SARAS: Building Psychological Wellbeing and Social Harmony for Disaster- and Conflict-Prone Communities

Project Owner

Faculty of Psychology UGM and Indonesia’s Ministry of Social Affairs

Product Innovation

Overview

SARAS is a collaborative branding initiative for a national-scale social empowerment project, uniting a key government ministry and a leading academic institution.

The project’s vision is to foster psychological wellbeing (sejahtera) and social harmony (serasi) among vulnerable communities facing disaster and conflict risks. SARAS delivers a unified brand identity—encompassing name, logo, color palette, and philosophy—to support impactful, inclusive, and sustainable interventions across Indonesia.

Impact

Established a cohesive and meaningful brand identity for a multi-stakeholder, multi-year national program.
Enhanced stakeholder engagement and public trust through clear, culturally resonant visual and verbal branding.
Provided a scalable branding framework adaptable for diverse program communications, training, and advocacy.

Approach

Cultural & Linguistic Research: Explored local languages and philosophies to ensure the brand name and narrative resonate with Indonesian values of harmony and wellbeing.
Collaborative Visual Identity: Developed logo, color palette, and iconography reflecting the partnership’s spirit, psychological growth, and social unity.
Accessible Brand System: Selected widely available fonts and icon sets to ensure consistency and ease of use across all program materials.

Process

Brand Discovery & Research
- Analyzed project goals, stakeholder needs, and cultural context.
- Explored linguistic roots and local philosophies to inform the brand narrative.
Identity Development
- Crafted the SARAS name as an acronym and a word with deep meaning.
- Designed logo concepts incorporating human and natural elements to symbolize growth, harmony, and collaboration.
- Selected color palette (reflecting partner institutions' core values) and established brand guidelines.
Brand Implementation
- Applied the SARAS identity across presentations, reports, training modules, and digital assets.
- Developed a brand book outlining philosophy, visual standards, and usage guidelines for all partners.