A young girl poses in a cardboard samurai helmet, her black hijab contrasting with a colorful face mask and red Bahasa writing from what was once a pizza box. The girl’s father, Dian Arismawan, created the helmet as part of his KRAF Studio project, where he designs cardboard sculptures that he sells as affordable DIY kits for fans to build on their own. He makes everything from robot masks and eagle-shaped helmets to pen holders and lamps.
镜头前，女孩头顶硬纸板制成的武士头盔，她身着黑色头巾，与面前印有印尼文字的卡通口罩形成反差萌效果。“武士头盔”由女孩父亲 Dian Arismawan 用披萨盒亲手打造。他亲手 DIY 了一系列纸板模型，以亲民价格出售。整个系列被定名为 KRAF Studio，从机器人面具、鹰形头盔到笔筒、灯具等等，只有你想不到，没有他做不了。
The project is heavily inspired by Arismawan’s kids. His first cardboard sculpture was a school project that he helped them with, but he found the medium interesting enough to continue creating on his own. As the pieces got more advanced, he started uploading the process to Youtube. His work became very intricate and sculptural, to the point where he created a four-foot-tall cardboard mosque in his home. But the work wasn’t interactive—once it was built, that was kind of it.
项目最初的灵感来自 Dian 的孩子。在一次协助孩子完成学校作业的过程中，他完成了人生第一个纸板模型，从此对这种创作方式产生了深厚性质。往后的日子里，他像个孩子一样制作各式各样的纸板模型，并将制作的整个过程上传至 Youtube 平台。作品风格也逐渐变得复杂且多样化，他甚至曾在家中制作了一座 1.2 米高的纸板清真寺，而这些纸板模型并没有交互性，一旦制成便成定局，不得拆分。
Arismawan’s wife suggested that if he wanted to create something more engaging that he should make them easy to duplicate—that way people watching the videos could make their own. So he started creating works that came with directions for people to follow. He moved away from curvy surfaces and intricately carved details, focusing instead on more replicable designs with lots of angular, flat edges. This also happened to give his work a bold, distinctive style.
后来在妻子的建议下，Dian 意识到，要想让这些纸板模型像儿童玩具一样有趣，则需要让作品做到易上手、可拆解性，要让观众在观看视频后萌发动手尝试的冲动。他开始为作品附上制作说明，并在作品中摒弃弯曲和复杂的细节，改为棱角和平边设计。这样的做法极大的增加了作品的可上手性、易复刻性，同时也赋予作品一种醒目、鲜明的独特风采。
KRAF Studio is a brand geared towards families, so naturally, his kids are often invited to take part in his creative process. Arismawan usually runs new models by them first, asking if they can identify what it’s supposed to be. If they can’t describe it quickly, he feels that it isn’t clear enough and goes back to the drawing board. His clients often send him pictures of the finished kits with their kids proudly wearing them.
KRAF Studio 的品牌定位为家庭玩具，没有年龄限制，各个年龄段均可自然地参与到他的制作过程中。每当一副新模型制作完成，Dian 都会先让孩子们过目，看看他们能不能一眼看出模型是什么，询问他们关于模型的意见。如果孩子不能很快确定，就代表作品的设计还不够清晰，然后又会回到绘图板上进行修改。有很多顾客也会把制作好的模型让孩子戴上，拍成照片发送给他。
As a web designer by trade, Arismawan uses digital tools to design the pieces. He sketches the basic ideas out on paper, then models the details of the shapes and makes a template for building them with cardboard. It takes him about a day to design a model, another day to build the prototype, and another to put together social media content with the new piece.
作为一名网页设计师，Dian 对数字软件的运用还算熟练。他通常在稿纸上描绘设计的轮廓，然后对细节进行建模，并制成模版，最后用纸板组装成模型。每个模型，大概需要一天的时间进行设计，一天的时间用来制作原型，再需要一天时间整理视频素材，剪辑并上传至社交媒体。
The mundanity of the cardboard belies its importance: It’s appealing to Arismawan because it’s environmentally sustainable, easy to find and free, so it’s accessible to everyone. It also has an aesthetic appeal, with the jumble of bright graphic designs and smatterings of Bahasa text, which give his pieces a touch of Indonesian identity. When stopping by the local grocery to find supplies, Arismawan looks for stuff that’s colorful and in good shape. Instant noodle boxes are often what he turns to and he prefers the outer later with graphics because they’re fun, smoother, and cleaner.
Family values, an enviromental message, consideration for the economic conditions of its customers, the promotion of Indonesian culture and the normalization of Muslim faces—it’s rare that a such a charming and fun side hustle like this also encapsulates so much meaning.
平平无奇的纸板之下，却蕴藏深意：Dian 之所以热衷于用纸板，是因为这些纸板均来源于日常生活，易于找到且免费，每个人都可以轻松获取，这何不是一种可持续的环保创意尝试。除此之外，纸板也自带独特的美学风格，它们通常来自当地食品、商品包装，鲜艳的平面设计与其表面的印尼文字相得益彰，令作品本身自带印尼特色。平时，Dian 会到当地的货店搜罗一些色彩独特且外形无损的纸板，他尤其喜欢方便面包装盒，以及带有图形设计的外包装纸壳，看上去更有趣、更光滑、更干净，也更平易近人。
从家庭价值观、环保概念、消费水平、以及推广印尼本土和穆斯林文化的角度出发来看这些作品。谁能想到，这样一份有趣的副业竟然也能带来如此多层的深层含义。
Like our stories? Follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
Instagram: @krafstudio
YouTube: ~/KrafStudio
Contributor: Mike Steyels
Chinese Translation: Olivia Li
