<![CDATA[This study examines how visual communication constructs collective identity through the translation of local wisdom into cultural branding strategies in rural bamboo handicrafts. Focusing on Muaradua village, Sukabumi, Indonesia, the study reconceptualizes branding not as a promotional technique but as a process of symbolic identity construction. Employing a qualitative case study combined with a research-based design approach, data were collected from senior artisans, small enterprise managers, and local facilitators through observations, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and visual documentation. The findings indicate that weak cultural positioning is primarily due to the absence of a structured, collectively governed visual identity system rather than to limitations in production capacity or market access. Local artistic wisdom remains fragmented because it has not been institutionalized within a structured framework of visual governance. This study proposes visual brand guidelines as a mechanism of visual governance that translates cultural values into a coherent identity system capable of stabilizing meaning across actors and media. The primary contribution of this study lies in demonstrating how visual communication functions as a process of identity construction in rural creative enterprises and how collective visual systems operate as symbolic infrastructure in cultural branding. These findings contribute to cultural branding theory and visual communication studies by repositioning branding as an institutional and symbolic process rather than a short-term promotional strategy.]]>
