From designing the National Youth Day brand refresh to speaking with Brunei’s Royal Family, the AICREATIVV team shares their thoughts, feelings, and memories.
The 1st of August 2023 marked a special day for the AICREATIVV team. The 18th National Youth Day (Hari Belia Kebangsaan ke-18) was held at the International Convention Centre (ICC), and AICREATIVV received the honour of leading and representing the ‘Warisan dan Budaya’ (meaning “Culture and Heritage”) cluster, as well as to refresh the brand’s colours according to this year’s theme, ‘Future Ready Youth’. We were equal parts excited and anxious for this one-in-a-lifetime opportunity, understanding the weight of the responsibility and determined to make this year’s National Youth Day an experience that everyone felt proud to be a part of.
National Youth Day Receives a New Look
AICREATIVV was tasked with refreshing the brand design by creating a colour palette to incorporate into the National Youth Day logo and the logos representing the four sectors - Volunteering, Sustainable Development, Social Enterprise, and Creative Economy.
Our Creative Designer, Iman, was excited to spearhead the design, as this year’s theme of ‘Future Ready Youth’ was the perfect occasion to utilise her strengths in gradient design. The colour palette was formed after an energetic brainstorming session with the team to identify the qualities that make a ‘Future Ready Youth’ - some of which include passionate, energetic, ambitious, open-minded, and empathetic - and subsequently, the colours that best represent those qualities. And although we created a palette to represent the future generation, we still wanted to pay homage to the original design by Liyana Hanif, by incorporating the signature purple in every color scheme.
Seeing the final colours incorporated into the logos, on the banners and posters hung up along the street towards ICC, and in the digital animations created by Zage Studio, we felt a mix of emotions, from disbelief to a proud sense of accomplishment.
Iman enjoyed the process, stating:
“The brand refresh involved everyone in the team, where we got to suggest the colours that we would like for the new brand of Hari Belia. I felt a strong sense of teamwork and collaboration amongst our team, and if more collaborative projects come our way in the future, I look forward to doing it again.”
The Creative Industry, Represented
AICREATIVV was also appointed to lead the ‘Warisan dan Budaya’ cluster at this year’s National Youth Day. We were responsible for curating the selection of organisations that represent the current and future creative industry.
Being a design agency deeply involved in the creative industry, we’re witnessing its growth every day, and we wanted to showcase this growth by selecting organisations from every corner, from art to music to content creation. Our final selection represented organisations that have large potential to make it far in the creative industry and economy:
Zahidi Bikir of Zage Studio, a digital animator and artist
The Elisha Tiga Eksperiment, a local “modern meets traditional music” band
Filterworks Production, a video production company
247 Studios, a performing arts and theatre production company
Progresif Media, a content creation company
AICREATIVV co-founder, Imamull Qhaeer, gives more insight into the curation process:
“Our selection process was based on their contribution to the country and the creative industry, and how creative they are in preserving the culture and heritage in their own way.”
The Dawn of National Youth Day
Leading the ‘Warisan dan Budaya’ cluster in National Youth Day 2023 also came with one of the biggest responsibilities that AICREATIVV has been given since its launch. The most nerve-wracking moment for the team was the role of guiding His Majesty, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah, and the Royal Family through the ‘Warisan dan Budaya’ cluster.
His Majesty’s speech could not have resonated with us more that morning. He encouraged the youth to be braver, and to “get out of the comfort zone, and take further steps to seize opportunities in regional and international markets.” National Youth Day was no doubt an uncomfortable zone for the team, but it was an occasion that we felt honoured to be chosen for, and one that we understood held a lot of importance and weight.
Co-founder Imamull Qhaeer shares his sentiments:
“I personally felt like we are not where we belong, like a small boy standing in a crowd of very important people. But because we were given this responsibility and because I did not want to let the Hari Belia organisers down, thinking about it positively, we must have been there for a reason.”
While the Royal Family made their way around the room, we noticed that His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed Bolkiah was drawn towards the band, Elisha Tiga Eksperiment, and frequently asked them to play different kinds of music and tunes. With ETX’s live music filling the room, those nearby began to feel grateful for their jazzy melodies, serving to both entertain and calm the nerves. Interpreting it in a unique yet accurate way, Iman likened it to “drinking a warm cup of mocha latte.”
When members of the Royal Family arrived at the AICREATIVV booth, copywriter Najihah Osmera and designer Iman Shamsuddin introduced the company and our most esteemed works, including the National Youth Day brand refresh, designs for the Brunei Darussalam Central Bank and the Health Promotion Centre, and our collaboration with 247 Studios to organise the National Theatre Festival Brunei 2023. Despite the nerves and fears, Najihah and Iman felt the warm and welcoming aura that the Royal Family radiated, as they showed interest in each organisation and care for the members of the public.
Najihah took home with her words of encouragement from that memorable day:
“Before His Majesty left our booth, he told Iman and I to “keep doing what you’re doing”, and to persevere. They might not be profound words of wisdom, but it meant a lot to me coming from the King himself.”
Stepping onto Centre Stage
As the Royal Family left the exhibition, our team was filled with a sense of relief and reward. But for one member in particular, Amaru Jumat, the day was not yet done. Amaru was chosen as a guest speaker for Progresif Media’s forum, Centre Stage, alongside fellow filmmakers and content creators Salimatul Saleh (widely known as ‘ninjatutul’), Akmal Marhain (the creator of the cinematic universe, ‘Intiqamverse’), and Iskandar Karim (host of podcast ‘IzzyDoesIt’).
This was how Amaru felt having been chosen to represent the filmmaking industry:
“Public speaking is still a scary and nerve-wracking thing for me to do, but through it all, I felt proud to be selected and to share a small part of my story as a Bruneian producer and filmmaker.”
For 10 minutes, Amaru shared her experience being a part of the Bruneian production team for Netflix series Arthdal Chronicles - the challenges, the memories, and the lessons she learned that shaped her into the capable and adaptable person that she is today. While being a producer comes with its own unique set of challenges, facing those challenges and conquering them gives Amaru a rewarding feeling that motivates her to keep going.
Stepping off the Centre Stage, Amaru reminisces about that challenging, yet valuable project:
“It made me miss the amount of intensity that I felt during the production of Arthdal Chronicles, and after the talk, I was more motivated to recreate that environment with more youth involved in the next production that I will join in the near future.”
The Dusk of National Youth Day
Being a part of Brunei’s National Youth Day 2023 was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the AICREATIVV team, and we left the ICC with full hearts and high spirits. Even though our creative company was founded a little over two years ago, we can’t help but feel proud of how far the company has come. The recent expansion of the team came at the right time; the event was a success thanks to the concerted efforts of the team and our shared goal of making National Youth Day the best experience.
Imamull gathers his final thoughts as he recounts his memories of the event:
“I’m very happy that the values that we set for AICREATIVV was demonstrated throughout every process, and in every single one of us, including the other exhibitors - there was a sense of collaboration, support, of being curious and uncomfortable in the name of growth. It showed me how, with collaboration, we can all achieve greater heights.”
We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Nuriskandar Hasnan and Wafi from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports for trusting us with this responsibility, and for guiding us throughout the process. Receiving this opportunity meant more than a simple role to bear - it gave the team the motivation we needed to keep going, knowing that we are moving in the right direction.
We would also like to thank everyone in the creative industry for developing the industry into something that we felt proud to showcase to the Royal Family and the public. The youths of Brunei are no doubt filled with passions and ambitions to reach their goals, ready to build a future worth living in, and eager to make magic happen together.
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