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Nationalism by way of T-shirt design. This is how the folks from Kementerin Design Republik Indonesia, the self-proclaimed Indonesian Ministry of Design, intend to spread the word about their country and promote pride in the nation.

Wahyu Aditya , the founding member of Hello!Motion, a renowned film and art academy based in Tebet, South Jakarta, developed the idea for the Indonesian Ministry of Design while blogging in late August 2006.

“It was during the time when the blogging culture was at an all-time high. I wanted to write about things that were not necessarily just ramblings about everyday occurrences, but something that would be beneficial towards a lot of people,” says Wahyu, who in prefers to be known by his moniker Mas Gembul (Mr. Chubby).

“Then I came across the idea of spreading the virus of nationalism through design.”

Wahyu immediately began creating nationalist merchandise with a twist — mostly shirts, but also stickers and pins — which combined modern designs with an Indonesian touch.

His blog now features over 30 thought-provoking T-shirts, including depictions of Garuda Pancasila (the nation’s symbol), Gatot Kaca (an Indonesian folk hero), a Star Wars storm trooper sporting a peci (a traditional black felt hat), an Indonesian flag pin and a pop art take on a famous photo of Sukarno.

Wahyu says he was initially worried about using Indonesia as a brand.

“I felt that whenever Indonesia tried to promote its own image, it always came off as a bit outdated,” he says.

But Wahyu believed his modern take on traditional designs would give the country’s sense of nationalism the makeover it sorely needed.

He chose “ministry” for the name because of the strong notions the term carried.

“Had I chosen a moniker such as ‘Association of Indonesian Design’ or ‘coalition,’ it would not have had the same impact or made people question the legitimacy of the ‘ministry,’ ” Wahyu says, before pointing out that to clarify the brand he often adds “Not Yet/Not Legitimate” to the logo on the merchandise.

KDRI enjoyed initial success, and to build on this Wahyu began enlisting other designers from Hello!Motion and beyond to help him produce new designs.

In a search for like-minded designers, he held a competition on the KDRI Web site titled “Indonesia Gaul,” which loosely translates as “Hip Indonesia.”

Over 500 design ideas from Aceh to Papua flooded in.

“In hindsight, it helped me learn the geography of my own country regarding provinces I knew nothing about,” Wahyu says jokingly.

The winning designs were chosen in a vote held on the KDRI blog, and the winners receive 10 percent royalties from the sale of merchandise that use their designs.

Wahyu says he hopes KDRI will also help spread nationalism through what he calls “developed stickiness,” which he explains as meaning that whenever somebody wears a KDRI T-shirt, he or she is promoting not only nationalism itself, but the desire to wear a similar T-shirt.

The blog receives around 1,500 unique visitors each day, and is also reaching people through a Facebook fan page, which currently has 1,800 members.

“What we are doing is promoting this country in a positive way that is unique to KDRI,” Wahyu says.

He insists that KDRI will continue to visually spread the virus of nationalism and give the people something to be proud of.

“Because as a ministry, isn’t it our job to serve? When the people are happy, then we’re happy.”