In Steven Heller’s book entitled Graphic Design History, he wrote “”…it is necessary for designers to have the grounding provided by historical knowledge to avoid reinvention, and plagiarism.”” Based on that synopsis, the history writing part in this thesis becomes very important to analyze the graphic design style which exists today in
The art of printing was introduced into the archipelago in the 1600s. The two factors that brought about the establishment of the printing press under Dutch rule were:
• To multiply the legal regulations contained in official proclamations on a large scale by printing them, since this saved both time and money.
• The Dutch Reformed Church, to pursue its missionary work among the natives, had urgent need of books and tracts for educational work, while one of its chief aims was a vernacular translation of the Holy Scriptures.
The deployment of advertising to promote was also used by merchants to bolster up their sales. In 1825, advertisements of traditional medicines were found in the pages of Tjabaja Siang, a local newspaper in Minahasa. Tjabaja Siang was the first publisher owned by the native people. Its advertisements were also published in some media in The Netherlands.
First Brochures
The growth of advertising during the Dutch Indies period had a lot to do with the growth of the economy in the region. In 1870, many Dutch investors came to invest their money in plantation and mine industries. The situation forced them to form a research foundation in order to extend and accumulate their capital. Suikersyndicaat, a sugar association, was one of them. They were the first organization that made promotional brochures to attract prospective investors. Another organization was the Javaasche Bank which also used printed materials as the media of promotion. The brochures and booklets were mostly printed by G.C.T. van Dorp & Co, which was located in
First Product Advertisements and Advertising Agencies
The entrance of private investors in the plantation industry also started the growth of other new products. The nonelectrical lamp was one of the modern technologies at that time. The first printed ad for such products appeared in a newspaper called Reclame en Reproductie. It was an ad for Optimus Lamp made by an advertising company, which was translated in three different languages; Indonesian, Arabic, and Chinese.
The involvement of advertising agencies in the creation of ads during that time was also an indication that they already had big influences in trades and promotions in the Dutch Indies. This reflected the fact that the Dutch Indies had made an adaptation to the marketing methods of
The early 20th century was also an era when advertising agencies emerged. These agencies were categorized in three groups of sizes (large, medium, and small) and ownership. The Dutch people owned mostly the large ones. N.V Algemeen Reclame Bureau Excelsior made some ads for Wilmelmina Hotel, Homann Hotel and Peugeot Motor, while the Chinese and natives owned the medium and smaller agencies such as N.V. Tjong Hok Long, Liem Kim Hok, Biro Lauw Tjin, Bureau voor Indische Agenture & Reclames and Algemeen Advertentie.
N.V. Tjong Hok Long was the first ad agency founded in 1901 by the Chinese. In the beginning they created many ads for comic books which were also printed by the agency. Later, they created ads for other products such as batiks, soaps, cigarettes, and medicines. The ads they produced were mostly handwritten and very plain.
In 1905, Aneta, a news agency was founded. The agency had its own advertising department and was very advanced not only in facilities but also in the manpower that came from
Pre-Japanese Occupation
The world economic depression in 1929-1930 had a big influence on the advertising industry in the Dutch Indies. Many foreign companies had to stop their campaigns and big agencies lost a lot of money. But many smaller agencies still survived because most of their clients came from small industries like cigarettes, soaps and powders.
The situation got better in the years 1930-1942. Industries were back in shape. Many products were imported from
Until 1940, manufactured products dominated the Dutch Indies market. Most of them were everyday products or home appliances imported from Europe,
Sales Promotional Advertisements
Based on some products produced by European, Chinese or natives, it was shown, that there had been some attempts to make product segmentations according to the target audiences. This was shown in the type of people appeared in each advertisement. For example Fuchs & Rens Ltd which imported Chrysler, employed Success Advertising to make its ad. The agency knew very well that the Europeans who were living in the Dutch Indies were the target market for this automotive product. And they had already known Chrysler’s reputation. As a result, the ad was very efficient in communicating the message. The copy was ‘Chrysler, the best automotive for a long trip’ along with an image of the product.
Other ads for European imported products such as watches and radios also appeared very simple and clean. They mostly used illustrations to attract the audience. For example a Tawiza watch ad showed two kinds of watches, round and square, complete with the hours, minutes and seconds. Another ad with similar looks was an ad for a Philips radio showing an illustration of the radio box.
The simplicity of Chrysler, Tawiza and Philips ads were far different than other European products made for the natives like Bier Itam Serimpi, a beer product produced by Archipel Brouwerij in
The introduction of new methods and techniques in Indonesian advertising had made many smaller-scale agencies grow bigger. Most of them acquired new knowledge that was brought from European countries who were more advanced in the field.
Japanese Occupation
In March 1942, the Japanese arrived in the Dutch Indies and took over the whole archipelago. This invasion had frozen the business and economic activities in the region which had been basically managed by the Dutch Indies Government. Instead of economy development, the Japanese policy concentrated more on building facilities for defense. Not only physically but also
mentally. Commercial ads were shifted into politic propaganda to support the regime. Such ads appeared in daily newspapers Asia Raya and Djawa Shimbun, saying that
When the Japanese came and conquered the Dutch, many natives perceived it as the moment to gain back their dignity as Asian people. The Japanese, who called itself ‘older brother’ were believed as heroes for the Indonesians and was very well accepted by the people. The Japanese, who were also advanced in art and culture, were expected to help the local artists develop Indonesian art.
In April 1942, at the request from Lt. General Imamura, Indonesian and Japanese artists were gathered to introduce themselves. A year later, ‘Keimin Bunka Shidoso’, an art center was founded in
Behind it all, the Japanese had its own agenda. They actually needed human resources, which were artists, for making their propaganda materials such as posters and billboards. The instructors came from
One of the Japanese instructors was Saseo Ono (1906-1954). Ono, who was apainter, came to
During his stay, Ono painted many walls on people’s houses he found in Banten. The themes of his paintings were of course Japanese propaganda with slogans saying ‘Asia for Asia’, ‘Nippon and
When Keimin Bunka Shidoso was founded in