How One Man Designs for Newspapers Around the World

As an industrial engineering student, Agung Setyawan never imagined that graphic design would become his career. Born in Sragen, he graduated from Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta (UMS) in 2010 and has since carved out a successful path in the industry.

“I used to think I would become an engineer in a mining or industrial company like most engineering graduates. But as time went by, the destiny that Allah had written for me turned out to be different,” he said at the beginning of our conversation.

Agung’s first week as a new student was marked by the lively Student Club Expo. This event served as a bridge for new students to get to know various student clubs and student organizations at the university level.

Agung remembered the day he observed sheet after sheet of newspaper created by students from the Pabelan Student Press (LPM). These newspapers were deliberately displayed on their booth table at the expo. The neat and attractive layout design caught Agung’s attention. From that moment, he decided to join Pabelan Student Press to pursue his interest in newspaper design.

“At Pabelan Student Press , I became part of the magazine and newspaper design team, specifically focusing on layout,” Agung recalled. “Back then, the internet was not as widespread as it is now, and media was still largely conventional, with everything printed. This meant we could immediately evaluate it when we designed, reviewed, and printed our work. I could see which parts lacked precision or had other shortcomings.”

Thanks to his expertise in design, lecturers invited Agung to several seminars and collaborative events with institutions out of town. Naturally, Agung was asked to design presentation materials and also served as a presentation operator. His love for graphic design continued to grow from these experiences.

“I happily welcomed their invitation. Who wouldn’t be thrilled to travel for free, stay in a luxury hotel, and be given a job that interests them?” Agung continued.

The 1984-born man admitted that he was not a top student academically, and his studies had stalled for several semesters. However, Agung shared that he didn't just take it easy when his status changed to "old student."

“I joined an NGO in Solo called the KOMPIP (Consortium for Monitoring and Empowerment of Public Institutions). After less than a year at KOMPIP, I applied for a job at Solopos. The KOMPIP office happened to subscribe to several local newspapers, including Solopos. That’s where I found the job vacancy information. Alhamdulillah, the position they were looking for was a newspaper layout designer,” Agung recalled.

With his experience in newspaper design at Pabelan Student Press, Agung successfully passed the selection process. He got the job as a newspaper layout designer at Solopos, where he has worked for two years.

“Amid my busy schedule, I started thinking about finishing my thesis. I executed thesis revisions and scheduled thesis guidance until I finally passed. I resigned from Solopos right after graduation,” he added.

Agung went to Bogor with friends after receiving his bachelor’s degree from the UMS Faculty of Engineering. There, he tried his luck in housing marketing.

“By the fourth month, I realized I didn’t fit into the job. So, I returned to Solo and applied to the local media, Joglosemar. There, I worked as a newspaper layout designer again, just like at Solopos,” explained Agung, who is now pursuing a master’s in the Communication Studies Program at Sebelas Maret University (UNS).

In his story, Agung was forced to quit Joglosemar in his fifth year because the newspaper stopped operating. After that, he started offering graphic design services to clients online.

“Since early 2020, I started working as a freelancer. I tried one of the marketplaces that connects freelancers with clients from various parts of the world, and the payments are made in dollars,” Agung explained.

Significant time differences often occurred when Agung and his foreign clients discussed and reviewed design concepts. This allowed Agung to spend more time with his family in the early morning.

“I often work at night, so in the morning, I can still take my children to school and do my master’s degree,” said the father of two daughters.

Agung’s extensive experience in the media industry piqued our curiosity about how long it takes him to complete a client project. With a slight roll of his eyes, he responded, “Two days and three nights. The client sends the material on Tuesday, and we review it on Thursday. Typically, one edition of a magazine or newspaper I work on consists of 18-20 pages.

Agung Setyawan’s works.

Who would have thought? Today, Agung successfully works on design projects for clients around the world, including Germany, England, France, Denmark, Norway, Canada, Australia, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, Mexico, Colombia, the Bahamas, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, India, Cambodia, Singapore, Serbia, and Guatemala City. Even more interesting, Agung has also had the opportunity to work on design projects for several well-known international media outlets such as the Independent Appeal Newspaper (Tennessee, United States), The Kingdom Press Newspaper (Florida, United States), Villij News (Florida, United States), Oakland Unseen (California, United States), and Northeast Ohio Community News (Ohio, United States).

Photo of New York City Mayor Eric Adams holding the inaugural edition of LittleAfrica News newspaper, designed by Agung Setyawan.  special doc.

“For now, I am working on design projects for LittleAfrica News, published in New York, and The Chronicle, published in Michigan. I do it all remotely,” he added.

When he first started working on design projects for foreign clients, the man living in Solo admitted facing language barriers. However, over time and with the increasing number of design service requests, he has become accustomed to understanding client requirements.

“Because I’ve been doing this job for four years, it’s now easy to understand the client’s requests. I can already envision the types of designs they want. In this advanced age, we can utilize artificial intelligence (AI) to understand many things, so no worries,” he said without hesitation.

Starting from his master’s degree assignment, the man who loves family time seized another opportunity in the digital realm by establishing President Todays. It is undeniable that online media portals are now the place where audiences gather, and that is where Agung decided to make his voice heard.

“Because of my experience working on design projects for foreign newspapers and magazines, I also consume the news in them. From there, I had the idea to create a media portal, so President Todays was born,” said Agung.

Agung didn’t do it alone, he enlisted the help of a colleague who is an IT (Information and Technology) expert to maintain the President Todays web portal while he took on the role of a journalist.

“Honestly, I did not encounter many difficulties in writing because I think the key to writing is just reading a lot. Newspaper design work is also very closely related to journalism, so I learned a lot about adjusting the tone of news in foreign media,” added the founder of President Todays.

Regarding the name of the portal, Agung admitted that he did not just choose it. The name “President Todays” means important figures from all over the world. Through this portal, he intended to broadcast news and information sourced directly from important world figures. 

“We do not hold personal opinions, we maintain complete transparency and uphold the values and good policies of every figure. President Todays has five sections: President, Vice President, Prime Minister, VVIP, and X,” he explained.

Towards the end of the interview, Agung emphasized that UMS students must possess high self-confidence when seeking career opportunities globally. He believes this confidence will encourage them to compete in the international market.

“We can now access various opportunities from anywhere, especially career opportunities. If we come across an interesting international career opportunity, we should go for it! The key is to work hard and pray. When the opportunity aligns with our passions, we will naturally put in our best effort to achieve it,” he concluded.

Writer: Genis Dwi Gustati

Editor: Al Habiib Josy Asheva

Translator: Farizal Luqman Majid