The Philosophy
"Pemimpin rakyat harus lahir dari rakyat"
A leader of the people must be born from the people
— Joko Widodo
Why Philosophy Matters
Every line of code in Joko-UI is guided by principle, not preference. We're not just building components—we're building infrastructure for user experiences that serve everyone, work efficiently, and last for generations.
Pronunciation
Joko-UI is pronounced like "Jokowi" — /ˈdʒɔː.kɔ/ (JO-ko, rhyming with "cocoa"), not "yo-ko" or "jah-ko".
This philosophy comes from Joko Widodo (Jokowi), Indonesia's 7th President (2014-2024), whose leadership transformed a nation through:
- Walking among the people to understand their needs
- Calling for mental revolution to modernize systems
- Emphasizing relentless work to achieve tangible results
- Building lasting infrastructure that serves generations
The Four Pillars
🚶 Blusukan
Accessibility & Ground-Level Engagement
"I walked and walked and walked... the visits enabled me to have heart-to-heart conversations with the people"
What it means: Jokowi would make unannounced visits to markets, villages, and slums—sitting on the ground, sharing meals, listening without barriers.
In our design:
- WCAG 2.1 AA compliant minimum
- Keyboard navigation works everywhere
- Screen readers get first-class support
- Clear, direct language (no jargon)
- Flat component hierarchy
- Everyone can use our components
🔄 Mental Revolusi
Progressive & Clean Systems
"Indonesia requires a mental revolution... changing from incompetent, wasteful, slow to responsive, simple, competent, and clean"
What it means: Breaking from outdated patterns. Modern systems with integrity. Cooperation over competition.
In our design:
- Modern technologies (Vue 3, TypeScript)
- Clean, maintainable code
- Performant & efficient
- Composable components that work together
- Progressive enhancement
- Integrity in implementation
💪 Kerja, Kerja, Kerja
Action & Results
"Hard work, shoulder to shoulder, mutual cooperation"
What it means: Work, work, work—his signature slogan. Less talk, more action. Measure by results, not rhetoric.
In our design:
- Action-oriented interfaces
- Productive defaults
- Clear, immediate feedback
- Developer velocity optimized
- User efficiency prioritized
- Results over process
🌉 Infrastructure
Foundation Building for Generations
"Infrastructure projects are the vehicle for growth... benefits felt directly by the people"
What it means: Build foundations that last. During 2014-2024: 2,700km toll roads, 366,000km village roads, 43 dams, 50 airports. Think decades.
In our design:
- Design token system
- Semantic versioning
- Backward compatibility
- Responsive design
- Component composition
- Documentation & migration guides
How This Guides Us
When Designing Components
Before we add any feature, we ask:
- Blusukan: Can everyone access this? Screen readers? Keyboard users? Mobile users?
- Mental Revolusi: Is this modern and clean? Does it have integrity?
- Kerja: Does this help users get work done faster?
- Infrastructure: Does this build on solid foundations? Will it last?
When Making Decisions
If principles conflict, this is the priority:
- Accessibility first (Blusukan) — Everyone must be able to use it
- Then progressive (Mental Revolusi) — Make it modern and clean
- Then practical (Kerja) — Make it work efficiently
- Then sustainable (Infrastructure) — Make it last
Real Example
Question: Should buttons have loading states?
Analysis:
- ✅ Blusukan: Yes—screen readers need to announce status changes
- ✅ Mental Revolusi: Yes—modern pattern users expect
- ✅ Kerja: Yes—provides immediate feedback, reduces user anxiety
- ✅ Infrastructure: Yes—reusable pattern across all action components
Decision: ✅ Yes, all action components include loading states.
From Leadership to Code
| Jokowi's Leadership | Our Component Design |
|---|---|
| Walked through Jakarta slums to understand flooding | User testing with diverse groups to find UX issues |
| Built village roads connecting remote areas | Components work across devices and abilities |
| "Kerja, kerja, kerja" (Work, work, work) | Clear CTAs, immediate feedback, efficient workflows |
| 2,432km toll roads serving millions | Reusable components serving countless users |
| Mental revolution for clean bureaucracy | Clean code, modern patterns, documented systems |
| Infrastructure ranking: 54th → 27th globally | Performance benchmarks, continuous optimization |
The Result
When you use Joko-UI, you're using components that:
- Serve everyone — Including users with disabilities, slow connections, older devices
- Work efficiently — Fast load times, clear actions, productive workflows
- Have integrity — Clean code, good documentation, honest about limitations
- Last long — Backward compatible, well-maintained, built to scale
Learn More
Dive deeper into our philosophy:
- Design Principles — Decision-making framework for UX/UI
- Brand Guidelines — Visual identity and design system
- Design Tokens — The foundation of our design system
Or jump straight to:
- Get Started — Install and start building
- Components — Browse all components
- Storybook — Interactive component playground
"Kerja, kerja, kerja" — Work, work, work
Build with purpose. Build for the people. Build with Joko-UI.