Named Salsabilla Rasika Sumekto, a recent alumnus of ITB’s Undergraduate Program in Visual Communication Design, she was a special needs student due to her inborn hearing ability, restricted to 90-110 decibels. However, this never deterred her from reaching the destination of her studies. On Tuesday (12/7/2022), the ITB Reporter Team seized an opportunity to interview the girl, an adept comic creator.

For her thesis, Salsabilla appointed the theme of deaf culture in Indonesia. She confessed that most of her inspiration stemmed from personal experiences, which she later visualized. Salsabilla created her illustration in an A4 landscape workbook with an intact hardcover. A compilation of illustrations enlightening all-about deaf culture decorates its inside, earning educational value. Her thesis possesses a tinge of authenticity, as it was made from a deaf buddy’s perspective, distinct from other “deaf” themed works made by able-bodied artists.

Salsabilla felt that there was no issue in terms of visualizing technique for her thesis. Instead, the most difficult aspect was insufficient literature source that credibly reflects Indonesian character. The problem consequently caused some difficulties during interview session with other deaf buddies for her research. “There should have been more detailed research about the national deaf culture characteristics in Indonesia. There were less than enough. Therefore, we put maximum effort through focused discussion with four source persons, the rest were cited from international articles or journals about the deaf culture around the world,” expressed Salsabilla.

During her studies in ITB, Salsabilla fully relied on visuals. She managed to learn from the writings on lecturers’ presentations to class notes created by fellow students. From the lip-reading method, which according to Salsabilla is only 30?curate, she tends to prefer visuals and writing. In the said case, Salsabilla also mentioned that there are different communication methods that each deaf buddy prefers, not everybody can understand well through writing and might be more comfortable using sign language. Thus, a sign language interpreter service and the development of a Disability Service Centre activity unit for students could be considered in-campus, in order to accommodate other friends with special needs in the future. Surrounding difficulties in the learning process, Salsabilla admitted that she understood every lesson very well. However, she felt that it was unfortunate for her to miss the lecturers’ personal stories, which were not written on the presentation slide.

For the rest, Salsabilla suggested no further issues as most of the things she faced generally were something experienced by nearly every other student during university. The fact led her to develop a constructive perspective. She thought that those obstacles were challenges that no students may avoid in order to communicate better, as a large portion of visual communication design focused on transforming miscommunication into clear communication in the first place.

In the future, Salsabilla noted her interest to specialize in the illustration and comics field. For her, both fields gave her the opportunity to explore as much as she can in creating visualizations. Moreover, she is also interested in any topics that can be turned into a comic, especially topics that she loves. Lastly, Salsabilla conveyed her studies in ITB’s Undergraduate Program in Visual Communication Design were a journey that shaped her up until this point. She remarked that ITB has provided the maximum access and facilities that it could for her. She expressed her gratitude to every party that has been supportive during her time in ITB.

“My journey in ITB’s Visual Communication Design will surely sustain my career later. There are valuable experiences that will serve as foundational stones in the realm of illustration, comics, animation, and graphic design. The most important thing about ITB’s Visual Communication Design is that it shapes a mindset that opens up a new perspective in the field,” suggested the alumni of Depok State High School 1.

Reporter: Inas Annisa Aulia (Fine Arts, 2020)
Translator: Firzana Aisya (Bioengineering, 2021)