural disasters. This year, the theme of “Knock! Knock! Indonesia” is about the role of design and “intermediate players” during the COVID-19 pandemic, through five selected speakers.

Every five speakers in this online talk event present a distinction discussion, with the scope of the topics brought about by design and the creative community in Indonesia, connection to nature, and how to survive during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first speakers will present Rege Indrastudianto, one of the designers from ADGI (Association of Indonesian Graphic Designers) tells about what ADGI has done during this pandemic, one of which is collaborating with the government to help Small Medium Enterprises throughout Indonesia to develop their products and brands. It is different with the case of Fandy Susanto, a graphic designer who is the founder of Sunset Limited, stating how Sunset Limited can survive in today’s conditions, with online and offline events that are specifically designed to minimize the spread of COVID-19 cases.

Diaz Adisastomo, working as a product designer, during the pandemic he tried to do research and designed a product that has a connection to nature and also has an impact on human psychology, one of which is using wood variants. Then, Dinda Athira, a storyteller, explained her research on how design can affect elderly people. She explained that her mini-research was conducted through online and offline observations, as well as interviews with several elderly people who have different backgrounds

Closing the discussion session, Jefferson Edri expressed his subjective view on the impact of COVID-19 he is currently facing, as well as how humans can survive and what’s the role of design in this type of pandemic situation, namely by being a good supporting system to humans.

Later, the entire online talk event “Knock! Knock! Indonesia” will be posted on the Facebook account along with the DARE to ASIA website.