INTERVIEW: Monica Widjajana - Bento Box Design Studio

Meet Monica Widjajana, Art Director at Bento Box Design Studio, a holistic marketing and design agency. Monica chats to Yoshika about how she started her career with Bento Box Design Studio, the need to showcase and give opportunities to emerging creatives, the trepidations but necessity of networking events and what it means to be a holistic marketing agency.

Monica Widjajana. Photo credit: Bento Box Design Studio.

Who or what is Bento Box Design Studio is?

In a nutshell, Bento Box is a marketing and brand agency. We work with quite a diverse range of clients and we offer an all-encompassing package which extends from business branding, traditional marketing and website development.

Whether you’re a start-up or a medium-sized business looking to modernise and grow your brand, that’s when we come into the picture. We look closer into the brand to identify their purpose, and to be able to understand and market their business. We also help establish the imagery, tone and language that should be used to communicate to their audience.

Can you explain the name Bento Box Design Studio?

We wanted something that was a bit quirky and conveyed the fact that we’re such big foodies! Bento box is a Japanese packed lunch that’s made up of a variety of menu, from your entrée all the way to dessert. Together they work really well as a whole meal! So, in the same way, each of us has our own individual skills and strengths, but together we can create amazing things.

And you’re the Art Director? What kind of role is that?

It’s closely related to visual communication. I work collaboratively with the other designers to identify the tone and the aesthetic of the brand. So, whether it be a branding project, or creating posters for a marketing campaign, I make sure that the design is consistent with the brand’s image and with the message that’s being communicated to the audience.

How long have you been in this job? Have you enjoyed it?

It’s been a little over 3 years now. I’ve definitely enjoyed working with such a diverse range of clients as there’s always something new every day. You don’t get stuck into a routine 9-5 job; sometimes we’d have meetings at cafes, and other times we’d go to the client for site visits or do photoshoots.

Did you always want to get into graphic design?

To be honest, I had no idea what graphic design was back in high school. I knew I wanted to do something creative because I’ve always been an artsy person growing up. I’ve always enjoyed Art as a subject. But yeah, just like most students, I didn’t know what I wanted to get into.

One of my teachers actually advised me to look into graphic design. I didn’t realise that it involves designing logos, posters, billboards and pretty much everything you’re exposed to in public. I think I found that really interesting because it was different to Fine Arts in the sense that you’re always working within a brief and working towards solving a problem. It becomes a bit of a challenge, but that’s what makes the project exciting.

Esther CE Credit: Bento Box Design Studio.

I googled Bento Box before to brief myself with what to ask and I saw on your website that Bento Box aims to be a “holistic marketing design agency”. What exactly does that mean and what do you do in order to be a holistic organisation?

We use the term ‘holistic’ to describe our services as an all-encompassing package. So, as I said before, our services extend from business branding, traditional marketing and website development. We also offer photography services and social media management. So it’s pretty much everything you need in one package that will help you market your brand.

Bento Box also tries to be involved in the Perth creative community, how do you do that?

We try to get involved as much as possible with organisations like the Australian Graphic Design Association (AGDA) and The Design Kids Perth (TDK). We’ve been part of the AGDA Mentorship Program since 2018. We take in mentees every year to provide them with feedback on projects they’re currently working on and help them build their portfolio.

We also attend events around Perth whenever we can. We go to networking and social events throughout the year to meet and talk to students and graduates. 

Another way is through our BENTO Magazine. It’s a platform that we’ve created to provide students and graduates the opportunity to showcase their portfolio.

BENTO Magazine features emerging and young creatives, and not just in WA but all over the world.

Yes, submissions are open to creatives all around the world. We started the magazine with the intent to provide more opportunities for these students and graduates. At first, the magazine was just a digital platform to showcase talents, but we’re going through a transitional phase where the magazine is shifting to more of an industry resource.

That’s why we started approaching organisations like Propel and other exhibition spaces; to share our network, to help grow our online community, and offer them an opportunity to meet one another in person. We also want to start promoting events that are happening around Perth so that people are more aware of these opportunities.

We have a similar outlook on the creative industry, we really want to showcase and give opportunities to young emerging creatives. Why do you think that’s important? What do you want to achieve from that?

Designers definitely need a bit of a push when starting their career. When I was still a student, I realised that there weren’t many opportunities for us as designers. We were all stuck in a vicious cycle – “I need to get a job. But to get a job, I need experience, and to get experience, I need to get a job…”. It was really difficult for us to start our career because we didn’t know where to start. 

So that’s where the BENTO magazine comes in! We want to help promote and celebrate these emerging creatives. We also have plans to exhibit the magazine in a physical space and start bringing everyone together.

Even though digital is really, really great, I feel like a lot of people appreciate analogue and printed stuff. Printed is so great! Like books and actual posters and brochures and pamphlets you can hold in your hands.

We go crazy when it comes to print. We just collect everything that we find at cafes whenever we’re out and about. We’re looking at getting the BENTO magazine printed as well! As a start-up we don’t have a tremendous amount of funds, so we didn’t even talk about getting it printed, but things are definitely in the works. We want to hold an event of some sort around the magazine, get it printed and distributed all over Perth. That’s the goal.

Fully Sikh | Black Swan State Theatre Company and Barking Gecko Theatre co-production. Credit: Bento Box Design Studio.

I saw on your socials that you worked on Fully Sikh, can you tell us more about that project?

Yeah we did, that was a really fun project! We did the branding for Fully Sikh, which is a Black Swan State Theatre Company and Barking Gecko Theatre co-production. They initially had a brand to start with but they wanted something more fun and vibrant to reflect Sikh culture. We introduced new patterns and colours, as well as a new logotype to be collated into the show programme. We got to watch the production at the end, so that was a bonus.

Moving on towards the topic of careers, this question is for the emerging creatives in graphic design, what is the best way to get into this sort of career?

I always say this to every student that I meet; you just have to connect with people. I think a lot of students assume that when they graduate, they’re going to get a job instantly, but that’s not always the case. I think the best way is to attend as many networking or social events possible and get to know the people you want to work with. Have a chat with industry professionals and introduce yourself. I know that most design students are really shy and feel a bit reluctant to go to these events by themselves. But yeah, I can’t stress enough how important it is to grow your network.

One issue that frequently arises, is the issue of networking. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who likes networking events. So, for a young artist or emerging graphic designer it can be quite daunting for them to network and go to these events.

It is. I mean, I also felt that way. But, the more you do it, the more comfortable you’ll be. Just keep an open mind when you’re attending these events and approach it as though you’re catching up with a friend. Remember, it’s not an interview!

Bento Box Design Studio is made up of a pretty small team. Do you like working in a small team?

Yeah definitely! I don’t feel like I’m at work when I’m in the office. It’s like my second home. Every time we go out to a meeting and we come back to the office, I get that “Yes! I’m home” feeling. I see it that way now because I’ve worked with the team for quite some time, and we’ve become more of a family.

Was it difficult for your team to start your own start-up and agency?

Yeah, starting a business is always difficult because you’re basically starting from zero.

I met my business partners at a non-for-profit arts and media organisation where we volunteered our time. The NFP ran a lot of events throughout the year to raise funds for charities, and all the departments contributed their respective skills to make sure the events run smoothly. I was part of the Graphic Design department and worked closely with Leeanne and Tristan, before we ventured out and started Bento Box Design Studio.

We had to grow our network and form good relationships with our clients to build trust. Being quite a young team, there’s a stigma attached to it as well – when you’re young, you’re inexperienced. But we look at it as, because we’re young, we can bring fresh ideas to the table.

Do you have a preferred graphic design style or aesthetic?

I would say I gravitate towards styles that are minimal and quite feminine. But considering the fact that we’re always working within a client’s brief, we have to continuously adapt our style to the image that our clients envision for the brand. But yeah definitely minimal, that’s what Bento Box has always been known for. Less is always more!

If you had to design your own dream project, what would that project be like?

That’s a tough one. There were a few that I wanted to do actually. Hmmm what do I want to do?

At first, I really wanted to work on a magazine because publication design is something that I’ve always enjoyed doing. But I guess I’m already diving into that with the BENTO magazine. I’ve had a taste of everything now because we’ve worked with clients from various industries.

What kind of project is most meaningful to you?

I think its most meaningful when we work on the branding for a start-up, because we start our journey with the client right from the beginning. It’s so rewarding to see them grow alongside us; from initial stages of planning, developing their identity, creating the content and celebrating milestones.

Bento Box Design Studio’s Issue 09 of BENTO Magazine is coming out soon and is themed around Christmas. Keep up to date with Bento Box Design Studio’s work on their Facebook and Instagram.

INTERVIEW BY: YOSHIKA KON