Documentation in progress
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]]>Project: Condominium branding
Documentation in progress
]]>Their mission is to empower everyone to take better care of their bodies, starting from modern ergonomic shoes that promote good posture.
Their shoes are designed with a clear purpose to serve a body right. They have proper arch support tailored for Asian feet to balance our body weight, acupressure massage points to relieve muscle strain and stimulate blood circulation, thick cushioning to absorb shock with extra cushioning in the heels and the ball of the foot to distribute weight, a wider outsole base to provide more stability, and wider space for the toes for extra comfort and everyday wear.
We were approached to work on the brand strategy closely together with the founder, including creating the brand visual identity.
The Balance Co. is all about finding your balance in rhythm, through footwear that is catered for everyday living. The brand story is constructed around words that exude familiarity and comfort – Love, Care, Comfort, Living.
A grid system is designed to help ensure all elements are aligned and scaled within the given format. The 27×27 grid is a customised grid system used for communication touchpoints such as posters, detailed construction of logos and typography.
We went further to create a set of customised typography for each alphabet of the logotype, including the monogram. This forms a truly unique identity that only belongs to the brand.
The brand colours are chosen to complement the extended product range, as well as various marketing efforts across different touchpoints.
]]>Working with the biggest names in the industry such as Disney, Warner Bros., DreamWorks, and Fox, P+A Projects offers design and engineering expertise and delivers world-class attractions and architecture.
The brand identity is executed to represent connectivity and engineering.
A custom grid system is designed to allow the creation of various graphic icons. The grid is adapted to various design languages such as way-finding, collaterals, and more.
With the same grid system, more design elements, objects, and rides can be further added on down the years as they continue building on their impressive portfolio.
]]>A Singapore-based team, HydraX prides itself in creating a platform with a seamless user experience, thereby enabling a truly integrated cross-asset and cross-venue ecosystem.
The strokes of the logo mark are streamlined to depict speed and ease. These paths converge into the center-point (the financial trading platform), before making a smooth tangent out of the space.
Adjacent lines are kept parallel to one another and existing angles, perpendicular. This contributes to the icon’s radial and symmetrical balance, alluding to the brand’s stability and sound foundation.
The entire suite is accompanied by the design of a customised logotype, animated icons, secondary graphics, adaptable digital design, and more.
]]>Catered to the post-work and weekend crowd, the identity revolves the story of the Ape and his best friend, the Doe and their interesting friendship.
A custom logotype combining both Mandarin and English is designed based on a consistent grid. The similar grid is used for the rest of the alphabets, as well as other way-finding and graphic elements.
At the bar, the Chinese idiom “不醉不归” (which means one does not go home until one is drunk) sits above, representing the provocatively bold and fun nature of the brand.
To cater to the dimly-lit space, as well as various digital and social media platforms, various neon illuminated designs were created to bring out the experience in its entirety.
]]>DPM Tharman approached us to design the return gift – a similar book featuring our birdology culture in tiny sunny Singapore.
The book features more than 250 different species of birds that can be found in Singapore, photographed by various established bird and wildlife photographers over a few years.
The identity is inspired by the flight movements of birds. After researching, we found out that the migratory movements and patterns are not triangular unlike what people like to commonly depict. They are more often than not random, sporadic, but also structured in their own manner. The feathery creatures communicate to one another in a very unique way. This design execution is applied to the book cover, as well as the accompanying motion graphic.
The brochures are also produced in two options – one in multi-colour and the other in black. Both sets of brochures contain information that educate the public on how to get started on birdology. When opened, various close-up colourful illustrations of bird feathers are unravelled to show the diversity of the avian families that live in Singapore.
No birds were harmed during the photoshoot (we love animals).
]]>ExtraOrdinary People is housed in a play-based therapy centre within close proximity to Singapore’s downtown. Adopting the pedagogy of play over academics, the classes encourage children to bring out their personalities through interactive lessons. Classes are widely varied, and range from drama sessions to art therapy to music lessons.
The identity uses a vibrant colour palette, representing the positivity and adrenaline that children exude when they are in a state of fun. Each alphabet in their custom typography is design from scratch. A variety of illustrations representing available is also created for various application touch-points to engage, interest, and educate current and potential clients.
]]>With their tagline ‘Converging Technologies. Transforming Workplace’, the brand is founded on the enduring principle of creating smarter solutions through convergent technologies. They have always believed that when collaboration and communication are encouraged and facilitated in a workplace, organisations can unleash the full potential of teams – an idea that propels us to where they are today.
The logomark is primarily derived from ‘i’ and ‘t’ of InspireTech. Fused together with the mathematical symbol of pi, a universally-known constant often used in computer science and engineering. The logomark is developed into a visual that speaks of InspireTech’s strong adherence to the purity of computer engineering.
Each product pillar and sub-logo is rendered to feel individually distinctive but also carry a similar shape and style as part of the bigger InspireTech family.
]]>Deloitte Innovation provides consultancy worldwide. Consulting clients include the areas of enterprise applications, technology integration, strategy & operations, human capital, and short-term outsourcing. In 2018, consulting accounted for 38% of worldwide revenue share.
In FY 2018, the network earned a record $43.2 billion USD in aggregate revenues. As of 2017, Deloitte is the 4th largest privately owned company in the United States.
We were engaged to create a brand identity system that extends itself out to the leaders of the world.
Partnering closely with the directors and brand team, we came together to create DDE, a global leadership program that has different architectures catered to various C-suites of the modern era.
Our strategy and creative direction were formed strongly by the insights we gathered by immersing ourselves in the programme. The result is a well-loved identity system that both top leaders and middle management could relate, respect, and form a sustainable ecosystem around.
]]>Interior Design by The Local INN.terior
Selected Food Styling by Teresa Teng
]]>Managing print production between London and Singapore, the cover designs for 2017 are treated with blind embossed, kinetic tidal waves to represent the forward-looking positive outlook. The inner infographic pages were designed with a minimalistic, succinct, and intelligent approach.
For 2018, the waves were designed in a more organic approach, representing stability and progression in the property and financial economy.
]]>It was important to sieve out what made them, them.
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We fashioned a brand story that talked about their origins, dreams and visions: With roots tracing back to filmmaking days in university, Our Grandfather Story has become an engine fuelled by a passion to seek stories nestled in warm smiles, curious tales and seemingly crazy ideas. They’ve journeyed across Singapore to uncover everything from the origins of local childhood treats to no-holds-barred conversations with persons with disabilities — and the surface is barely scratched.
Together with the OGS team, we worked together to define the four main categories of their brand architecture – Flavours, Generations, Neighbours, and Offbeat.
The ‘O’ in the abbreviated logotype is designed to look like a viewfinder, representing the different point of views and various conversations their stories create. The ‘G’ and ‘S’ are treated to look like clocks.
In pursuit of a greater appreciation for the ordinary, OGS curates and presents narratives that are timeless, nostalgic, and yet able to spark a sense of delight.
We also fashioned a set of brand values with OGS, one that resonated with the spirit behind every intent, every content, every conversation –
Accessible – stories that belong to everyone
Adventurous – as discoverers of hidden tales
Heart of gold – seeing the good and the delightful in people and things around us
Lastly, we re-designed their entire website front and backend system for a smoother and more mobile responsive user journey for their audience, as well as a friendlier maintenance platform for the internal team.
Always genuine, personable, and authentic, OGS is set for greater heights.
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Based in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, Azimuth began its journey to unknown universes. Taking on centuries of watchmaking technology, the creative minds behind Azimuth started crafting pieces that defied all reasoning, whilst paying homage to the highest qualities of traditional watchmaking.
The project started with us tidying up the existing identity, giving it a new custom typeface, alongside four newly categorised and created product universes – each with its individual typeface as well.
We then set out to shape a structured representation of Azimuth, strongly rooted in four signature collections, that we fashioned after going through the essence behind every product. Adopting the idea of exploring unknown universes, a dream that captured the founders’ fascination, we deployed the linguistics of out-worldly travel alongside grand notions of revolutions and disruptions to characterise the brand’s DNA.
The brand story had to speak volumes about their electric design aesthetics: 2003 marked the year where the core development team listened to their growing restlessness with the stagnant watch industry, which was restrained by the limits of public aesthetic senses. Sterile timekeeping mechanisms and conventional designs were well received by consumers, but the team knew that watchmaking had not fully explored its limits.
The Azimuth logo is an interpretation of the ‘Spiral’ or ‘Hairspring’. Since the time of crafting early mechanical timepieces painstakingly by hand, the Spiral has been the heartbeat of every mechanical watch. Azimuth has extracted this essence of the mechanism as the logo to exemplify Azimuth’s philosophy of creating only mechanical watches.
The ‘Spiral’ is also a visual representation of a loose scribble before the designing begins.
Raw and unconventional, they knew that it was time for a change – a revolution.
A revolution of the visual senses, of logical clockwork, of traditions and conventions.
Imagine Anything.
SPACE
Gaping black holes, faraway galaxies, unexplored planets, and mysterious orbits – all these are part of the every day in the vast realms of outer space. Everything is infinite.
Excited by the endless boundaries, Azimuth navigates through the different dimensions and pilots thrilling journeys that seek out the mysteries of space.
Join them on board an adventure that will take you to the deepest, darkest depths of the galaxies beyond.
AUTOMOBILE
Speed and precision meet in this universe that only has room for the skilled and thrill-seeking rider.
A world where tailwind is your best friend, and headwind your enemy, cut lanes and race ahead with timepieces that are inspired by the best of automobiles.
Get ready and belt up – you are in for a ride.
SCI-FI
Speculations on futuristic science and technology, time travel, and parallel universes have been rife through the decades, and the Azimuth team was particularly captivated by the wondrous world of steampunk, a subgenre that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery.
Anachronistic technologies, retro-futuristic inventions, and retrograde functionalities –all these piece together a world of robots, with various quirky attitudes and character traits, ever ready to introduce you to their universe.
Presenting to you an alternate reality, a future where robots and steam-powered machines rule the land.
JUXTAPOSITION
In perhaps the most provoking universe out there, Azimuth presents Juxtaposition, a dimension where you undergo a paradigm shift in all ideas, logic, and beliefs.
Seeing is not believing.
Challenge your logic with the strangest of creations that twists all human understanding.
]]>The brand identity is inspired by the industrial conveyor belt where products are manufactured. This is relatable to the primary walk-in customers of the cafe – the working class who come in to get their daily morning caffeine fix. The monochromatic identity is adaptable and scalable to their social media platforms, where most of the enquiries are received.
]]>Published by National Heritage Board.
]]>They aren’t just another cookie-cutter electronic manufacturing company. Understanding the need to evolve, Opulent delivers manufacturing solutions of high complexity that encompass every stage of the product creation. From technical specification analysis, ideation and design, prototyping, product development to the actual manufacturing of the products, no stones are left unturned.
The brand identity system is developed based on the idea of intelligence, invention and innovation – three ideals that define Opulent. The core logo is designed from a structure of an atom, extending to a grid comprising protons, electrons and neutrons. This depicts how every Opulent product is an idea, a spark of genius, a constant evolution of innovation that improves lives and transforms environments. Using a singular grid, the logomark is developed alongside a whole suite of icons, secondary graphics, and way-finding elements.
Believing in possibilities has brought Opulent from a PCB specialist to SSL solution provider and today, a globally trusted complex contract manufacturer.
Visions into vivid products, complex issues into simplified solution – with Opulent, products are made smarter.
Human / Spatial photography by Studio Periphery
]]>Each project is customised and crafted with rigour through a painstaking process, building upon the clients’ expectations and challenging the studio’s body of work, whilst respectfully responding to the site context. Absolute care and thought is put into every line and dot, translating drawings on paper into a polished built form. Each project undergoes high levels of scrutiny, which in turn brings forth an unparalleled sense of reward and satisfaction.
The identity had to represent the craft and flair of P+A’s award-winning practice. The design concept is based on the idea of finesse and discipline. Keeping in mind the mantra of ‘knowing the rules and then breaking them’, we approached the execution with a consistent visual system, grid layout and timeless typography selection. At P+A, boundaries are constantly pushed, and more often than not, expectations exceeded.
Interior / Architecture photography by Edward Hendricks
In addition to the brand identity exercise, we were also commissioned to design the portfolio book of Park Associates. The portfolio is meant to be an archive and documentation of their award-winning work so far, as well as to be shared with existing and prospective clientele in the future.
]]>Haulio is a haulier community platform designed to bring strength to individual hauliers through unity. Through Haulio, hauliers will be able to pool resources together by building partnerships with each other and facilitating collaborations. With better resource utilisation, everyone stands to gain – hauliers, drivers, shippers and ports.
As of 23 May 2018, Haulio has raised S$1 million in seed round investment, led by PSA unboXed and participated in by 500 Startups, NUS Enterprise, and several logistics industry angel investors. The funding comes after a S$75,000 pre-seed funding from PSA unboXed and 500 Startups. For more information:
https://splash247.com/novel-singapore-container-haulage-start-emerges/
The identity is designed based on the concept of collaboration. A strong, impressionable monogram is created in the form of a two-part ‘H’. The two parts resemble the coming together of two entities, much like the business model of Haulio – it matches a haulier to a job, and vice versa. Through the linking of various parties in the haulage community, Haulio aims to achieve their vision of a cohesive, self-sustainable ecosystem through a sustained and effective mode of connecting.
As the brand language will be applied throughout various mediums (from a small web favicon to huge container trucks), the logo mark has to be simple, yet recognisable and strong weighted to create consumer recall and brand impression. The shape of half of the ‘H’ is also applied to all collaterals such as letterheads, presentation slides, lanyards, and more, depicting the role of Haulio in the haulage business community.
]]>As the editorial content is filled with extremely heavy content and tables, the usage of typography is emphasized. San Serif and Serif fonts are utilised in various character styles applications throughout to maintain visual interest over a long period of reading time.
We were further commissioned to design an infographic to accompany the Information Package for the Energy and Chemicals Industries.
Using an isometric and geometric illustration direction, the approach was to showcase how the various important players in the industry come together in a collaborative and competitive sector to contribute to significant economic growth for Singapore.
]]>The building is a space of heritage, and the event a symbol of national history and progression. Elements from nature such as plants were incorporated alongside calligraphic typography – executed in a single colour palette forest green to give the collaterals a timeless and elegant touch.
NMS130 logo design by Theseus Chan, WORK.
]]>Through this festival, Esplanade hopes that children will explore the wonders of nature and cultivate an appreciation and curiosity for the world they live in.
We were commissioned to design the key visual for Octoburst 2017. The direction takes on a colourful, participatory, and inclusive approach. Scribbly, brightly coloured lines are inspired by the performances that would take place during the festival week. Alongside many participating artists in various satellite events, the design canvas encourages children, parents, and general event-goers to participate in adding more elements onto the canvas with their imagination.
Logo by Esplanade’s in-house design team.
]]>Using an isometric and geometric illustration approach, Singapore is shown to be moving towards a new era in her economic development. The ecosystem is interconnected and and various infrastructures are dynamically related to different industries, with different MNCs and SMEs thriving off one another.
]]>Different layers are illustrated, with the first layer being showcased as a gate to enter a portal of possibilities. The center portion shows various heavyweight players making up the Infrastructure, Innovation, and Talent sectors of the industry.
All these eventually amalgamate to the top layer. As the nation continues its pursuit in digital innovation. one will be able to view elements of the sustainable and economically thriving city-state as the progressive thinking bears fruits of its labour.
]]>SUPERSONIC invites the audience to visualise sound and explore a transfer of the senses, a phenomenon known as synaesthesia.
In this exhibition, Antoine Wagner constructs a language of landscape photography from the Swiss landscapes that inspired the music of Richard Wagner. His pictures sit in the line of romantic landscape art, in which the individual seeks, by contemplation of nature, physical contact with transcendence. Antoine continues this language today to the essence of silence found in the desert panoramas of Morocco, and the glaciers of Austria.
This exhibition, which explores the relationship between sound and image, is a collaboration of perspectives from the eyes and the ears of the artists and the viewers themselves.
The design was inspired by sound waves, going through the various depths of human senses and allowing the various layers of emotions to takeover while appreciating the artworks.
]]>The theme was “Rise Above the Rest”, with the participants being the selected crop of the cohort, whose works are distinctive and telling of their exemplary talents.
Each of these students has imprinted their own distinct sensibility in solving a variety of design issues, in works that range from the social to the personal. Traditional and cutting-edge media and forms are deployed to create designs that emerge from a rigorous period of research and discourse.
The exhibition highlights the unique, innovative and exploratory, such as tableware for the visually impaired, a new kind of hi-tech wheelchair, data visualisation of classic movies, graphic instructions for canine first aid, and typographic expressions of grief, alongside many more.
]]>Interview with Jiahui Tan by Press Arm
What was the core inspiration/idea behind your notebook?
I have always been drawn to typography. I have read heavily on how different brains interpret language, visuals, and text differently and also at different speed. Hence by designing a crossword puzzle, I would like people to try to find as many words (and phrases) if possible and find out which words / phrases they see. I name it “The Road So Far”. It consists of many different colour papers per signature, with each signature beginning with a french fold that contains one work that people haven’t seen before. I get asked by people quite a lot, or meet younger designers who say they only want to work on “sexy” projects. I get extremely turned off because: (1) we should try to work on every project to the best of our ability – creating a tiered approach is only unfair to the client (2) sometimes the outcome is not truly award winning or to everyone’s taste, but it is important to understand every project counts. They help pay the bills; buy us a new office chair; pay for our studio holiday. I have chosen those projects to be inside the french folds for people to take a peek at those projects that are as important to us as those shown on our website. I have chosen 2 from each year (we are just passed 5 years old) so there are 10. Every step of the journey has grown us and taught us many things and it has been a exciting journey full of colorful and dull moments – hence explaining the various colors and paper stock.
Why this pattern of alphabets?
I went through many iterations – this one has the most number of words (that I wanted to have) inside for people to find.
Are there any technical difficulties that you envision in its production?
Haha many! Junny and I have discussed many possibilities and I must have been so hard to entertain!
What are your hopes for your notebook?
I had many crazy ideas but I decided to create something usable, with a tinge of discovery. I don’t like to make things that are design for design’s sake. They don’t withstand time, serve any purpose, and they are just “fun” to look at.
What do you consider a good notebook design?
It should open up properly for people to write on. So perfect bind is out for me. It should have smooth edges, if not your fingers will be knocking on every awkward edge for no reasons and getting paper cuts everywhere. A notebook should be invite people to utilise and enjoy the sense of touch. Places that are not meant to be written on can be made with interesting paper stocks. For the insides, I believe in functionality and it does not function well as a place to scribble if the paper stock does not take ink well or it subconsciously feels too expensive a paper stock and the user needs to think twice before writing an idea down (which is a big pity). It would be nice to have some hidden messages for people to find out. Of course, an interesting cover would get people to take a second look.
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Like constantly evolving societal perceptions, the design direction utilises kinetic typography. As perceptions and viewpoints are perpetually in a state of flux, especially with the rise of the feminist movement, the kinetic typography is designed to reflect the change. The typography also has glints of black to grey gradients, reflecting the grey areas in moral compasses and perceived values.
]]>With inter-disciplinary performances that included a mix of sound, projection, spatial, and visuals, the brief was to create a key visual that was both striking and recognisable to a wide audience.
The design approach takes inspiration from the “No Signal” screen commonly seen on televisions. The visual allows dynamic adaptation across various event screen sizes – print and digital, social and spatial, to allow visitors to create event recall, as well as engage in photography moments.
]]>Struggle is real; we struggle in different ways, be it because of toxic relationships, family problems, etc.
People often say that we choose our own battles – which is true, but not always for some. Bandages are often used to protect flesh wounds, but what is used to protect a mental abnormality?
VIRUS: Nice To Meet You captures stories from ordinary people who have somehow experienced or witnessed a hidden part of every human existence – the other end of the spectrum, the crazy end, the dark recess.
]]>Featuring two independent projects that employ photography in the activation of memory, “Some Other Way”, by Nicholas Koh and Jiahui Tan, and “Singapore’s Vanished Public Housing Estates”, by Koh Kim Chay and Eugene Ong.
The design direction takes on an approach that represents conversations that are pushing boundaries. These dialogues are sometimes uncomfortable and push people to the edges of their comfort zones. As the society is in constant flux, the looping of the typography before it expands to the four corners signify that change is the only constant.
To mimic the visual direction that we see at our disappearing common spaces that the authorities use to print notices and posters, we utilised the familiar colourful craft construction papers to create an array of flyers and collaterals.
With the onset of constant urban renewal, is documentation our only form of resistance?
]]>The ultimate question is – have we explored the options fully?
The exhibitions runs from 23nd June 2017 – 22nd July 2017 at DECK.
The key visual is based on elements used in design to depict fun, vibrancy, and boldness. The bright colours that were used to command visual attention, were contrasted with black and white Memphis-like patterns, housed in dynamic circles that can adapt and scale to different applications and mediums. As a visual identity, it embodies the representation of the spirit of enjoyment, light-heartedness and also progression in the collaborative arts, retail, design, and performance scenes in Singapore.
]]>The creative direction is an amalgamation of the four major work industries in Jurong, namely the army, blue-collared industries, shipyards, and hawker centres. We took cue from a unique habit of Singaporeans, both old and older, who often verbally repeat the mantra of “work, work, work, work, work”.
Familiar visual ephemera include punch cards, shipyard containers, military patterns and more. Work, like a consistent yet existential part of adulthood, is put together haphazardly and randomly, showing the interweaving cultures of various industries. This carries through for both collaterals that we developed in line with the exhibition – the brochure and the book.
The book, similar to the previous projects in the series, is chaptered with dividers made from old-school textured construction paper files, separating the different generations and timelines.
]]>As an extension of his tattooing practice, Ael seeks to work with fractions and sectors of the society who have fallen through the cracks, initiating mentorship and guidance to the ones with potential and strength.
Seeking to partner with different organizations, Heartship Initiative yearns to bring about change through the appreciation of art and craft.
With everyone leading a different life, the tagline “Write Your Own Story” is designed to encapsulate the fact that everyone has his destiny in his hands – and it is it up to him to fulfill it.
]]>Madam Lee is a Chinese Tuition Practice that seeks to educate students and learners based on understanding the language thoroughly through in-depth methods of learning the construct and parts of the character, as well as the sentence.
Drawing inspiration loosely from an old-school fruit machine, the branding is based on constructing the different Chinese characters and their parts. Showcasing the fluidity and flexibility of the endless permutations and possibilities, Madam Lee hopes to make learning Chinese fun and engaging once more.
]]>The identity of Cell is based on the physiological truism, that one has to break his/her muscles before building them.
Based on a singular grid, we designed a custom stencilled type-face to represent grit, fight, and strength. The typeface breaks up to form secondary patterns and graphics with accompanying designs that represent the exercises Cell practises – kettle-bells, battle-ropes, pilates, and more.
]]>EAT is the second installation of a two-year long series of exhibitions which highlight memories of residents from Jurong. Reminiscent of the once-widely popular arcade games by Atari, the identity font type EAT becomes fatter as it is constantly fed. The transition from Light to Regular, to Semibold, to Bold, and finally to Black encapsulates the process of one gaining weight.
Complementing the key visual is the accompanying brochure, which follows an accordion-styled arrangement. The cover is the symbolic brown wax paper, commonly used by hawkers when packing food. Whatever race or background you come from, you are bound to have used it before (and gained weight like the font). From chwee kuey to roti prata, it is one of the most understated yet commonly used food objects.
The various text panels are adapted into this accordion, and labeled accordingly by the header tabs. One will notice that the text panels become increasingly wider, a parallel observation with the bolding of the key visuals. Illustrations and accompanying graphics representing various food elements form the transition graphic panels, which are also adapted to the exhibition display panels.
The EAT book takes on an abstract approach of one’s perception towards how every individual begins his meal. Whether having a meal alone or dining with a group, both the mind and palette come together in anticipation, forming a clean slate, keenly awaiting what is in store.
This is represented in the book cover, where the thinnest EAT word to the EAT typeset in black goes from blind triple deboss, double deboss, single deboss, single emboss, double emboss to triple emboss.
As the experience of eating goes beyond the visual senses, readers are encouraged to feel the paper to see how the word EAT fills up from the thinnest to boldest using the sense of touch – likened to how our belly bulges after a filling meal.
Filled with illustrations, photographs, narratives and interviews, the content is filled with memories from the first generation decades ago to the current third generation, with many taking over their parents’ stall whilst injecting a modern twist.
Like its predecessor PLAY, inserts can be found amongst the pages, this time separating the different sections and timelines with none other than everyone’s favourite brown wax paper.
]]>Drawing inspiration from the concept of infinity, the design interprets infinity in terms of unbridled potential. In mathematics, infinity often represents a potential infinity where possibilities are endless, rather than an infinite quantity.
The design communicates the idea that one’s destiny is what one makes it to be. In the aspects of wealth creation and distribution, infinity carries the aspiration and hope of infinite growth and endless sharing.
Turquoise carries associations with energy, wisdom, and balance, and its darker shades have a sophisticated feel. Historically, turquoise is a valuable mineral symbolising wealth and goodwill. A turquoise gemstone also represents self-realisation, and is believed to carry wisdom and truth, aiding in analytical thinking and creative energy.
]]>Copper was chosen to be the primary colour of Alpha Drive, as it represents both luxury and accessibility. In addition, dynamism and adaptability were taken into consideration when choosing the tone of copper.
Using the merger of the alphabets A and V, the logo is designed as a forward-moving arrow to represent the tagline, “We Drive You Forward”.
The supporting tagline – “Your Life, Your Drive” reflects how the business model revolves around a carefully curated lifestyle for their customers.
]]>We were tasked to brand and design the 2016 Season of Love for Pangdemonium.
It was interesting yet tricky to give Love a visual representation, as this feeling resonates differently with individuals. A strong colour palette was adopted to create a striking identity to capture attention and showcase Love in its rawest, strongest mix of emotions.
]]>Using tightly-kerned typography of the names of the seven sins, we invaded the words by including the characters ‘未来’, which means “future” in Japanese, to make it look like a Virus. The asian characters do not look smooth and natural amongst the Latin English characters, showing that the future and the sins do not go well with each other. It is to show these sins are like viruses that are invading and plaguing mankind and our human nature, causing us to become greedy, proud, lustful, and so on.
As we become what is deemed as “more advanced”, our character exponentially deteriorates as a species. If we do not take the step to change things, the future looks bleak.
]]>Through the cataloguing of the iconic Rochor Centre before its impending demolition, five photographers were each armed with only a disposable (perhaps somehow befitting to the theme) camera to capture its inner spaces and people.
A space with its own beauty and rawness, where abandoned furniture accompany communal, lively resting areas, something appearing to be unkempt and unsightly to one may perfectly embody the spirit of the space to another.
This issue of VIRUS is largely influenced by the grotesque. As Rémi Astruc suggests, hybridity is an important trope of the grotesque, which is used to conceptualise alterity and change. As such, colourful facades and well-polished appearances are eschewed in favour of seeking out the raw, gritty found in Rochor Centre, portraying another perspective that captures its beauty and significance in equal measure.
Seeking to subvert the traditional definition of beauty, this issue of VIRUS is characterised through its planned disorder and intentional imperfections. Through random illustrations, multiple photo collages, graphic illusions intended to dilate the reader’s eyes, and irregular page sizes in different signatures, VIRUS aims to evoke the raw and visceral nature of memories and emotions that often bleed into one another, leaving one inseparable from the other. These different, independent moments are etched deeply in our subconscious, but over time, merge together through similarities in time and space to form an amorphous, malleable product of memory.
The aluminium foil cover is raw, imperfect, yet visually distinctive – an apt embodiment of Rochor Centre. Used in the protection and preservation of items, aluminium foil is thin, but when layered over repeatedly, much like nostalgia, it forms a dense protective layer from the ravages of time. The cardboard material is also collected from the forgotten elderly living inside the corridors and void decks and used as our colophon.
Finally, the process of change and loss comes with nostalgia. Nostalgia lends significance to our memories, emotions and stories. This begets the question if what we cherish is due to personal choice and significance, or just a relentless pursuit and following of what is deemed relevant. The spread of Xs and Os captures this, reflecting how pervasive and extensive this tension and paradox has seeped into our everyday lives.
]]>For the inaugural event, we invited Hey Studio from Barcelona to speak alongside two designers from Singapore, Pann Lim of Kinetic Singapore and Theseus Chan of WORK.
The talk centers on their individual ethos and beliefs in their line of work, as well as personal experiences that had shaped them through their career.
The Pantone colors chosen are inspired by the “Away” kit of F.C Barcelona, the famous well-loved soccer team of Catalonia.
Visit the website here.
Illustration by Hey
Visit the website here
]]>The design primarily utilises two key design elements – shape and colour – to be integrated seamlessly into the overall visual construct. To be primarily produced and distributed in Vietnam and China, these shapes and colours have to be easily identifiable and distinctive. The visual elements are used to highlight and distinguish the different origins of each flavour.
Shape
Using elements inherent in the logo type, the alphabets ‘n’ and ‘u’ are creatively merged to form basic shapes – an oval for durian, a circle for salted egg, and a triangle for yam. This draws inspiration from well-known characteristics of each flavour, with the oval representing the durian seed, and the circle representing the full yolk found in salted eggs, for example.
Colour
Each flavour will also have a unique colour scheme – green for durian, orange for salted egg, and purple for yam. These colours are common hues associated with the respective flavours and their key ingredients.
]]>The book contains inserts of random yet nostalgic old and archived photographs that were collected from elderly residents. Each segment is also separated by a unique paper stock that represented each heritage site by its special texture.
PLAY @ OMTJ is centered on the concept of interconnectedness across time and space. Despite predominantly being a feature on recreational spaces in Taman Jurong and its heritage, the timeless theme of PLAY and recreation help bridge both the past and present.
The space setup is filled with shipping crates – a representation of Taman Jurong – a place where many first-generation migrants and workers began to call home decades ago.
The Singapore Short Film Awards showcases the depth and breadth of the local short film scene, recognising excellence in homegrown filmmaking talent through various categories.
The design direction is to create an instantly recognisable combination of the showreel and the clapper board. The identity is adapted from the pre-screening motion graphics to various printed collaterals.
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Process is hidden. It is hidden in our thoughts and sketches. Design is reflexive. We are sometimes too focused on the _______. The hidden stream of creation is a subtle yet existential perception. The onset of technology has created a new wave of conversation. Everyone is a ______. Works of designers are put on a ______ where people are free to be the _____. Is this a ____logue or a ___logue? It seems like ______ cares about the process anymore. It is hiding, hidden, ____. Designers are succumbing to ______. We have too many __________, too few ________. Designers have to emphasize the __________ of process. Not everyone gets it. A part of our future ____ everytime we put ourselves up for ___________.
]]>Our nation is at crossroads. The number 50 is rotated left to signify how far we have come and the number 100 is rotated right to represent where we are heading towards.
The slash is known as an giving alternative voice and meaning. In a society full of voices and opinions, the logo has the ability to evolve into emoticon-like symbols as each opinion expresses a different viewpoint.
The distilled neutrality of the execution allows the subject matter to take center stage as the organizing committee plays a silent supporting role.
]]>Design installation for
(interiorities)(peripheries
by The Substation
(interiorities)(peripheries is a DIY guerilla project aimed to cause pause (or not) for people who wander into The Substation. The installation was encouraged to take on an organic approach with the theme to be open and expandable, hoping to create a dialogue.
With films being delivered in crates, (red) or (dead is designed to create an impression of an arrived shipment containing film dvds – only for the audience to realize all that is inside the crates are test tubes. Two crates are handmade – one covered in red tape and the other in every other color.
These test tubes represent attempted engineering and curation of content in our society. Each test tube contains a list of banned films in Singapore over the years, with a blank entry at the end for the audience to fill in the next film to be disallowed for viewing in the coming future.
Map illustration for Singfest 2014 for Taman Jurong Community Centre
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Gelato On The Move is a unique mobile gelato catering company which envisions to bring flexibility to enjoying premium gelato anytime, anywhere.
The identity is crafted from the shape of a gelato cone, with the ellipse as the primary visual element across all collaterals.
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Website & additional materials to follow.
]]>Brand identity for The Meeting Room
Set in a vintage-chic space, The Meeting Room seeks simplicity while providing a comfortable space for discussion and casual conversations after work.
The identity takes on a simple approach – the blueprints of a meeting room and office space, with the outline of a room being the anchor visual.
]]>AWOL is an independent publication curated and designed by VIRUS – featuring 28 interviews and essays from all walks of life.
Featuring a toilet bowl on both the front and back covers, it is a symbol of equality. However, with the toilet bowl completely in gold, it brings a variety of representations to different audiences.
A handmade limited edition of 20 packaged in sturdy authentic gold toilet paper is available while stocks last.
Ships worldwide.
Available here.
]]>An initiative by VIRUS, Kampong is a travelling curation. Inspired by ladders which represent growth of a society, the Chinese characters 甘榜 are merged into a singular character to signify the unification of multi-cultures in Singapore.
This project seeks to elevate the status of visual communication and archival within our community and society.
Be a partner or contribute to this initiative today.
]]>Event and collateral design for Our Museum @ Taman Jurong’s 1st Anniversary Celebration.
Inspiration was drawn from the environment and people, where elements were represented in six different patterns.
Gold – Pagoda
Wood – Nature
Water – Memories
Fire – Energy
Earth – Living Spaces
Happiness – Pollination
An ongoing graphic exploration of local food cuisines.
]]>Collateral design for CAGE
Business cards were designed in a way that can be
adapted to be folded into half. They can then be
used to play table soccer with a simple crushed paper
ball. The tones were also chosen from the symbolic
colors of football – the red, the yellow, and the green.
We always talk about things going viral. We are at
crossroads. The introduction of social media has
reshaped the way we view and spread ideas and opinions
about society. What is a good way to express
individualistic thoughts? Or is there even one? Have we
become too indulged in the idea of embracing the power
given to us by the digital elite that we have forgotten how
to see the society through our eyes?
A publication by VIRUS
]]>Brand design & art direction for Armoury cafe.
The logo is conceptualised according to the proposed
decor of the small foreign coffee house. As the theme
is the outback with cowboy posters and empty rifles
filling up the interior, the logo is a representation of a
revolver’s barrel and also a honeycomb as it is a place
that sells sweet treats and drinks.
Each business card is handcrafted along with a
stamp, accompanied by other visual and product
collaterals like the reservation sign cut out of wood
to also act like a paper weight for the menus.