I’m Locavore — Designing Local Food as Contemporary Culture

Creative Approaches in Local Food Campaigns, in partnership with Perkumpulan Indonesia Berseru

I’m Locavore is a design-led local food campaign developed with Perkumpulan Indonesia Berseru. The project explores how visual systems, narrative, and participatory experiences can reposition local food as a contemporary cultural practice—connecting sustainability, lifestyle, and youth engagement.

Project Overview

I’m Locavore is a long-term creative campaign developed in collaboration with Perkumpulan Indonesia Berseru to promote awareness and engagement with local food issues in Indonesia.

The project explores how design can operate beyond visual communication—acting as a cultural and strategic tool to reposition local food as part of contemporary lifestyle, identity, and social values, particularly among younger audiences.

Context & Challenge

Despite Indonesia’s rich agricultural diversity, local food consumption faces ongoing challenges related to perception, accessibility, and relevance—especially within urban and youth contexts.

Local food is often framed as traditional, outdated, or disconnected from modern lifestyles. The challenge was to reframe local food as relevant, aspirational, and culturally meaningful, without losing its social and environmental significance.

Design Approach & Strategy

The design strategy focused on integrating visual systems, narrative framing, and lived experiences to bridge the gap between traditional food systems and contemporary culture.

Narrative-Driven Visual Communication

Rather than relying on instructional or advocacy-heavy messaging, the campaign used bold visual language, graphic experimentation, and accessible storytelling to create emotional and cultural resonance.

Design functioned as a narrative device—inviting curiosity, conversation, and identification.

Experience-Based Engagement

The campaign extended beyond static visuals into participatory experiences, including:

• Pop-up local food markets
• Cooking classes and collaborations with chefs
• Public events and community gatherings

These experiences allowed audiences to engage with local food through taste, interaction, and social participation, transforming awareness into lived experience.

Lifestyle & Cultural Positioning

Local food was positioned not only as a nutritional choice, but as part of a broader lifestyle—connected to health, creativity, sustainability, and community.

Collaborations with influencers and creative communities helped embed local food narratives into everyday cultural practices, both online and offline.

Role of Design

My role in this project involved:

• Developing the overall design strategy and creative direction
• Shaping the visual language and campaign narratives
• Designing communication materials and experiential touchpoints
• Supporting the integration of design across events, platforms, and partnerships

Design acted as a connective system—aligning message, experience, and participation.

Outputs & Deliverables

• Campaign visual identities and graphic assets
• Posters, banners, and digital communication materials
• Event-based design for pop-ups and workshops
• Visual content for social and community engagement

Each output was designed as part of a coherent system rather than isolated artefacts.

Impact & Reflection

Over multiple years of implementation, I’m Locavore contributed to:

• Increased awareness of local food issues among young audiences
• Reframing local food as a contemporary and aspirational lifestyle choice
• Sustained community engagement around food, culture, and sustainability

More importantly, the project demonstrates how design can operate as cultural infrastructure—supporting long-term social narratives rather than short-term campaigns.

Why This Project Matters

This case study reflects a broader design practice where:

• Design is embedded within social systems
• Visual communication supports behavioural and cultural shifts
• Campaigns function as platforms for participation, not just promotion

I’m Locavore illustrates how strategic design can open new possibilities for engaging with complex social issues—by making them tangible, experiential, and culturally relevant.

Our Partnership and Mission: For nearly a decade, we have partnered with Perkumpulan Indonesia Berseru to advocate for significant issues related to local food. Our mission centers on creative and innovative approaches to attract attention and raise awareness among young people. By combining visual design strategies and experiential elements, we aim to integrate local food into the lifestyle of the younger generation.

Creative Approaches in Local Food Campaigns: Our campaign places design at the core of our strategy to convey important messages about local food. We understand that to capture the interest and engagement of young people, an aesthetic and relevant approach to their lifestyle is key. Therefore, we have implemented various design strategies involving:

Engaging Visual Design: Visual design plays a crucial role in shaping audience perception and interest. In our campaign, we use strong and dynamic visual elements, including colorful graphics, engaging illustrations, and modern typography. We create eye-catching promotional materials such as posters, infographics, and social media content tailored to current visual trends.

Inspiring User Experience Design: Beyond visuals, user experience is also a primary focus of our campaign. We host various interactive events and activities designed to provide firsthand experiences on the importance of local food. For example, we organize pop-up markets showcasing local products, cooking classes led by renowned chefs, and food festivals highlighting traditional cuisine. These events not only educate but also make participants feel involved and inspired to support local food.