Creating Stories to Changing Habits: Dian’s Nutrition Journey
Dian Safitri|STARS, Indonesia
My name is Dian Safitri, I’m 24 years old and I finished the program at TDC Jakarta in December 2021.
I currently work in the creative industry as a Graphic Designer, focusing on new product development projects for a perfume company in Indonesia. I’ve been working at PT Sant Group Indonesia for more than two years, mainly creating visual concepts for new products, packaging, and branding.
When I was given the opportunity to work on this nutrition animation project with LP4Y, I was honestly very excited. For me, it was not just another design project, but also a new challenge. Animation and storytelling are not actually the main focus of my daily job, so I saw this as an opportunity to step outside my usual creative routine and explore something different.
What I enjoyed the most was turning information into a story that people could actually relate to. Instead of simply explaining what healthy food is, I wanted the audience to see themselves in the characters and their everyday situations.
One of the biggest challenges was making the video feel universal while still being relatable to young people. The project involved several different countries, but I noticed that many young people actually face very similar problems when it comes to their daily nutrition. They may be busy with work or university, skip breakfast, choose junk food, or simply forget to pay attention to what they eat throughout the day. That became the starting point for my storytelling approach.
I wanted the message to feel less like a lecture and more like a reflection of real life.
For the opening, I created a video-call scene between friends because I wanted to capture something that feels familiar to Gen Z. From there, the story follows their everyday routines. Going to work or university, being too busy to eat properly, and eventually feeling tired because they haven't had enough nutritious food.I wanted the message to feel less like a lecture and more like a reflection of real life: “Wait, I do that too.”
Interestingly, while I was researching and creating the videos, I also became more aware of my own eating habits. I started paying more attention to what I eat in a day and thinking more carefully about whether my meals actually provide the nutrition I need. That was probably one of the most meaningful things I learned from the project. Sometimes, we already know that eating healthy is important, but we don't necessarily stop and think about what that means in our everyday lives.
This is also why I think LP4Y's approach is meaningful. Through a creative and accessible format like animation, nutrition education can reach young people in a way that feels more engaging and easier to understand. I believe many young people experience similar struggles but may not realize how their daily food choices can affect them.
While I was creating a story to hekp young people become more aware of their nutrition, I became more aware of my own choices too.
Even though the characters came from different countries, their struggles could still be connected through one simple story: young people trying to balance their busy lives while making better choices for themselves.
After the videos were completed, the feedback from the team also helped me see the project from another perspective. Small details such as the way a character speaks, the food they eat, or how a scene is presented, can make a story feel much more authentic to its audience.
Looking back, I learned that creating something for a social or educational purpose is different from simply creating something visually appealing. The design needs to serve the story, and the story needs to serve the people who are watching it.
And perhaps the most unexpected part is that while I was creating a story to help young people become more aware of their nutrition, I became more aware of my own choices too.
Comments