Shiso Diary

Brand:

PT. Bina Karya Prima (BKP)

Category:

Ilustration

Year:

2020

Shiso Diary started as a part of a social media campaign for ZEN Antibacterial Body Soap in the mid 2020. Covid-19 situation was very much in the public eye back then and it kind of stressed people out (us included). Therefore we tried to tell warm fuzzy stories about a family in quarantine, spreading uplifting messages, in hopes that the readers would share their quarantine stories too and cheer each other up.

The Art Style

When we initiated Shiso Diary, actually the illustration style for ZEN social media was already defined. In fact, we used illustrations for infographic and Eid greeting at first.

ZEN Antibacterial Body Soap, as indicated by the name itself, is an antibacterial body soap brand that features a Japanese natural ingredient; Red Shiso Leaf. So for the visual direction we went with digital watercoloring and put a little bit of sumi-e influence to create a soft and natural Japanese look. The colors we used were also representing ZEN variants; coral pink for Sandalwood, baby blue for Sea Salt, and broken white for Sulfur. On top of that, these muted colors helped the Red Shiso color to pop out.

ZEN Illustration Key Visual

Shiso Family

The inspiration behind the family in Shiso Diary was Ikigai, a Japanese concept about finding the reason for being. The parents, Ayah and Ibu, personified the 3D material world (about what the world needs and what we can be paid for), whereas the children, Kakak and Adik, were more about something that came from within (what we are good at and what we love), and through the journey together, they complete each other.

Although we created the look and feel based on Japanese looks and inspirations, actually Shiso Diary tells the story of Indonesian people in Indonesian settings (for example in Shiso Diary Entry 02 there was a small appearance of Nasi Goreng Pete, a local food, which was Adik’s favorite).

Shiso Family Character Design

For Affan himself, we worked on his upbeat, outgoing vibe, hence his hobby to attend gigs. We gave him a bit of comic-relief shonen vibe so this animation project, anime-wise, is relatable to the audience, also fans of anime.

The Stories

The story making part was quite bumpy, as none of the team members was actually a parent. Therefore we consulted with Ardhana Riswarie, an art therapist/parent of one child, to gain insight about parenting especially in the middle of pandemic. Talking to her was really eye opening, we learned a lot about parenting nowadays and the psychological aspect behind it.

After the consultation, more research, and stages of development in the writers’ room, we published on Instagram two short stories from Ibu’s (mother) point of view, in poetic, children’s book format.