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ERINN SAVAGE – Performance
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School of Design

This year we celebrate the extraordinary achievements of GSA Singapore’s second to last cohort of BA graduands. Once again, both staff and students pulled out every stop to surpass our previous efforts. This year has been a turbulent one for us. The news surrounding GSA’s anticipated departure from Singapore in 2021 struck us with surprise. The responses from our industry friends and from our academic partners pay testimony to the profound impact which GSA Singapore has had, and will continue to have, on Singapore’s creative scene.

GSA’s graduating cohort this year will increase the number of GSA Singapore alumni to around 700. They will contribute to GSA’s growing legacy. Our alumni are known for their independent thinking, their readiness to take risks, their critical-reflective skills, and their adaptability. Trained to make a difference, our outgoing students this year are yet again destined to join the small but growing group of future vanguards in Singapore’s design industry and beyond. One of our furthest-travelling alumni, Abdul Rahman, has just returned from New York City, where he was stationed as Associate Strategist by Ogilvy.

Of course, the Covid-19 situation imposes challenges upon all of us. Good designers hone not only creative skills and passion, but also perseverance. Some of our students have already taken the initiative to design guidance information for locals to connect them to the most essential support services in Singapore. Adversity has a way of sifting out those who see opportunity in difficulty, and those who see difficulty in opportunity. There can be no doubt that our new cohort of graduating students will thrive throughout their careers.

Matthias Hillner, Director of Programmes GSA Singapore

Screenzino

Screenzino is an imaginary illness where a new kind of tumour grows due to a lot of exposure to digital screens, in particularly our phones and desktops. The tumour would then cause us to lose our 5 humane senses. There is no definite cure but there are some medications which would slow down the growth and some people even cured themselves with the assistance of these cures. This is a pamphlet to raise awareness of this sickness.

Screenzino

Following up with the awareness of the Screenzino, here is the collection of the medication to help aid the loses and antibodies. The pastels to counter the bright hypnotic lights from the screens as pastels are softer on the eyes. Each of the items are for specific senses.

Let's Meet Halfway

Let’s Meet Halfway is a social awareness campaign to encourage people to learn some basic sign language to make the society a more inclusive place. If some of the deaf people are learning to lip read to understand us, what is stopping us from learning a little bit of signing to understand them? The idea for this poster was to make the audience feel what it was similar to what a deaf would have to encounter when they rely on the visuals or lip reading. Hence I used the fact that most people could see and set them a challenge to try reading with half the typographies cut off. This is to further support the idea of trying to meet halfway.

Let's Meet Halfway

These are additional marketing flyers for the households and the Deaf Associations which could be used when there is an event or simply just to spread the awareness.

Let's Meet Halfway

Part of the solution to encourage people to learn more sign language is to make interesting and eye catching visuals so that it looks more exciting and easy to learn. Faster as well since in the present time we have lesser attention span. The feed is designed to have one column for the finger spelling and the other two for short conversational tutorials and the some of the benefits and fun facts or even sharing the people's experiences.

Let's Meet Halfway

These are the screen captures of the video to promote the awareness of deaf and to encourage people to learn some basic sign language.

Let's Meet Halfway

This was a marketing video to promote the idea of learning the basic sign languages to communicate with our deaf community. It was a "good to know" kind of design problem and the solution for myself was to help create some awareness with the blessing of the perspective of the hearing world.

The Search for Immortality

The Search for Immortality tells a story to raise awareness of our ignorant excessive usage of single use plastics and our human greed. The storybook is meant to be read to children by parents and hopefully they would realise that the morale of the story is about how plastics have conquered the world and one day it might possibly, and literally cause the end of humans if we do not stop this.

Blue Alert

Climate change holds true as one of the important issues of our generation but why aren’t Singaporeans doing much about it? I discovered that Singapore could be in a state of denial towards climate change as we are neither directly affected nor witnessing the catastrophes first hand. By incorporating climate change with something familiar that hints at an emergency, Blue Alert brings climate change to its audience through virtual reality while educating them about the severity of their actions through a scenario-driven card game.

Blue Alert

Blue Alert is an educational card game based on things that Singaporean enjoys (Blue card) but prompts you to destroy it (Alert card) due to our behaviour and climate change - talking about reverse psychology. This in hopes to influence the players lifestyle and decision making when it comes to climate issues - which we are late to act upon.

Blue Alert

Blue Alert

Blue Alert

Check out this project and many more through my online portfolio. Thanks for viewing.

IN YOUR FACE

IN YOUR FACE is an installation work that aims to send a message to individuals who are carelessly and thoughtlessly using plastic. It seeks to question old habits and hopefully get everyone to do their part in reducing plastic use. In order for us to fix the problem, we have to acknowledge that we are not doing enough and we have to amp up our efforts. Start saying no to excessive plastic use, especially when we shop.

DON'T ASK

Excessive plastic use is a global problem that has plagued the modern world for a few decades now. While media coverage on this issue is at an all time high, changing mindsets still proves to be a challenge, especially when certain societies are so deep-set in their ways. To create ONE identity and to bring all organisations to work together to create a nation-wide campaign to tackle plastic problems in Singapore. To bring about a collective realisation among Singaporeans on the severity of our plastic use. It is our responsibility to take charge of plastic matters. We have to keep reminding ourselves to ‘DON’T ASK’ for plastic bags.

ODD GENESIS

In year 2219, A man-made Virus was released to the atmosphere through heavy industrialisations. M.O.B virus confined exclusively or largely to biomes, however, posed the formidable problem of finding a susceptible human infection and cause death. For-Profit company ODD GENESIS has monopoly over food sources. Ferro Subsistence cure, provides all seven nutrients on a daily basis to help build our bodies and maintain health.

CHAIRNNEL

Reveals some very good insights into what a chair can represent - how it can be a metaphor for aspects of being human or for states of the human condition. To highlight our basic need to give and receive compassion in all its various forms and to create a centerpiece which communicates the idea of compassion and evoke a response and reflection of our basic aspects as a human being.

Get Lost

Often we become too focused on getting to our destination that we've forgotten the joy of being lost in the foreign paths and scenery. I had the opportunity to experience that excitement once again in Glasgow and designed a maze with no starting or ending point, allowing the ball to roam around the maze aimlessly with the map coordinates of the places I was lost in along the walls of the maze.

You Deserve Better

We are in a toxic relationship with plastics. The more we love it, the more it’ll hurt us, and yet we keep coming for more. This campaign aims to reduce the use of plastic bags through realising the love-hate relationship between us.

Celestien

In the year 2090, space travelling technology is advanced enough for everyday people outside of the 1% to travel to Mars and Moon for outdoor recreational purposes such as hiking and skiing. As the first space tour agency for recreational activities, Celestien believes that when humans get to enjoy space for leisure, we will truly be a species beyond Earth, becoming one with the celestial.

Celestien

In the year 2090, space travelling technology is advanced enough for everyday people outside of the 1% to travel to Mars and Moon for outdoor recreational purposes such as hiking and skiing. As the first space tour agency for recreational activities, Celestien believes that when humans get to enjoy space for leisure, we will truly be a species beyond Earth, becoming one with the celestial.

Love Letter to Chinese Cinema

Love Letter To Chinese Cinema is a project that explores the overlap between today’s Chinese youth, and their relationship with Chinese Cinema. How to Judge a Chinese Film by it’s Chinese-ness is an ironic and satirical kit, where warped and often Eurocentric perception of Asian cinema manifests itself into a tangible product. This kit uses hypocrisy as a visual language to question contradiction and double standards in the way that movies are now perceived.

Banana is local street description for Asians who have chosen to abandon or neglect their cultural identity in favour of a western one – yellow on the outside & white on the inside. Pinkerton syndrome.

Western vs Asian comparison – the notion of “worth” is often brought up when discussing Asian films, whether it is “worth” the watch, time and money. An endless handout of excuses.

Civi Type: The Man, The Skies, The Earth

A writing system born out of a dystopian future in 2064 that eerily mirrors the (future) present; war, environmental decline and viruses. Where mother tongues are forgotten, this system is used to indoctrinate and communicate — its purpose entirely functional and devoid of emotion. A writing system produced from analog and digital mediums, its form is derived from the functionality of Chinese logography and carries the characteristics of blackletter.

The system's handbook, bound in tradition Chinese bookbinding to echo its influence.

The four core functions of the writing system, conveyed purely through visuals. It lacks phonics & no symbol represents feelings nor inquiry. The cold, robotic nature reflects in its stiff and angular form.

Plasticism

Colours

Outdoor Fashion

Ordinary Extraordinary

Ordinary Extraordinary is a project where I take several daily / mundane objects and perceive them differently. The theme of my project revolves around Singaporeean childhood snacks.

I was not Here Before

The call for exploration is rarely acted upon when one is stuck in a routine. In another country, exploring the local environment with no agenda but to experience the location is an exhilarating process. However, back at home, the need to wander disappears. What happens when you do wander from your routine? This project is about my experience of wandering familiar places and how we can discover new places at home. It is a photo book that visually documents the poster pieces I leave in places around Singapore that I have wandered across.

I was not Here Before

I was not Here Before

Pretty Period

Pretty Period is a photo series that defies how many conservative communities perceive feminine hygiene products. In many Asian cultures, the act of menstruation is considered a dirty process, taboo to talk about freely in the open. What would it take to change that perspective? Here, ordinary feminine products are photographed with mirrors to represent flowers, something beautiful and full of life.

Pretty Period

Pretty Period

#SoCultural

After investigating the topic of Asian cultures being appropriated in pop culture, I realised that when the online communities call out the appropriators, they tend to point fingers without context on the cultural aspect they are defending. This project is a social campaign that addresses the online herd mentality in blindly ‘defending’ against cultural appropriation without a deeper understanding of the cultures at hand.

The Alien Generation

The generation of youths that grow up in the 2000s have many quirky attributes. The Alien Generation is a quirky and addictive publication that explores the strange trends and habits that this special classification of people indulge in. Hopefully deciphering why and how they came to be, even if they do not understand it themselves.

The Plastic Problem

Plastic bags are portrayed sexually to create the image that sea creatures are getting choked without consent, consequently losing their lives. This project is catered to young adults, encouraging them to switch to a plastic alternative, Solubag, which is packaged like a condom.

This work may contain graphic imagery, Click to toggle blur.

The Plastic Problem

This work may contain graphic imagery, Click to toggle blur.

The Plastic Problem

This work may contain graphic imagery, Click to toggle blur.

72 Virgins: Terrorist’s Digest

This is satirical digest showcasing the dos and don’ts of terrorism. It is curated specially for someone who is a terrorist, or wants to be one. In this digest, there is a showcase of how race can be a deterrent from you achieving the title of being the most successful terrorist. I also chose to poke fun at how they brainstorm certain ways to make terrorism become “socially acceptable”.

This work may contain graphic imagery, Click to toggle blur.

72 Virgins: Terrorist’s Digest

This work may contain graphic imagery, Click to toggle blur.

72 Virgins: Terrorist’s Digest

This work may contain graphic imagery, Click to toggle blur.

72 Virgins: Terrorist’s Digest

This work may contain graphic imagery, Click to toggle blur.

Valaida Snow

Valaida Snow was an African American Trumpet player who sang and played Jazz music in the 1920s – 1930s era. This is an alphabetical record-styled diary, illustrating Valaida Snow’s struggles with racism, as well as her experience getting captured by Nazis for two years.

This work may contain graphic imagery, Click to toggle blur.

Valaida Snow

This work may contain graphic imagery, Click to toggle blur.

Valaida Snow

This work may contain graphic imagery, Click to toggle blur.

Verda Motus

Verda Motus, an exclusive brand that is directed towards working adults which aims to reduce the use of plastic bags in supermarkets. The brand works around a reward system whereby users are rewarded with credit card rebates whenever they chose to use VM's reusable bags for their groceries instead of plastic bags. It targets existing members of chosen credit card types, especially those with a higher annual income and those who have higher purchasing power. Verda Motus Brand Guidelines. This page exhibits how the brand's logo should be used and the amount of clear space that is required when using the logo whether on a physical surface or digital platform.

The following pages in the Verda Motus Brand Guidelines shows all the do's and don'ts about the brand such as Logo Misuse, Primary & Secondary colours and Typography. These factors ensure consistency in how the brand is being showcased on products and various platforms.

Presenting Verda Motus’s member package. Includes beautiful, classy and versatile Verda Motus bag, lucky charm, and the exclusive membership credit card.

Verda Motus club website, exclusively for powerful people. The website provides insightful information on how to qualify and how to start being a member of the Verda Motus club.

The Lazzy Diner

This project brief requires me to forge community bonds over food hence I created The Lazzy Diner, a mobile food service that aims to connect working adults living in Punggol. Based on site surveys gathered, these residents only have a handful of eateries where they are able to socialise within Punggol. Unlike a delivery service, The Lazzy Diner will partner up with different restaurants islandwide each month and will park its truck at various neighbourhoods in Punggol. Residents will be able to book slots and have to sit down to dine together as a community.

The Lazzy Diner's mobile website is optimized and user-friendly for hungry owls in mind. The reservation process can be completed in a breeze. Diners will be able to read up on the partnered restaurant for the month. They will have to key in their personal particulars and book a dine in slot so that orders can be processed. Diners will be done ordering in a couple of minutes and they will know exactly what goes inside their stomachs as shown in the dietary information. All they have to do is to simply browse and select the cuisine and food that they will like to have, and complete the order list.

I illustrated food and ingredient elements to try and create a motif that represents The Lazzy Diner brand. I also experimented with various contrasting colours to see which one suits the brand persona.

Killiney's Brand Awareness

A conceptual project work with Killiney that requires a boost in their sales. According to the client, working adults are their main and current patrons however, I decided to target University students as it was an opportunity to gain more brand awareness since based on gathered research, University students hardly have breakfast or proper meals. The illustrated posters are designed to look hip and grungy as they will be placed around campuses to serve as a reminder for students to grab a bite from Killiney.

YYENO

YYENO is a card game designed for people pleasers to practice saying no. Saying no is a difficult task for people pleasers as they see it as a trigger to all their fears becoming a reality. However, although intimidating, it is a necessary step to take back their lives. This game aims to ease them into this new normal by providing them with a safe space to practice saying no, while having fun.

Unfiltered

In a world where people prefer to hide their struggles, Unfiltered explores the thoughts many wrestle with. Created using various works from my first 100 days of studying in GSA, it seeks to communicate the rawness of human emotions and thoughts.

Unfiltered

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Unfiltered

Portrait of a Feather

Feathers are typically viewed as a collective– be it as a covering for birds, in accessories, or even in household items. These objects are taken for granted and not given much attention or appreciation. This exploratory project seeks to bring attention to an everyday, overlooked object by isolating it– making each feather the focus instead of the supporting character. Drawing attention to the individual feather brings intimacy, and highlights its usually unnoticed beauty.

Portrait of a Feather

Portrait of a Feather

The Perfect Life?

The Perfect Life seeks to educate and highlight the plight and the atrocities committed against the Rohingya– a persecuted Muslim minority from Myanmar. The satirical approach adopted in the book stems from the apathy of the majority, whose ignorance is equivalent to saying that everything is perfectly fine. By adopting this approach, the book shows how twisted this mindset is and seeks to wake people up to the reality in front of them.

This work may contain graphic imagery, Click to toggle blur.

The Perfect Life?

This work may contain graphic imagery, Click to toggle blur.

Re-imagining Typography in Academic Writing

This project investigates if typography could aid the reader in understanding academic writings better. Textures are created in the paragraph when exaggerations are made to signify a keyword, grasping the reader's attention. The layout and presentation of the article is also reformulated, in hopes to invoke a new experience in the rather mundane task of reading.

Re-imagining Typography in Academic Writing

Re-imagining Typography in Academic Writing

Makan Typeface

In the current Singapore society, social class is one of the most prevalent fault line. This issue is even more jarring now with the pandemic, as many lost their jobs while others stay peering over their ivory tower. This type hopes to unite Singaporeans in our common love for our food culture and shared food spaces. In remembering our commonalities, differences will pale in comparison.

Makan Typeface

Makan Typeface

four thirty nine Magazine

"Let me know how fleeting my life is..." We've heard of this mantra: live fast, die young. It highlights the superficiality and reckless nature of our world. However, this time we have can be so easily ended as well. This magazine aims to be a paradigm shift in perspective for the contemplation of time; a reminder that life is precious and what we do with it can has an impact. Live meaningfully, die fulfilled.

four thirty nine Magazine

four thirty nine Magazine

AboutFace Edition 1

Many are aware of veganism but not many know the reasons and benefits behind it. Inspired by the Cowspiracy documentary, AboutFace is a vegan magazine that aims to create awareness of our eating habits and its impact on the environment in hopes of invoking a positive change in our food consumption. The content is curated to educate people on vegan foods and its dietary considerations. Unlike other vegan magazines, AboutFace takes an illustrative approach to a controversial topic. Credit: The images used to create this poster are taken online

Movement Photography

A series of six photographs, Movement interpretes synaesthesia by creating a hidden language using sounds that can’t be heard by the human ear. ​Synaesthesia is the neurological phenomenon in which the brain mixes up the senses; stimulation of one of the senses leads to experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. The work explores the concept of synaesthesia and visual spaces that are both real and surreal. The images were created by using water, sound and lighting with a little colour touchup.

Wouldyousaveme Campaign

Intended to bring out the compassion people have for animals, #Wouldyousaveme campaign aims to spread awareness and educate the public on veganism. People always say they love animals and care about them but why are some animals treasured and treated as pets while others are not? Research shows that humans adore cats, babies and humans (themselves). With that in mind, the posters highlight the sentiment by showing that all living beings are equal. Credit: The images used to create this poster are taken online

Pascernin X Virus (HealthCare Packaging)

Assigned with inventing an imaginary virus, the Pascernin X virus is a mutation virus that is caused by bad farming practices and corruption in the industry. Humans start to mutate into the very livestock they consume. This fictional virus was created to educate the public on how the food industry result to unethical means to keep up with the high demand of meat, which would in turn start to affect its consumers if we don’t do something about it soon.

La Flamour

Fragrance sticks making process collage

La Flamour

The world is starting to see the result of our environmental negligence and man-made waste is one of them. However, due to the constant coverage, people have become numb to it, thus La Flamour was created. Presented as a romantic and sensual product, La Flamour repurposes “waste” from natural products such as flowers and fruit skins by turning them into fragrance sticks targeted towards the younger crowd.

Big Lies

Big Lies is a series of artworks accompanied by a zine that discusses the lies made by people about the fashion industry. The fashion industry is ​a global environmental injustice. Clothes are essential but it’s not when we overbuy. People lie to themselves to justify their purchase but convenience is a luxury we can no longer afford. Big lies follows a series of lies accompanied by designs to show the truth about the fashion industry. It's created using hand stitched typography with painted illustrations over it.

Plastic Problem

Plastic is essentially everything, we are surrounded by it. It was initially advertised as the future, we no longer need to hoard glass packaging, food are kept fresher in plastic. It is old fashioned to not use plastic. We were told that it is the future, it keeps everything fresh. It is cheap and dispensable. Plastics are the future, save the trees and use plastics. Recycling old plastic advertising images and some taglines, into today's context. Recycling the idea into a new one, see what I did there? My TVC also reuses ads from 1997 by APC, people often gets defensive when called out. We should approach this delicately as people are Compassion Fatigued and Desensitized to Global Warming. Let the audience feel smart figuring out themselves. Recycling the 1997 plastic tvcs copywriting and footages of what plastic has done to our planet to create stark contrast in the video. Hoping to spread awareness through nostalgia and non-conventional way.

Price: £20

This item is for sale, please contact for more information.

Price: £20

This item is for sale, please contact for more information.

Price: £20

This item is for sale, please contact for more information.

Healthcare Packaging

Create a virus or illness including name, symptoms and cure. Chingus was take inspiration from a capitalism as a pandemic. Back in October 2019, NBA and Disney were under fire for censoring themselves to work with China, receiving backlash. When China refuse to work with corporations, they tend to lose millions in revenue. (Avengers are owned by Disney, there are special scenes added into the franchise to enter theatres in China.) (A NBA player tweeted freedom for HongKong in 2019, China was displeased and banned all NBA from showing in China, losing millions in revenue in just a week. The NBA manager made a public apology soon after. So much for American and their "freedom".) This project centered on mostly propaganda. The right tone needs to be set through mock ups. Flyers and posters are shot out of the plane into the streets, sirens will ring and the speaker will spread word of Chingus.

Price: £20

This item is for sale, please contact for more information.

Illustration Book

A self-initiated project, my first illustration project. All the content and illustrations are done by me. It was fulfilling to be able to write my stories. The book is eerily long, the bodycopy is long as well. Each character is the idea of a feeling. Using research of others experienced and their accounts of falling. Painting the mental image of emotions and ideas of certain elements and human instincts.

Fashion Without Bodies

Style is more of an attitude than the pieces of clothes you wear. It is about communicating your Identity, Ideals and Opinions. However, Fashion has always been closely associated with the chiseled jaws, the smoky eyes and the luscious lips of runway models. How do we shake off these cliché? I challenged myself to find an unorthodox way to portray fashion genres, and what could be more unexpected than food? With the varied nuances in dining behavior, it is akin to how we drape ourselves. Hence, I chose food photography to bring out the characteristic of fashion genre with a clever play of our favourite delicacies.

Fashion Without Bodies

Fashion Without Bodies

Fashion Without Bodies

The Language That Saved All Mankind

Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master. The Language That Saved All Mankind, looks into this reality. A Cybernetic Being from the future, arrives in the present on a mission. He must gift to humanity an encoded language that shall ensure their survival. He knows the great cataclysm is inevitable, but he does what he can. The key to the survival of his own race, depends on the humans as well. This is the defining chapter of our imminent history; Time-travel, Longevity and Comfort, all torn down by our own creation. The self-aware cyborgs hunted us down like rodents. We could hide, but not for long. Our desperate clamor for survival and struggles are carefully imprinted on cardboard, the only writing material we could get our hands on. We marked our meagre existence, using essence of our mother tongue; Sanskrit, Chinese, Hebrew and Thai. Like the Ten Commandments of eons past, we hope that we shall survive through our language.

The Language That Saved All Mankind

The Language That Saved All Mankind

The Language That Saved All Mankind

The Language That Saved All Mankind

The Language That Saved All Mankind

The Poker Game

Make mistakes or screw up, you learn. Jade courts with death, when he throws away his second chance. Jade has been with Malik's Geylang vice ring for years. Now as one of the most prominent drug barons, Jade has other ambitions. Tonight, he will have to answer for his lies. Will Jade see the day of light? Or will he pay the ultimate price? However not everybody is lucky enough to have the luxury to witness the sunrise. The consequences that follow up with the actions made would require you to pay the price. We do not always get a second chance, so cherish every given moment. Jade gets involved with Malik and his Gelyang crime gang. As Jade rose to become one of the most prominent drug dealer, his greed took over him -- a powerful drug dealer’s fate tied to an inescapable organized crime boss.

The Poker Game

The Poker Game

Mom, Where's My Pants?

The plastic waste problem has been a long running issue, and has exacerbated over the decades. Sadly, the methods of communicating the gravity of the issue has not adapted. Campaigns highlighting the threat of plastic waste on wildlife has remained a staple. Effective as they were, such images have become a cliché and the public has since become desensitized to them. Thus, my challenge is finding approaches of captivating the audience yet again. How will I garner attention? Satire is one way to invoke humor, a sensation that can be shared by both young and old. Awareness about the issue, is the first step towards making a change.

Mom, where's my pants?

The plastic waste problem has been a long running issue, and has exacerbated over the decades. Sadly, the methods of communicating the gravity of the issue has not adapted. Campaigns highlighting the threat of plastic waste on wildlife has remained a staple. Effective as they were, such images have become a cliché and the public has since become desensitized to them. Thus, my challenge is finding approaches of captivating the audience yet again. How will I garner attention? Satire is one way to invoke humor, a sensation that can be shared by both young and old. Awareness about the issue, is the first step towards making a change.

Know Your Government

The aim for this political zine is to encourage responsible voting during Singapore General Election, especially for young Singaporeans who are voting for the first time, they may not fully understand politics enough to make the wise choice of electing future government. To gain interest among young Singaporeans to understand politics, the theme of the zine is juxtaposed with Greek mythological figures to simplify complex information.

Know Your Government

Know Your Government

Know Your Government

Know Your Government

Know Your Government

Know Your Government

Know Your Government

Know Your Government

John Berger's Ways of Seeing – Voyeurism

By understanding sex and shifting the perspective of the woman’s role in society, this can help lower the rates of sexual assault, voyeurism and misogynistic tendencies.

OOH+ Sexuality Education

A non-profit organisation that delivers sex education that actually benefits, counsels & provides assistance to the young people of our society. Singapore’s sex education curriculum is not equipped to address and educate our young people, which makes them vulnerable.

OOH+ Sexuality Education

As teenagers are becoming more tech-savvy, they are exposed to unfiltered sex content which poses a high risk of early sexual relations and abuse of pornography.

Trailing Type

Using pen & ink calligraphy to explore typography over human body forms

Delirium

Delirium – an acute mental disturbance characterized by confused thinking and disrupted attention usually accompanied by disordered speech and hallucinations. An exploration of mental illnesses and expression of emotions with no words, just effects, mood, lighting & other techniques with music.

Something Different

A poster depicting my experience in Glasgow for my immersion trip. I constantly seek that same feeling I had a taste of in my present life.

Internetto Magazine

Internetto is a magazine that covers Internet slangs and trends in bit-sized information for the Masses.

Phil&Sophie

A self initiated project with the aim of simplifying philosophy for the interested laymen, as the complexity of existing materials are too intimidating for those interested to embark on their philosophical journey. Phil&Sophie aims to help the audience understand key concepts of various philosophical schools of thought, and prompt them to start questioning things around them on a deeper level. The zines are on a subscription based model, with multiple issues that explores an overarching theme each volume, with the art direction changing in each issue.

Phil&Sophie

The focus of the third issue is an examination of the Stoics’ views on the poisonous nature of complaining and the importance of rejoicing in what is. The art direction focuses on visual metaphors and a cut and paste scrapbook aesthetic that reeks of unprofessionalism. The printed copy will be filled with flaws and various printing errors, tempting consumers who expect perfect products to complain about it. However, the point will be for them to practice not complaining.

Magazine (re-used)

re-used magazine is a biannual publication that looks into the various issues and topics pertaining to the world of freeganism. Offering analysis and in depth discussions on the latest happenings relating to the freegan community, re-used magazine aims to spark conversations that will change your life. To prevent excessive consumption, there are only limited copies of the magazine, readers are encouraged to pass it on to another reader.

Magazine (re-used)

In the pilot issue, the topic is dumpster diving, arguably the best known practice of Freegans. Stories of various individuals that have something to do with the act of dumpster diving were included too. The magazine is mainly typeset in Ryman Eco, a sustainable free font which uses less ink than standard fonts. Printed on FSC-Certified recycled papers, re-used embodies the spirit of freeganism within its design and editorial decisions.

Magazine (re-used)

The art direction of the magazine is a mix between ‘recycled’ graphics and punk subculture. ‘Recycled graphics’ is an attempt to utilise old things and giving them new meanings or purpose in this new context. Example includes reusing textures or typography elements found in the surroundings. The Punk subculture is about non-conformity, anti-corporatism, with a do-it-yourself ethic, anti-consumerist, which shares much similarities with freeganism.

Consumer Dictionary

An investigation into the relationship between words, consumerism and advertisement as propaganda. In particular, how words are being manipulated to build up and sustain our consumerist society. Various visual exploration is done to the dictionary, such as blackout poetry, paired with iconic visuals to further iterate the point that words and graphics can be manipulated and serves as a reminder of the nature of our society.

‘I want to buy a new one of the most time consuming activity like ever’

‘I want to buy a new one of the most time consuming activity like ever’, is a collection of gibberish generated by the predictive text function on an individual’s mobile device. Paired with targeted ads tailored to that individual, it allows the reader to form an impression of this individual, however inaccurate it might be. Contributors were asked to start off their predictive sentence with ‘I want to buy’, and to continue the sentence until it starts to repeat itself. 2-3 targeted ads provided by the same contributor will be juxtaposed against their words.

Hook

Hook is a branding project that was inspired from my favourite childhood movie – Peter Pan. When re-watching it when I’m older, and upon researching more on the author, the interpretation of the movie took a dark turn from the perspective of Captain Hook. With this in mind, the message behind this was to enlighten people that fairytales could be just be an illusion under the influence. The logo and typography treatment was experimented by how I interpreted how Captain Hook’s handwriting would look like when writing with a hook for a hand. I experimented by attaching a brush to an actual hook from a hanger, and started exploring the messiness that ensued from his handicap. After experimenting, the final outcome resulted to be a mix of fairytale-like quirkiness yet honing a mysterious ominous tone to its branding, which highlights my objective and message well.

Civilization Typography

The language designed was my imagination of how I picture the future to be. Influenced by Elon Musk’s obsession of inserting microchips into the human brain, I would imagine that our civilization would turn to a civil war, where people are questioning if adding a digital layer into our anatomy would be the solution of the future. Since it seems to be predicted that the future is of unlocking our brain’s capacity with microchips, I studied parts of the human brain closely, and what each part functioned as. From here, I deconstructed anatomies and functions of the human brain and used its physical appearance as the structure of this language. The advancement of technology led me to the speech that Charlie Chaplin gave in “The Great Dictator” in 1940, where he talks about how humanity has been overcome with greed because of power and technology. The speech he gave is still relevant to the technological progression of the world today. Hence, I used excerpts of his speech to be translated into the language that has been designed.

Civilization Typography

Civilization Typography

Project Proxima

The world, stunned by our first contact, is set on the brink of nuclear war, when the message is misintepreted and manipulated to serve mankind’s vile nature. A linguist races against time to translate the message and steer humanity from destroying themselves. The Space Race died 3 decades ago and with it, the public imagination. Project Proxima attempts to reinvigorate the passion for space exploration. The search for ET has always piqued our interest. From the mass hysteria of The War of the Worlds to the claustrophobia of Alien, the prospects of alien lifeforms has no doubt, kept us on the edge of our seats. Themes of astrophysics, communication and humanity are explored using an imagined dialogue between us and extra-terrestrial beings from our neighboring star system, Proxima Centauri.

Project Proxima

Project Proxima

Project Proxima is the decryption, translation, and study of photometric messages from an extra-terrestrial civilisation in the Proxima Centauri System, the closest to our Sun. This facilitates communication between mankind and our neighrbor 4.47 lightyears away.

Project Proxima

Low on options, resources and time, the International Commission devises an ingenious and dead simple way of emitting a comparable energy output we had observed from Proxima Centauri. Well, here's the plan: We humans sure love to stockpile on nukes ey? Modify them to emit the light spectrum that we want. Send them into space, so that our atmosphere does not interfere with the light transmission. Put them at the right altitude and then BOOOM! No gigantic lasers, No costly electricity bill, get rid of our nukes at the same time! I'm not kidding.

Project Proxima

This is a set of vocabulary to guide the celestial dialogue, based on our common understanding of physics, metaphysics and mathematics, the universal constants. The language is based on the Arecibo message, designed by physicist Frank Drake, Carl Sagan and fellow scientists.The Binary message was transmitted in 1974, from the powerful Arecibo Dish Array in Puerto Rico. I adapted it into a more direct and visual form, using the same 73 X 23 grid, in which the nukes will be coordinated to denotate. Nuclear fusion = Emission of light = dots on the imaginary 73X23 Grid.

Project Proxima

This is a set of dialogues,for the purpose of human comprehension. The language relies on a form of universal sign language that can be best compared to frantic hand waving between two people who has not a single clue about each other's languages. But it works most of the times. For example, shouting in a conversation suggests an emphasis. Denoting a bigger nuke in space, emitting more energy, also suggests an emphasis.

KOPE Fest

One man’s trash, Another man’s treasure. KOPE Fest is an exhibition to showcase what can be done using little resources and skills. The interactive nature allows people of varied ages to have a haptic experience. Living in Singapore’s fast conveniences and exorbitant mercantile, we often take for granted what treasures lie beneath our HDB. By creating a series of engaging assemblages out of salvaged material, I aim to spur youth imagination and educate The public about prudency and resourcefulness. using these objects as posters, I also aim to explore unconventional mediums for advertising

Killiney Rebranding

The new design features a more minimalistic and modern ziplock packaging, made of kraft material. The raw and unpolished line drawing against the kraft packaging creates a world where old meets new, when traditions meet modernity.

Killiney Rebranding

The back of the packaging features a summarised history of Killiney for easy reading, and the recipe for each respective dish. A QR code will be provided on every packaging that links to a video tutorial which will help guide customers who are new to cooking or unfamiliar with the recipe. Millennials who have settled down and are unfamiliar with cooking are the main audience for this QR code feature.

Killiney Rebranding

An app for Killiney would help build a closer relationship between the brand and every customer.It serves as a touchpoint for Killiney to personalise each experience for every customer. It can also create a more seamless and fuss-free experience when ordering food through the app.

Rewiring Brown Nosers Everywhere

Brown-nosing. A common sight in working culture. The term originated from early 20th century, from an association of subservience with having one’s nose in the anus of a more powerful person. Creating a virus to deter brown-nosers from the flattery phenomenonwould benefit the workplace, employees and eventually, the world. But what would actually deter brown-nosers from what they do best? A series of uncomfortable and embarrassing symptoms would suffice to help brown-nosers kick the habit. Drawing inspiration from its roots, I decided to invent a virus based off a literal translation of the term’s origin . Xianophoic Suayalitis Virus, or Xia Suay, is a viral infection that attacks the respiratory system - mainly nose, throat and lungs, causing fecal matter to form on the inner walls of the windpipe and mouth. For most, it resolves on its own, provided the patients, for a period of 5 working days, avoid any form of brown nosing however, it comes with an increased tendency to insult work superiors. The treatment for the virus is Brown’s Kit for Brown Nosers. A specially formulated office wellness kit used to treat the Xia Suay Virus, found in brown nosers. The kit consists of a set of antibiotics, medicated tissues, dental care set, aromatherapy and notepads specially designed to help brown nosers fight the nasty symptoms of the virus.

blur magazine

The supernatural world has always intrigued millions around the world. The unknown and the possibility of a co-existing dimension on Earth have been a part of humanity’s story since the beginning. The history of the supernatural can be linked back to ancient Greece. Earlier accounts of the supernatural appeared in Mesopotamian records. Life after death and supernatural beings has always been a controversial topic which left many todebate on the possibility of it. Some say it’s a myth, while others believe in its existence. But one thing is for sure, is that these tales of the paranormal and supernatural reveal a truth about humanity. Ghosts and spirits are no strangers to Asia. In Asia, the culture of the living dead is ingrained in our society. From the Chinese folklore to the spine-chilling entities of Japan, these tales resonate and roots the belief in our community. We grew up listening to stories about the afterlife on Earth, some even experiencing them firsthand. blur provides a different perspective on these paranormal beings and their tales that strike fear and terror in us.


The Fisherman and His Soul

The Fisherman and His Soul is a short story (6209 words) written by Oscar Wilde. It features a young fisherman and his yearning for a mermaid, his obsession drove him to commit unholy and unthinkable actions. Upon reading the story, it is apparent that the main cause of the story’s tragedy was due to the actions of the stubborn priest in the story. The priest then is one of the core parts of the story. In this revised version, I attempted to retell the story in the point of view of the priest, the story accompanied by a set of hand-drawn illustrations.

Phase Plastic Out

A habit becomes an addiction when we continue to engage in an activity despite knowing the adverse consequences of it. Comparably, people are using plastic whilst understanding the impact of plastic usage on the world and themselves. The difference, however, is that they don’t recognise their plastic dependence as a form of addiction, but rather a necessity. In my research and observation, I came across a few uncles carrying a newspaper roll in a single plastic bag. I found that they do so as to not dirty their hands. If only plastic leaves a mark as a newspaper does, it would be less popular. I then connected these with self-abuse, abuse, then addiction - all of which is obvious visually, and heavily stigmatised by society. My project, therefore, aims to liken our plastic reliance to other severe forms of addiction such as drugs, in the form of a campaign to stop plastic use.

Gravity's Spiral - One and the same

To point a finger at the self (myself) - to uncomfortably yet essentially deny denial, I believe, is a step closer towards human flourishing. This is a personal project aimed at visualising and reflecting and interpreting my daily occurrence. One and the same: Someone preached that the problem with social media and the digital world is that it creates an antisocial world. Well, for me, I rate his statement a “maybe, but not really”. Regardless of device or tech, we still tend to be immersed in the self a lot. We are normally anti-social. However, biology states that we are normally social too. Maybe, momentary isolation is just a way of coping with the constant noise and stresses of our environments - perfectly fine, really. In his defence, he might be referring to the overindulgence of media - how normal consumption easily becomes an addiction.

Gravity's Spiral - The Assembly Men

I was watching a trending video of a man listlessly working at his customer service job., a fake smile plastered onto his face. This man me think about how manufactured the actions of people have become. How different are we from mass-produced items?

Gravity's Spiral - Curled up. (Acrylic paint on cardboard.)

I was watching a trending video of a man listlessly working at his customer service job., a fake smile plastered onto his face. This man me think about how manufactured the actions of people have become. How different are we from mass-produced items?

Wayfinding Project at SIT@Dover

This project aims to make SIT@DOVER a place of effortless navigation through wayfinding signages without compromising the appearance of its “SIT-DNA”. The signages have been designed to mimic the patterns of polarising light, which migratory birds depend on for a correct orientation towards their destination - it is a symbolism for SIT’s guidance of students that have travelled great lengths to get and complete their degree.

MIMICREE (MIMICRY)

Presented with a magazine brief, I was tasked to write the copy and design its graphics of a random topic. The topic I went for was about “mimicry”, the imitation of someone or something. The content is written about different subjects that touch on different aspects of copying, and I have illustrated and collaged visuals according to the written content, stringing them into a proper magazine.

Humanity Washed Ashore.

A civilisation forced to abandon their home by the government and to seek asylum elsewhere. Hundreds of Rohingya refugees who are attempting to escape desperate conditions in their hometown remain stuck at sea. Even in these desperate times, the refugees' entry is being denied in countries. While some refugees are able to make it onto land, unfortunately, many wash ashore. 'Sarnar' is a typeface designed around the idea of micro-expressionism around the eye area. It is a typeface that translates human expressions into a semiotic. The semiotics are constructed and layered to compound meaning, just as how we learn to read expressions and emotions. The typeface, 'Sarnar', is designed to raise awareness of the plight and sufferings of the refugees stuck in the sea. Emotion is an innate human language. Governments tend to lack empathy in favour of economic and political gain. This seemingly abstract typeface is designed to elicit emotional response & encourage emotional decoding to understand the conditions these refugees are going through, in hopes of stirring up empathy from people.

Humanity Washed Ashore.

Guidebook.

Humanity Washed Ashore.

Artefact of communication.

Humanity Washed Ashore.

Artefact of communication.

Humanity Washed Ashore.

Overview

Plastic's Not Cheap.

Everyone knows that plastic bags are choking our planet. However, here in Singapore, many still expect supermarkets to provide plastic bags for the convenience of transporting home the goods. As plastic bags are free in supermarkets, many fail to see the consequence of plastic pollution. To persuade Singaporeans to change their behaviour, we have got to make the audience reconsider the value of free plastic bags and the cost it has on the future. 'Plastic is not cheap. It costs our future' is a campaign designed towards adults with kids. The campaign consists of a series of posters to raise awareness of the danger and consequences of using plastic excessively. It uses the play of famous and catchy nursery rhymes for the basis of the headlines. The poster art direction design encapsulates the consequences to the future generation if we continue the habit of using excessive plastic bags. The poster forces the audience to question what their price in the future is, and forces the agency back to them. The placement of the posters will be at areas where families usually hang out - bus stops near schools, playground, beach and parks.

Plastic's Not Cheap.

Plastic's Not Cheap.

Gaslight.

Gaslight is to manipulate (someone) by psychological means into doubting their sanity. With the majority of the world’s population already on social media, many of us may be unknowing victims of gaslight. Society invents a spuriously complex logic to change people whose conduct is beyond their mainstream. With the continued rise of using social media, many of us are naive into being conformed into adopting the socially acceptable form of opinions and thoughts. This magazine encourages the audience to form their morals. Always to be aware of the information received and to equip themselves with knowledge of being gaslighted into society’s norm. The magazine takes the audience on the journey of being gaslighted. It starts with the article on lying is a huge mistake, and honesty is the best policy. It then proceeds to the middle, where it suggests that maybe being truthful all the time is not healthy. The magazine ends with a suggestion that lying is okay and it encourages creativity in doing so.

House of Gentlemen

Tasked with melding the legacy of an author of highbrow status with a regular street shop, the House of Gentlemen sees renowned Scottish novelist, Sir Walter Scott’s legacy reintepreted in a socially conscious nail bar for men. A sartorial take on traditional and contemporary standards of chivalry (an occurring theme in many of Scott’s works), House of Gentlemen lets men get their nails primed to help the ladies with the door whilst contributing to society.

Nawwwledge

Take a logical no-nonsense subject and give it some mind-boggling, non- linear thought. Nawwwledge does so by relating intelligent yet often dull topics to situations and deliberations of millennial life. For this issue, the rules of cricket is used as a metaphor for life experienced by millennials. It is a sublimely educational and highly relatable read.

Your fate in my hands

Motivated by my long-standing struggle with procrastination, I went on a quest to uncover the source of this conundrum and the cure to end it all. This poem book is the result of an introspective research process, expressing what goes on through the mind of a procrastinator and how I cope with it. It is meant to evoke a sense of familiarity and solidarity in its readers and to show them that they aren’t alone in this fight.

Your fate in my hands

The poem book can be read as a two-page spread and/or unfurled into an accordion piece.

A Story In Statues

Having documented heavily the extent of the street art scene in Europe. I began to create a series of posters showing a collage of street art and using statues I found in Europe as the focal point in each piece, I chose to create very raw images while juxtaposing them against the statue of Sir Stamford Raffles as a representation of Singapore and it’s street art scene.

A Story In Statues

Sterile Singapore

A Story In Statues

The statues

A Story In Statues

"Swee" in Hokkien is an adjective to describe something or a situation is "beautiful".

Skins Magazine

Created a magazine labelled 'Skins" highlighting the hobby of taxidermy and the importance of preserving our animals especially if they happen to go extinct

Skins Magazine

Skins Magazine

Featuring certain advertisements, here are some highlights of advertisements which i designed to compliment the magazine. showcasing the plight of endangered species in a striking yet accessible way.

Satire Supermarket

Introducing the Satire Supermarket, "World End". A satirical take on how Supermarkets & consumers are handling the plastic problem.

Satire Supermarket

Going green literally & why stop at double bagging, when you can quadruple it

Satire Supermarket

100 Days

The first 100 days were full of workshops that dragged me through a lot, and taught me to expand my imagination, in a different way than I was previously used to. They challenged us to use our ‘mistakes’ and turn them into art.

Using pareidolia to form alphabets, and a form of typography from one of the previous assignments.

Ordinary-Extraordinary

Exploring ordinary daily cleaning products that we all use in our life; objects that we would discard without much thought. Inspired by Tanaka Tatsuya’s miniature innovations, it freed up the childlike side of my mind. Playing with the eye of a camera lens creates a whole new perspective. The lighting enhances the environment, the ‘negative space’ of the image. Overall, it expands the visual language by telling a story of how the mundane could possibly become extraordinary.

Water Slide

Presenting in a flip-up form is the most natural and pleasant way of exploring the content. Giving a sense of curosity which invites them to see what’s underneath, focusing on the content instead of figuring out how the controls work.

XEN

XEN presents itself as an interesting gift for your friends and associates, who are pottymouths. A manifesto that is often understood as a prescription, we wanted to create a snack that subtly reminds the special one that he/she is ‘foulmouthed’ yet in an unoffending manner. The premium handcrafted medication kit we designed contains edible mouth-watering finger soaps, encased in a pretty crude ‘X'. Enjoy!

XEN Infographic

Exratis is a virus that diagnoses individuals with symptoms of speaking excessive pexpletives, to the point of needing someone to point that out. Another obvious way to spot someone with Exratis is Sweacne; the more cussin’, more break outs. We all know that we want to have a great impressions, and XEN is here to help you out.

Battle of the giants

An independent research that focuses on mobile phone consumerism. Having a fresh approach towards uncovering how our phone reflects one’s personality. The goal is to find a new perspective.

The Fruit

Utilising clean aesthetics and simple illustration, this section focuses on the tech giant, Apple. Through monotonal in mood, the brand identity need not be explicitly mentioned and merely implied. It uses subtle details that Apple users might not immediately notice, but yet it is apparent to others that it reflects on who they are as a person.

The Green Monster

With a more vibrant mood, this chapter talks about how Android focuses on innovation, as well as their shortcomings. Having an experimental approach, this section uncovers how different features on different phones reflect each individuals’ personality and habits.

A Wee Summer - Sunny Days in Glasgow

My hopes of a beautiful bright sunny summer did not die even without the sun. A humourous approach towards gloomy summers, I created my own sunrays in hopes of filling the cold damp streets with warth and humour. I combined them with a collection of photos I took in wet weather during my stay in Glasgow.

A Wee Summer - Sunny Days in Glasgow

A Wee Summer - Sunny Days in Glasgow

A Wee Summer - Sunny Days in Glasgow

A Wee Summer - Sunny Days in Glasgow

A Wee Summer - Sunny Days in Glasgow

A Wee Summer - Sunny Days in Glasgow

A Wee Summer - Sunny Days in Glasgow

Covid Art

Covid Art

Covid Art

Covid Art

Tasked to create a new magazine, I named it Crank.

Tasked to create a new magazine, I named it Crank.

Tasked to create a new magazine, I named it Crank.

Tasked to create a new magazine, I named it Crank.

Tasked to create a new magazine, I named it Crank.

Tasked to create a new magazine, I named it Crank.

Tasked to create a new magazine, I named it Crank.

Tasked to create a new magazine, I named it Crank.

Tasked to create a new magazine, I named it Crank.

Digital Painting

Digital Painting

Digital Painting

Musings – a collection of work (WIP)

A work in progress collection of artwork and experimentations. Born from rainy weather activities, these projects added a little joy and happiness in gloomy weather.

Musings – a collection of work (WIP)

Musings – a collection of work (WIP)

Musings – a collection of work (WIP)

Musings – a collection of work (WIP)

Musings – a collection of work (WIP)

The Wish

The Wish

The Wish

The Wish

The Wish

The Wish

The Wish

The Wish

The Lazy Daisy - Rethinking the way we see fashion. (WIP)

The Lazy Daisy ¬– Rethinking the way we see fashion. (WIP)

The Lazy Daisy - Rethinking the way we see fashion. (WIP)

The Lazy Daisy - Rethinking the way we see fashion. (WIP)

The Lazy Daisy - Rethinking the way we see fashion. (WIP)

The Lazy Daisy - Rethinking the way we see fashion. (WIP)

THE STRANGER 👁️

Inspired by an excerpt taken out from L'Étranger whereby Meursault always thinks about his lover Marie but yet struggles to feel and wonders if he indeed loved her.

THE STRANGER 👁️

Ordinary Extraordinary

An abstract brief that requires a break from the reserved perspective of everyday life. The art of photography has been a huge influence in the cornerstone to the ways of seeing. Society has followed suite and you can see evidence of this all-over social media. With that in mind, this project aims to push boundaries and experiment with a play on pareidolia. In order to achieve that shift in paradigm, ordinary everyday objects were used as focus to be seen differently through the lens of the camera.

Ordinary Extraordinary

An abstract brief that requires a break from the reserved perspective of everyday life. The art of photography has been a huge influence in the cornerstone to the ways of seeing. Society has followed suite and you can see evidence of this all-over social media. With that in mind, this project aims to push boundaries and experiment with a play on pareidolia. In order to achieve that shift in paradigm, ordinary everyday objects were used as focus to be seen differently through the lens of the camera.

Ordinary Extraordinary

An abstract brief that requires a break from the reserved perspective of everyday life. The art of photography has been a huge influence in the cornerstone to the ways of seeing. Society has followed suite and you can see evidence of this all-over social media. With that in mind, this project aims to push boundaries and experiment with a play on pareidolia. In order to achieve that shift in paradigm, ordinary everyday objects were used as focus to be seen differently through the lens of the camera.

Ordinary Extraordinary

An abstract brief that requires a break from the reserved perspective of everyday life. The art of photography has been a huge influence in the cornerstone to the ways of seeing. Society has followed suite and you can see evidence of this all-over social media. With that in mind, this project aims to push boundaries and experiment with a play on pareidolia. In order to achieve that shift in paradigm, ordinary everyday objects were used as focus to be seen differently through the lens of the camera.

Civilization Typography - Creating a writing system in a pandemic

Are we prepared when a pandemic is no longer containable? A dystopian writing system of a re imagined future that mirrors the present we live today, The Dead Counter’s Medical Journal portrays a world where infection and diseases are rampant and a cure is non-existent. With medical staff being shorthanded , an entirely new writing system is needed to teach new medical residents at rapid pace. Amalgamating ancient medical symbolism, prefixes and futuristic code, medicine has never been more crucial.

Peruse - A publication exploring the symbolism in Japanese cinema

Cinema is a form of art, and thus is a way of expressing our ideas, and putting them into audiovisual media. Yet not many know the inspirations behind their favourite films or the message it’s trying to get across. Peruse is a publication I’ve created that is dedicated to to exploring the intersections between film and its deeper meanings. The first issue explores Japan’s influence in film-making around the world and the use of symbolism in cult classics.

Obsessed - Flogging a narrative in the psychological horror genre in books

Psychological Horror is a genre that people tend to look down upon and not take very seriously. It has a reputation of being a low, somewhat trashy, titillating genre that appeals to our basest instincts. And more often than not, it’s always through the eyes of the protagonist. Obsessed is a storybook project that is an adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier’s short story titled “The Doll”. An exaggeration on the concept of love to the extreme; Incest, the story is told in the perspective of the antagonist whereby an obsessive, sexually abusive father finds out that his daughter has eloped with Julio, her fiance. The narrative portrays him writing love letters to her, hoping she’d come back. All the while showing his descent into madness

A publication on the freedom to express

This project is a reflection of my experience I had during my overseas immersion trip to Glasgow. Titled Disclaimer, it’s a visual synopsis of what had inspired and affected my overall perspective of design. Disclaimer is a publication that highlights the lack of freedom of expression in design thinking as well as design outcome in Singapore’s culture compared to art culture overseas.

Where's Your Bag

A campaign targeted to reduce plastic wastage by first improving cashier's operation and recreating an awareness brand

Hear Me Out!

Set of theraphy cards targeted to improve the mental health of an individual with social anxiety. Use as an aid to recount an experience without the need to verbally express it.

Mind of a Sadist

The book illustrates a suprising message of how anyone you know can be guilty of having the mind of a sadist. Depicting some of our uncensored everyday thoughts to the worst kinds of sadism reflected in our society today.

This work may contain graphic imagery, Click to toggle blur.

Every Good Boy Deserves Favour

Every Good Boy Deserves a Favour is a stage play written by Tom Stoppard that made its first appearance in 1977. The style of illustration influenced the screenplay by depecting the orchestrated performance as a way to ridicule the Soviets practice of treating political dissidence as a form of mental illness.

Like is a distortion of Altruism

The project focuses on the rising narcissist behaviour online, specifically on social media platforms. The 4 clayed faces potrayed the types of narcissist that are familiar to us. The faces allows you to see your own reflection by looking through the eyes. Meant to represent a person's excessive self-admiration. I then left them on the streets to see how people would interact with it.

Surreal

Surreal, a world which is 300 years ahead of time. A world filled with colors and shapes. No language is needed in the future. It will come by in a form of imagery. An imagery of shapes and colors. “ It’s the visual manifestation of thoughts. ” Communication are based on the projected thoughts of symbols, shapes and colors. Thoughts are being projected as a visual form, allowing them communicate with each other through visual language.

World

This mystical world brings wonders of joy to me. The place is also known as a happy place. No language was needed but instead, they use visuals to transmit their thoughts. It is a visual communication. They live in a world full of imagery.

Tranquillity

Tranquillity, a state of being calm. It is one of the six key values in the Surreal World.

Lanj Magazine

The name Lanj sparks a curiosity through a question or discussion. Lanj comes from the word “lanjiao” in Hokkien, which means cock. It portrays about the perception on how people perceive things differently. Some may agree while some may not. In this edition, we discussed the topics on stalkers. We are all stalkers behind our phones. Some may call it watching, some may say that they are just curious, but they fail to understand that it’s the same traits as a normal stalker. Lanj. or not?

Lanj spreads

So now let me ask. Are you a stalker? No? Then answer this. Do you go out with someone without knowing who they were? Have you asked for someone’s name then search them up on FB? Have you ever double tap on someone’s Instagram that was posted 52 weeks ago? Have you ever known about someone even before talking? to them before? Then, you are a stalker too yourself...

Mask Off Fest

Mask Off Fest 2020 is a festival that aims to build a community, to gather people and bring people with common interest together. It is organized by The Offbeats. Offbeats is a subculture that aims to build a community and a relationship which is sustainable in the future through a purpose and giving one a sense of belonging in the community.

Festival Collaterals

Taste is subjective and not everyone will be pleased. However, a festival fits the current era. It’s a platform for people to come as one and create a new set of memories together. Festival is a platform that successfully captures Generation Z’s attention. Thus, this creates an opportunity for one to have a sense of identity and gain experience they never had before.

Drop The Label

“Human relation is not some social media ideology of communication.” It’s the understanding of the human idea. To give compassion and tolerance towards each other. Human forget themselves when they have status. What if we take that status out? Can we be pure human? Take the label out of them. Drop the label. When it comes to face. Drop the label. When it comes to race. Unite the difference.

Best-Test

Best - Test. An Analog printing using letterpress and mono prints techniques which is then being digitalize for its ultimate results.

Mono-ed

Exploring handcrafted mono prints. Analog printing techniques is something that I have always been passionate about. Here, I explored various techniques to achieve a glitch effects. I am amazed on the glitch and swirl shapes. Its raw looking textures gave me a of sense satisfaction toward both analog and digital printing. It’s something that could not be achieved solely base on digital.

Loss

Tonight I write the saddest lines, tonight I reflect upon my grasp of sighs. In Pablo Neruda's poem, he writes of great loss and desire, when his lover is no longer around him. With this prompt, we set out to produce paintings to translate his words to be seen. I chose to show the palm as when we truly lose someone, holding onto them is a form of affirmative action. The background eventually fades to black, when we realise reality isn't what we want.

Personality

As part of his personal description, he is one who engages very much in the virtual realm of things. All Dressed Up challenges us to frame the model, in accordance to how they say they are like. We are left to interpret their depiction, and to direct the photoshoot, taking control on how they are to look like. I let his mobile be the main source of lighting, while he uses it, supposedly to create the shadow in the background. This outline therefore creates an illusion of a higher being, looking over the model, seemingly taking control of his behaviour.

Illusions

With a simple mirror, we observe an alternative perspective. While looking down, we can still see the ceiling; Something brighter, something unexpected. Illusions are visuals where we perceive something to be there, but not really. Perhaps in our concrete ground, we can discover a hole in the sky.

Portrait

Playing around with shadows, I cast her portrait onto my wall. This project tasked us to reproduce a portrait in 50 different methods, be it replicating or even manipulating it. I accidentally discovered the use of negative space in this method, and placed the stencil against a light source. The presence of the streetwear brand plastic bag, Supreme, positions itself in her eyes, possibly symbolizing how capitalism is all that we see today.

Human

Maybe we should see life with an open mind of what can be, instead of through the narrow lens of what should be. Part 1: ‘Human’ is a reflection of my biggest takeaway studying abroad for the first time. I realised how we humans subject ourselves to preconceived notions and perspectives instead of cherishing the freedom of what could be and are often disappointed if not achieved. With this poster as the base design, I continue by physically adding things on, to create an interactive experience for my audience. "A human is only a human because we have an image of it”

Human

Part 2: Attached are needles to create a string play board to encourage audiences in creating their own image of a human. With every unique interaction, I am hoping to break boundaries of what should be and reinforce the concept of what could be.

Perception of Peace

Living in a fast-paced city-state, it comes as second nature to find peace away from the hustle and bustle. Albeit often associated with vast spaces and tranquility, this publication hopes to bring awareness to another perspective of peace by documenting the raw emotion of the things that make our city-state fast moving :- The People

Perception of Peace

Several spreads of the publication

Lunching with Lunch-in'

Facing the issue regarding our over usage of plastic, Lunching with Lunch-in’ aims to tackle a habit with a matter of convenience by pitching to companies in the Central Business District, an idea of creating a more bonded company culture through the usage of a more convenient and sustainable take away container amongst themselves during their lunchtime.

Lunching with Lunch-in'

An improved version of the well known, Ting Kat! Not only does it have individual layer lids for separate take aways, one of these containers, can save 3 take away boxes! Leave the office with 1 container, come back with three meals!

Lunching with Lunch-in'

Every Lunch-in’ comes with a one page zine as an instruction manual and an informative sheet! Open it all up and turn it around to double it up as a poster to spice up your pantry as both a reminder to save the Earth and a decoration.

Lunching with Lunch-in'

Three possible designs behind the zine.

Sweet of The Forgetfulness

A story about a boy and his mysterious encounter with a MAMA Shop in Singapore, that give him a chance to reset his life. This project deals with discontentment we have in our daily life, always never satisfied with the life have, instead we are always searching for that reset button in life.

EVERYTHING IS LOVE

This is an alphabet book about a love that was really something and not just the idea of something. Reimagining Bonnie and Clyde relationship in the 21th century.

EVERYTHING IS LOVE

This is an alphabet book about a love that was really something and not just the idea of something. Reimagining Bonnie and Clyde relationship in the 21th century.

RE:Singapore

Little Red Dot, known as home for majority of the Singaporeans ; whom many assume had explore and seen everything but not yet literally everything to this date. In these series of photographs which depicts the interior, artefact and the women of Imperial Harem ( hou gong ) serves the purpose of leading back in time through the Thow Kwang Pottery Jungle which is also known for its famous Dragon Kiln. Delving back into the Imperial Harem of the Qing Dynasty where the Emperor, Empresses, Consorts and Concubines live. Many of these women who were at the age between 13-17 years old when they married the Emperor of China. Thus with this little collection and series of photographs it serves a meaning deeper to know that there’s after all light and hope to explore further and leave no stone unturned.

Sauchie Hall Road

Sauchie Hall Road

Sauchiehall Road (Shao-Chee-Hall) Sauchiehall Road expresses an emotional experience I had on the first day of school in Glasgow. It was a feeling of complete lost and loneliness as I navigated the streets of Glasgow wandering and with no familiarity or knowing where I am. The utter confusion and feeling of up being down, the streets all merging into one as I threw myself in the direction of the unfamiliar.

Sauchie Hall Road

I am Lost The idea of Lost is particularly relevant now in a time of unknowns. People would ask what will happen next? Hoping someone else will be able to answer that question and the truth is no one knows. How than can we take this lost as our next adventure? My work directs the viewer straight to the mirrors, they think they know what it is all about. It seems like a test on whether you know which image is real or not. There is more than it seems.

Sauchie Hall Road

Origin and process of project In creating this project, I drew upon my reflections and feelings throughout my trip to Glasgow. I asked myself, what stood out? I wrote how I felt and found that lost and found was what summed it best. It was my first big adventure alone, it seemed like any fairy tale but there was a reality. This is my 2nd iteration of the project. My first idea was to bring my viewers through a kaleidoscope experience but the craftmanship was not particularly good and did not convey the idea well enough, the suggestion was to make it a mirror maze so I experimented, I am working on creating a good cause of action with the project since it is really relevant now.

Realitea

Existing in our twenties, I feel that some form of Quarter-Life Crisis lives in each of us, and it's perfectly normal. Some have it harder than others, but I wish to look at this 'condition' light-heartedly, and try to have fun with it.

Realitea

Identity.

Realitea

The menu features various flavours that customers get to choose what they feel they need in their day.

Realitea

A 3D rendering of envisioned bottle

Unappreciated Maps

Maps have become more than just a tool for us when we’re lost or when we have places to go. However, it remains something quite a niche topic or subject. I believe that maps are also narratives. The goal is to provide a new way of looking at maps and building a sense of appreciation of maps in people.

They See U

Imitation is a key in any child's learning and development. Hence the idea that parents need to lead by example is crucial, and most parents recognize that. Most.

They See U

However, I'm not convinced that ALL parents are actively aware of it. As such, this publication servers as a reinforcement or reminder. The aim is to cultivate the habit of recycling and to reduce the use of plastics. Having said that, parents have to sacrifice a degree of convenience that they once had, to give their child a foreseeably better world to live in the future.

Travel Receipt

With the influence of fast and suggestive figure drawing techniques and compilation of photos of my adventures in Glasgow, I illustrated my journey with a continuous line drawing on a receipt roll. My aim for this project is to merchandise it like a gift in a museum shop where it could be more relatable to the public.

Travel Receipt

An object of nostalgia and remembrance of places of interest.

Arsenal Football Club Official Magazine - Feb Issue

Me being a huge Arsenal fan, I did not want to have football players on the cover page as most designers would, instead I used their mascots to portray the clubs, Arsenal (Cannon) and Tottenham Hotspur (Blue Chicken) respectively. The main attraction is in the centre, The cannon is ready to blast the chicken to outer-space. This way I could add some fun to the cover page design.

It was quite a challenge to design this page. This was my first time doing a “print design” as I’ve been designing for the screen (digital) my whole life. Layout placements in print design can be very important, but I didn’t want to compromise on my digital skillset for this particular page. Therefore I fused both styles. Now read the RED letters from top to bottom. What do you get?

I thought it would be quite interesting to show all the French players who have played for Arsenal Football Club during it’s 134 year old history. As such this would be the complete list of French players from the year 1886 - 2019.

I had a lot of flexibility and fun working on the design on this page in particular because of how I managed to cleverly merged 2 different Arsenal Third Kits (Pink & Cyan) into 1 page. By doing so, not only does it not look regular and dull anymore… It also looks energetic and youthful!

The last one would be a collage of many more different page layouts and designs that are featured in my own edition of the Arsenal Magazine. 

For more information, visit https://www.behance.net/gallery/96609881/Arsenal-Magazine-Design.

Incuba - Luxury Healthcare Packaging

INCUBA is a microchip that is inserted and incubates in the human body which reverses the effects of procrastination by monitoring and re-balancing the different levels of hormonal and negative chemicals changes in the human body.

This is my design process where I came out with some rough sketches digitally with pin-point accuracy and measurements done to scale for the development stage for product prototyping. I also made a breakdown of the different parts needed to put the prototype together to finalise the design.

This is the “Chip base Plate” where the placement of INCUBA chip will be for display.

Once the top half of the packaging is opened and remove, underneath this is what you will see. The Emblem of the INCUBA chip design (hexagon-shaped) and a Manual for the user to know how the product functions.

The last one would be a collage of many more different page layouts and designs that are featured during the Product shot on INCUBA.

For more information, visit https://kingkumarart.myportfolio.com/incuba

2048 - The Key to the Truth

A publication documenting how a writing system was the root of resistance in the surveillance country of Alcazarus. A project involving worldbuilding, language studies and storytelling.

2048 - The Key to the Truth

2048 - The Key to the Truth

Voyage Hairdressers

Robert Louis Stevenson was a Scottish novelist and travel writer, most noted for Treasure Island, Kidnapped and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The writer’s works and lifestyle often revolved around the idea of ‘duality’ and how people often wear a façade to hide their true selves. This project incorporates his ideals and sense of adventure into a hairdresser experience. Customers would come in to get an expertly crafted blind haircut based on their personality, experiencing the thrill of adventure that Stevenson had longed for, while at the same time revealing their true selves.

Voyage Hairdressers

DUMB Magazine

A magazine that does not care who it might offend. DUMB magazine is filled with useful information for the easily scammed, and loaded with memorable illustrations for quick recall in real-life situations.

DUMB Magazine

DUMB Magazine

BATTLE OF THE MIND

Cosmic Horror is a sub-genre of horror that plays with the idea that mankind is insignificant to the greater, incomprehensible entities that reside in the universe. This short film aims to use this genre, as well as the concept of a one-shot to share the perspective of a person with Alzheimer’s Disease.

Stand Out Magazine

Drag queens; not just men with makeup and dressed in women’s clothing, and more than meets the eye. Beyond just performance, it is an art form. In this issue, take a peek into the transformation process of our local drag queens and be drawn into the artistry of it all.

Stand Out Magazine

Gen X, Y and Z in Singapore

This is a not so typical alphabet book about Generation X, Y and Z in Singapore. From queuing for the latest bubble tea for over an hour, complaining about little things and taking as many samples as you can carry, because they’re freebies. You ask what else seems absurd when you think about these situations. Having said that, this behaviour is sometimes what make us a true blue Singaporean.

OBTD (Obsessive Bubble Tea Disorder )

Bubble tea here. Bubble tea there. Bubble tea everywhere. This obsession locally, is getting out of hand. The resulting disorder, OBTD (Obsessive Bubble Tea Disorder) is showing up. A 10-day BBT Detox programme aims to soothe the withdrawal symptoms of this condition, and eventually cure it. The kit consists of all the essentials you need to cope with it

OBTD (Obsessive Bubble Tea Disorder)

OBTD (Obsessive Bubble Tea Disorder)

OBTD (Obsessive Bubble Tea Disorder)

Sexual Crime

Sexual crimes are rising, with 56 cases reported in Singapore's local universities in the last 3 years. Even though disciplinary action has been taken and security measures heightened, tech-enabled sexual violence has tripled since 2016. These series of posters are targeted at student perpetrators as well as victims, telling them that they can be reprimanded or molested anytime and anywhere; A single message that covers both sides of the spectrum.

Good Grief

Good Grief is a mobile app that explores an alternative way of facing one’s mortality by learning the impermanence of life and that death is not an isolated event. The app examines ways a digital tool would redefine current practices and attitude towards commemoration and legacy. Through pre-planning exercises, it empowers one to live fully by coming to terms with what they have at an early start and guides one at the later stages, making a good grief for all.

Good Grief

The 3 main categories of the app are the planning, memories making and grieving phases. This feature let one start a living will and pre-pay a funeral over time.

Good Grief

The app landing page prompt viewers to download.

Good Grief

The posters are copy focused with an indirect expression of death. Dark humour is used to normalise and direct the viewers, particularly the young adults to be less serious about it by relating the app features to the context of millennials’ behaviours. These aim to invite them to start a culture of openness on a taboo topic and eventually spread the word to their older loved ones.

Good Grief

This project went through multiple iterations that started with a concept of providing a modern intuitive funeral service found lacking in the deathcare sector into a wholesome guiding tool. The visual style evolved from a dull palette into a balanced muted organic tone with animated euphemism images put together, allowing one to see two sides of the same coin, similar to the idea of death comes with life.

The Subversive Smile

The Subversive Smile explores the hidden smiles consumed in the capitalist world as the spectacle evolved. By decontextualising (divide) familiar images to form new visual metaphors (addition), it disrupts (minus) and reveals (plus) what we've overlooked. Using subtle visual manipulation and irony, it challenges viewers to rethink their consumption habits and question if we’ve been endlessly pulled into desires dictated by false images of happiness.

The Subversive Smile

We are attracted to the allure of smiles that romanticise instant gratification and fast consumption.

The Subversive Smile

(L) As the spectacle evolved with the rise of technology, social influencers on social media endlessly pull us into desires and images of false happiness. (R) The dark side of a happy meal’s allure that leads to obesity.

The Subversive Smile

The hidden side that consumers do not see behind fast fashion of exploited sweat shop workers. “Have a nice day” is the slogan of capitalism that reveals the irony.

The Subversive Smile

Politicians are known to conceal the truth with a smile. Using juxtaposition and subtle manipulation, it shows the hero turning into a villain.

This is a man

Have you ever watched a movie, completely and utterly immersed in the story, infatuated with the characters and their perfect lives? Then the movie ends and your phone turns dark, and you see your reflection in the smoky mirror of your screen. Wouldn’t you want to be the person you see on those screens as well? This project visualises this pursuit and mindset vicariously, specifically the pursuit of traditional masculinity.

From watching tons of these films, reading studies on them, my design journal was filled with toxic masculinity in classic or dated films, from that era, but also their context in current times. Together with my own interviews, it became clear why and what led to this desperate need to be ‘masculine’, or 'a man’. Eventually, it became a recognition of how absurd it was to have an idea of a 'perfect man'.

This made me curious what a pursuit of the idea of traditional masculinity was, what would it look like. Shaped by my findings and insights from my journal, led me to create an extreme narrative or a trope. Discussing not only what I found in the films but real contributing factors that leads to a fragile form of masculinity, the archaic need to be a ‘man’.

‘This is a man’ illustrates what it means to be ’truly masculine' in these western films. This is one of the illustrated pages of the book.

Found Art

Using the imagery of the streets from the UK and Europe to reflect the idea that memories will either fade or be replaced with new ones. A visual metaphor as well as a capture of the visual depiction of design and thought. Begun as a personal collection of found ‘art’ from the street walls of Glasgow, its underlying meaning continued to evolve because of the beauty and story each piece tells. The novelty of this is the idea that it was a joint unintentional effort of many strangers.

Offscreen

It’s rare to see people actually sit through the end credits of a film; it’s boring in comparison to the movie you just watched. The hard work that goes behind the screen frequently goes unappreciated. This magazine focuses on appreciating the ‘drier’ off-screen elements while creating a visually interesting tilt. This magazine aims to create a visual appeal that reflects the emotion of the film without showing stills, simultaneously sharing the different elements and techniques that make the film. For the first issue, the magazine discusses psychological thrillers.

The magazine begins with an introduction to the genre, mentioning common conventions of psychological thriller films, such as misdirection and breaking of the film’s equilibrium. It continues niche-themed articles.

It's Not Okay

In Singapore, about 700 million kg of plastic waste is discarded every year. Less than 10% of the plastic usage were being recycled (WWF). Plastic was the largest category of waste disposed of in Singapore last year — 763,400 tons. Reality perception — “When truth is blurred by lies and misinformation, perception becomes reality and all is lost.” What people perceive is usually what they believe, and this is based on what they hear, see and think. The government in Singapore has yet to take serious action in reducing the Plastic usage in Singapore. However, I believe that the consumption of bubble tea is one of the culprit that contributes to this issue. Yet, Singaporeans fail to see / experience the fact that the usage of plastic is a factor to the environment. I’ve created a series of illustration that could be potential posters, as a reminder / awareness to Singaporeans that there is always an alternative. By bringing their personal mugs or bags could help to save lives.

It's Not Okay

It's Not Okay

Place-Non-Place

Introduction This exploratory painting represents the contrast in culture between Singapore and Glasgow in which I have experienced through this study exchange. This painting was inspired by a Scottish poem (Auld Lang Syne) written by Robert Burns.

Place-Non-Place

Concept - Chaos is a definition of what the world is today, and being a part of this world, we are often blinded by the hiccup that is placed right in front of us. How often can we acknowledge that we are conscious of our actions all the time, namely our experiences, the things we purchase and consume? In this project of Place – Non-Place, it’s a creation of my experience in Glasgow, the visual comprises of parts taken from the poem of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ and the words were assembled in an unsystematic order. I have come to realise that, chaos itself, might not actually be what we think it is. Being in a state of chaos is a feeling that one may feel perpetually under certain circumstances. It is not an unfamiliar feeling yet we still let ourselves immerse into that state. As I was sitting by the ledge in Glasgow, I’ve came to an understanding that, the unknown always appears to be LOUDER compared to my ordinary, that might be where the feeling of chaos is found.

Place-Non-Place

The Ways of Seeing

This project was created with a combination of Spark AR (Augmented Reality) and Cinema 4D. The concept is a reaction to how society has advanced into something so absurd with the use of the mechanical eye. Everything that can be seen on the internet in this day and age, might not be the actual truth. In fact, a captured moment by an individual could easily be manipulated. Hence, I’ve chosen the use of Augmented Reality and a metaphorical theme (alienation) to explain the message of what we see from our phones, does not always represent reality.

The Ways of Seeing

Mona Lisa

Mona Lisa, a publication that speaks of the imperfections of the world that can’t always be seen with the naked eye. Mona Lisa embraces the imperfections using art and literature from the history and the present times to disclose a positive spirit for its readers. In the first issue of Mona Lisa, it has discussed the different viewpoints and ideas about the nature of love by Plato (The Symposium).

Pareidolia

A psychological phenomenon involving a stimulus (an image or a sound) where in the mind perceives a familiar pattern where none exists called Pareidolia that allows human to perceive faces in places where they do not exist. These images have been taken around Chinatown, Singapore and it forms a similar style and colour to create a typeface.

HUMPUMP

HUMPUMP is a branding/social campaign that promotes safe sex to protect children from being products of unintended pregnancy. A sex-friendly initiative that provides free condoms for anyone who wants it and invites them to have fun safely. Targeted at young adults who actively participates in the hookup culture, the dispensers are located inside bars and clubs where these demographics often frequent. Inspired by the designs of safety signs around us, it employs a straight forward message with a touch of millennial humor to reach its audiences.

The Ego

The Ego is an illustrated publication that attempts to prompt its audience to acknowledge the need to reconcile with oneself for conscious growth. A healthy personality, based on Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality, results from a balance in the dynamic interaction of three elements — id, ego, superego.

SPARK

This is a magazine design project. SPARK focuses on topics about personal development. In this edition, it discusses about how and why we fall in love, in hopes to being more familiar with this great mystery.

Grow

Grow is an A1 poster based on my experience during my Overseas Immersion Programme to Scotland. All of a sudden in a foreign land, I became fully responsible and in control of all my thoughts and actions. Having the power to act, speak, and think without externally imposed restraints. This unforeseen liberation felt conflicting. Why was I feeling burdened for being me? This labyrinth that I struggled to get out of sparked Grow, a maze designed as a visual reminder to prompt these thoughts I had on independence. (Text messages used were authentic conversations.)

Project 1: The Plastic Problem - WE ARE AT WAR

The Plastic Problem - WE ARE AT WAR I had to frame a new narrative to approach this as the overuse of plastic is still prevalent, despite many efforts to help reduce the use of it. My target audience were the Singaporean men as they are the ones who seem the most indifferent about any type of situation. Singaporeans tend to like marketed messages that were more locally relatable and also things that had more comedic value. The use of social media is the go-to for social cause these days. Keeping the video under one-minute to fit the restrictions of Instagram and still be able to post on Facebook. Drawing similarities to that of a Singaporean Man(Target audience) who has completed National Service but fighting a different enemy- plastic. Continuing the connection with the Singaporean context of post #OperationReadyDate #ORDLO on social media and changing it to fit my narrative. Caption: It is a battle against convenience. They know our weaknesses, They know our strengths. We know they are bad for us, But they know we need them. We need to fight back, We need to protect our land. Help us fight against the use of plastic bags and spread the cause. #OperationReusableBag #ORBLO #ShoppingBagOrder #SBO . . "Got my new tote bag, gonna use it tomorrow #ORBLO"

Project 2: Add, Subtract, Multiply, Divide - Dimensions

I used this project to push the orthodox boundaries of image-making relevant to Architecture and space photography. I wanted to combine the photography of the image on different canvas to create a new and different image, as there are a lot of ways we can see how “add subtract, multiply, divide” can be translated into photography and image making. I found that origami also expressed certain aspects of what the buildings and architecture represented; a structured and geometrical medium. It demands precision, intricate construction and attention to detail. I experimented with different forms and shapes with origami from polyhedral shapes like diamonds, prisms, pyramids and cubes to tessellated design, where we also see much of what inspired modern architecture. In my experimentation, I used base origami patterns and experimented with different ratios and forms.

Project 2: Add, Subtract, Multiply, Divide - Dimensions

Experimentation with printed images. The printed images on the origami created different intersecting lines and divisions that relate back to the brief. This still felt rather stagnant and dead as i wanted to disrupt the symbolism of the structured and rigid idea of what the architecture and origami is. I decided to experiment with projecting onto an origami installation instead. The projection consists of video and stills onto the installation. The moving images over the origami created a more organic and lively feel compared to the structured and rigidity of the elements individually. The elements of the installation were also interactive, such as the kaleidocycles and tessellated objects. This allows the viewer to distort and disrupt the image in different ways and by doing so, creating a new image in the process.

Project 3: Self-initiated - Aiwa

While doing my project, I chanced upon this old lady still using and listening to her 20 year old Aiwa radio. It gave me the inspiration to do the video advertisement with Henry Heng. The video production was directed towards going onto social media, as marketing and digital appliances purchases are mainly done online.

Sorry for your Loss

Native languages find themselves slowly being replaced by hegemonic languages as globalisation and rapid migration have contributed to chronic attrition. If there are approximately 6,000 languages in the world, only a mere 4% of these languages are used by the majority of the global population. As a result, half of these 6,000 dialects are headed for extinction. Sorry for your Loss is an initiative which seeks to address and bring awareness to a global epidemic of losing one’s native tongue. The initiative is formatted into an exhibition where visitors can reminisce and reconnect with their lost language through various interactive displays; a space then becomes a cure. Each edition will explore different indigenous languages from around the world. This edition shines the light on Burmese Language – a Sino-Tibetan language spoken in officially by Burmese nationals in an attempt to reconnect the language with its native speakers.

Sorry for your Loss

Sorry for your Loss

Compound Interest

In the society of precarious, financial instability remains the primary source of anxiety and constraint for families from lower income households. Lacking adequate financial literacy, these households struggle to maintain a decent quality of life while battling through the imposed stigma of being branded as social deviants. These public interventions are promoted as ‘exceptional’ rather than ‘universal’ and often comes with a hefty consequence of a laborious application process only to be compensated with short-term monetary reliefs. Therefore, the chronic and unfulfilled needs of marginalised households are rarely resolved in a sustainable way. Compound Interest is an alternative educational programme designed to empower and refine financial literacy among youths from marginalised families. Adapting a non-hierarchical mode of learning, youths can choose to customise and stack their own curriculum. The programme dispenses personalised educational content to its subscribers through various platforms. In this self-sustaining model, the knowledge that youths have acquired through the programme can be redistributed back into their respective households. Accomplishment is therefore measured through cycles of intention, creation, reflection and sharing. The programme aims to rethink the experiences of low-income families as people with the capacity to learn and change, not as clients and recipients in dire need of help and charity.

Compound Interest

Compound Interest

The Hidden Cost

Plastic wastage is the responsibility of many. There are a lot of stakeholders involved: from consumers who mindlessly consume and hoard plastic bags to corporations who leverage on the cheap production of the plastic bags. Lured by its modest pricing and short-lived convenience, we have failed to account for the hidden cost of plastic bags: one that inflicts irreversible damage to our environment and wildlife. The Hidden Cost is a project which aims to expose the implications of plastic consumption by redesigning the current display of plastic bags. The project seeks to purpose an alternative approach to curb consumption through the alternation of everyday products – in this case, it is the appearance of the plastic bags. The design of the bag is kept minimal with a series of typographic messages which displays a “cost” upfront. These costs are derived from the pressing environmental and societal side effects of plastic wastage. The messages will claim the space previously occupied by the oversized logos of household brands. The newly designed plastic bags act as a visual reminder, projecting cumulative casualties of plastic waste driven by mass consumption. The projection will hopefully trigger consumer behaviour and provoke change.

The Hidden Cost

Generis

Generis is a hybrid font created by combining two the unlikely typefaces – Futura and Kleist-fraktur. Futura is a geometric sans-serif typeface widely used during the Bauhaus movement while Kleist-fraktur is a blackletter typeface. Generis attempts to confront the tension between two distinct families of typeface by recreating a less rigid type in which the geometric contours meet the sharp display curves. It incorporates the geometric base of the Latin letterforms while preserving the calligraphic strokes of blackletter types. The integration of the san-serif softens the sharp edges and tones down the highly ornamented details of the blackletter. Generis is, therefore, a blend of Latin and German typestyles – two conflicting letterforms, culturally, politically and aesthetically. The result is a pleasing hybrid which inhabits the qualities of order and expression.

Generis

Threshold

Threshold focuses on Westernization in Japan and it’s impact which lasts even ‘till today. Since this is the first issue, the main article is about life in post-WWII Japan. After Japan’s surrender to the United States and its allies at the end of World War II, the Western influence took a great turn on Japanese culture, incorporated even during the rebuilding of the nuclear-levelled nation. Now, Japan is notably among the most Westernized countries in Asia. However, in contrast, despite many advances in industrial efficiency, Japan has managed to sustain a culture of strict social hierarchy and limited individualization. With heavy western influence, particularly that of the USA, Japanese life in almost all areas have evolved to what they feel suit them personally. Therein lies the root of many subcultures particularly in art, popular culture and music movements with the Japanese nation. These subcultures are heavily western-inspired yet show a significant difference on how they are practice in the Western world.

Revival of Thieves Market

With the rapid industrialization of Singapore, iconic places with historical backgrounds tend to be neglected in this pursuit of rapid economic growth, efficiency and a certain enforced uniformity. Sungai Road Thieves Market is one such district, and that district has been around since the 1930s. Thieves Market was put to a halt due the development of the MRT’s Downtown Line. The said peddlers have since migrated from their space in Sungai Road to having their own stalls at Chinatown Market Place. They brought back what was lost.

Camjutits

Camjutitis, as known as Cerebrano Socijustitis, is a disorder when an individual has difficulty regulating their emotions and it becomes a danger to themselves or other people. It is both relatively common and very serious in today’s society. An individual who is suffering from this disease has extremist viewpoint of overblown political correctness, often without a clear base of knowledge on the issue but instead relying on personal opinion. Camjutitis is a 3-stages disease that becomes more deadly to an individual’s mental health if it not treated at the initial stage.

The Hard Truth

Constant complaining. It is attention-seeking. Avoiding possible solutions. With these in place, it rewires the brain to promote negativity in the brain. In the long run, it becomes a habit. The Hard Truth is meant for the whiners out there. The publication gives a perspective of the person who listens to those complaints. Social issue is something that we cannot see. Thus, the visuals used in this publication turn the unseen into something tangible.

It's Killing Us Slowly

The vast majority of us have known that plastic has always been a problem. A plastic bag takes about 500 years to fully degrade. However, it breaks into smaller pieces, which is called micro-plastic. An average, a human consumes about 74000 particles of micro-plastic. It enters out bloodstream and possibly contains cancerous compounds. It’s Killing Us Slowly is a campaign that shares the danger of micro-plastics. Now, I raise this question. If animals can die from consuming plastic, how are we so special?

There is No Wrong Body

As social media becomes the main form of media consumptions for most teenagers, many teenagers have left the social media’s feed feeling bad about themselves. With much emphasis on evaluating how people look, it has associated the teenagers with how they feel about their own bodies. They have to live through the unrealistic views of other people’s lives and peer pressure. My project centers on teenagers who have the need to fit in and worrying for not following the society's body goals. This is because of how they are being socially isolated, therefore leading them to try to conform to the society’s standard of normal. The idea of how appearance can form impressions especially body sizes.

There is No Wrong Body

It's a self-help book that shows how different body sizes are being appreciated across different cultures and countries. The illustrations are made to be more organic and natural. This book boost the teenagers’ self esteem and is personalize to each individuals as it allows them to write and reflect on their daily personal thoughts through the given activities in the book and at the same time, with the help of the illustration, encourage them to push on. At the end of the day, is there even a wrong body? My main message is to let the teenagers understand that there is no wrong way in having body. You do not need to conform.

There is No Wrong Body

This was an initial direction for the project. The idea was to create interactive walls at busy walkways. During golden hour or at any point of time when the sun cast shadows of the people on the wall, together with the illustration drawn on the walls, people are able to see the complete illustrations. They are part of the shadow play.

Together

Aging population for baby boomers are growing and as people grow older, they become less self-sufficient in terms of taking care of their own health and general day-to-day needs and obligations. More often or not, the children or grandchildren have to step up to take care of them because there is not enough medical care to support them. However, there is a greater concern for the children or grandchildren on juggling their daily lives and caring for the elderly. There are so many medical information for the elderly and sometimes they tend to overlook the emotional wellbeing of the elderly.Together is a medical app that promotes the preciousness of togetherness and bonding. The objective of this app is to provide a platform to remind people the need of constant interaction between them and their loved one in order to motivate them when going through chronic illnesses. Spend some time with them. Family members are able to document medical records in case of medical emergencies. Through this app, the elderly are empowered for their own medical and it acts as an invitation for conversations.

The Admiral's Beard

Men sometimes struggle with the way media portrays about masculinity and boldness. It becomes a pressure for them too, as society wants to uplift those values. Masculinity and boldness can be the cause of so many broken hearts and unsatiated desires. The thoughts to the construction of masculinity in everyday life can be draining and also reducing one’s self-esteem. Based on the literature of Treasure Island, The Admiral’s Beard is a hypothetical barbershop that brings out the ‘pirate’ in you. It centers on the idea of bringing out the adventurous and boldness in you. Adapting the personalities of the characters in the literature, the shop strives to gives you personality in order for you to continue with the bumpy road of life. It is a place for you to boost your inner strength and boldness, to give you that extra help.

Mark

We live in a society where we gaze in disbelief at the people who are the most passionate and fiery enthusiasts in collecting things. Sometimes these people live with mounds of unimaginable things that we question the motives behind the collection. We are a natural seeker in one-way or another. We seek and collect in any form. There are no goods of fixed value. They are valuable as long as people value them. Being a collector requires an emotional connection to these items. As the world moves to become more modern, collecting items become more and more attractive. These items offer a retreat back to simpler times when such products may no longer be produced. Mark is a magazine on collecting. Mark aims to highlight why one simply need to collect and keep things. In this issue, we cover on collecting Air Sickness Bag where majority sees it as waste product but to this community, they are little icons of the sky.

Mark

We may not realize that our motivation in collecting can be influence from a lot of different factors. One of such is our cultural background and how we are raised. Part of the magazine’s content talks about how one’s cultural background influence us in collecting things.

#endthecommitment

#endthecommitment is an initiative to end the toxic commitment we have with single-use plastic bags and opt for greener alternatives while doing our daily shopping.

The Bees are Coming (Back)

The Bees are Coming (Back) is a travel scrapbook of my experience in Glasgow and these are a few selected spreads from it that I really enjoy. This was also my first attempt at creating a travel log and I assure you it looks a lot better in real life.

Thank You and Goodbye

Thank You and Goodbye can be seen as the unofficial Part Two of The Bees are Coming (Back). This travel log documents my experiences in London, Paris, Brussels, Cologne and other parts of Germany. Once again, I assure you it looks a lot better in real life.

Unveiled

Context in the form of assumptions leads to mental bias. My project is about how the media frames the truth in a political context. I used a colour-based illusion designed to trick the brain into thinking the same colour is two different ones. Colour acts as a metaphor for context and the media and the optical illusions is essentially a parallel for the illusion you are put under by the media.

Utopia Is Death 01

Utopia is Death is a series of photographs exploring the change of what we deem a ‘Landscape’ and how that change affects us as a species. The first image details the classic definition of a landscape; pristine nature untouched by man. Or so it seems. Unfortunately such a location does not exist within Singapore. This is a man-made quarry and is a pristine as nature gets here.

Utopia Is Death 02

The purpose of the second image is to portray what mankind has done with nature. Our industrialization and almost automation of it. Which begets the question; is a tree planted by man part of nature or is it man made?

Utopia Is Death 03

Working in conjunction with image 3, these two images are a modernization of John B. Calhoun’s behavioral sink theory; as we continue to shape our landscape for efficiency, its utilitarian appearance is a breeding ground for socio-cultural chaos.

Utopia Is Death 04

I photographed and processed both images to make them look as though they are both the same place; however they are taken in different countries. Through the use of colour, my intention is evoke a pretense of harmony between these two images because of their colour and likeness while at the same thing creating dissonance because of their subject matter; one being geometrically ordered and the other a chaotic sprawl.

Utopia Is Death 05

A common sight and landscape of modern day Singapore. High rise flats built for space-efficiency is how majority of the population here lives. I composed the image ‘tightly’ in such a way so that the individual apartments appear as prison cells; uniform and almost voyeuristic.

Utopia Is Death 06

Construction and its instruments are often used to depict progress. I took this image from a low angle at a crane yard to show the monstrous scale of our industrialization of the world. The photo was framed in a way to have a visible sky but blocked out and almost offensively obscured by the cranes. Reminiscent of how nature is still visible to us but only through a machine lens.

Utopia Is Death 07

My aim was to shoot tombstones to look like the typical close-up facade of a building. Bringing home the point that the continued mechanization of our landscape to construct a utopia will figuratively and literally result in death. Printed out and framed in A1, it has an effect of looking like something else completely from far and only from a close distance do viewers realize it is a graveyard.

Mr Nobody

Mr Nobody is a short film follows a lonely phantom who lives in a deserted city. Consumed by loneliness and desire to connect he spends his days collecting ‘friends’. His quiet days soon changed when an unfamiliar sound resonates through the city.

Mr Nobody Still

A screen capture from the film, when Mr. Nobody was distracted while looking for a ‘friend’.

Mr Nobody Environment Paintings

The environment in the film was painted in watercolour. Using grey tones express how the Phantoms view life, devoid of anything, dreary.

Mr Nobody Development

These are some development sketches for the film.The phantom’s walk pattern is not expressive, hearkening back to how his character view his life; a lack of excitement, mundane and repetitive.

Mr Nobody Storyboard

Storyboards for the film.

The Cost of Love

The Cost of Love is a spin on an old story by Oscar Wilde. It speaks of the woes of love and the idea that everyone has a different perception of love, shining a light inside us and causing us to ask if we truly know what love is.

The Cost of Love Key Image

One of the key images of the story, it symbolizes how sacrifice can lead to another’s happiness, but is it worth it?

The Cost of Love Storyboard

The final storyboard for the storybook.

Booker Book Jacket

“What these three stories have a common?” was the challenge this brief presented. Underlying in all three narratives is a recurring theme that ties these narratives together; Deterioration. Each story tells a different tale about the deterioration of a certain aspect; Sense of Self, Memory and Acceptance

Booker Book Jacket Original Paintings

The original artwork for each cover.

“Everything is fine.”

What you consume, consumes you. Plastic has become essential that one cannot live without. Awareness of plastic pollution has been ongoing for years highlighting the negative impacts and urgency for eco life and us. Disturbing visuals has been the approach to trigger and change consumer habits however, are we changing our ways? Overexposure to such visuals could perhaps cause people to be desensitized with this whole plastic situation. Thus, this campaign features a series of posters addressing the problem with a twist. A joyful vibe in contrast with hints of black humour to make people rethink their actions towards the consumption of plastic by using marine life. The aim of using marine life ties in with the consumption of seafood. Research has shown that Singapore consumes seafood above average and reliance on plastic should be reconsidered, encouraging them to change their lifestyle habits. *For this project, images are taken online in the creation of these posters.

“Everything is fine.”

Ideation and process.

Good Citizen: Simi Lang Are You?

When it comes to the concept of preservation, language is a factor in consideration. Bilingualism being the utmost importance for self and economy questions our act of preservation. Following the act as a result of convenience, it has been an act of exclusion rather than inclusion. The effects of past campaign efforts are seen with a decrease in dialect communication in current younger generation. Language barriers can be inevitable with an increasing aging population down the road. This publication aims to question people in rethinking how we learn languages. Understanding and connecting on a more interpersonal level the inclusivity language plays a part in and preserving it for our future generation.

Good Citizen: Simi Lang Are You?

Good Citizen: Simi Lang Are You?

Good Citizen: Simi Lang Are You?

Adaptation Magazine Issue 1: Post-apocalyptic Literature

An adaptation is a feature that is common in a population because it provides some improved function. Adaptation Magazine strives to create an archival and organic approach to information, mixing unique storytelling and user interaction to convey complex themes. This issue serves to introduce the masses to Post-apocalyptic Literature and its various cultural and social influences. The cover utilizes a perforation to tear as like post-apocalyptic literature authors, the reader would need to destroy in order to create and thus, opening the book.

Adaptation Magazine Issue 1: Post-apocalyptic Literature

An adaptation is a feature that is common in a population because it provides some improved function. Adaptation Magazine strives to create an archival and organic approach to information, mixing unique storytelling and user interaction to convey complex themes. This issue serves to introduce the masses to Post-apocalyptic Literature and its various cultural and social influences. The cover utilizes a perforation to tear as like post-apocalyptic literature authors, the reader would need to destroy in order to create and thus, opening the book.

Adaptation Magazine Issue 1: Post-apocalyptic Literature

An adaptation is a feature that is common in a population because it provides some improved function. Adaptation Magazine strives to create an archival and organic approach to information, mixing unique storytelling and user interaction to convey complex themes. This issue serves to introduce the masses to Post-apocalyptic Literature and its various cultural and social influences. The cover utilizes a perforation to tear as like post-apocalyptic literature authors, the reader would need to destroy in order to create and thus, opening the book.

Adaptation Magazine Issue 1: Post-apocalyptic Literature

An adaptation is a feature that is common in a population because it provides some improved function. Adaptation Magazine strives to create an archival and organic approach to information, mixing unique storytelling and user interaction to convey complex themes. This issue serves to introduce the masses to Post-apocalyptic Literature and its various cultural and social influences. The cover utilizes a perforation to tear as like post-apocalyptic literature authors, the reader would need to destroy in order to create and thus, opening the book.

Adaptation Magazine Issue 1: Post-apocalyptic Literature

An adaptation is a feature that is common in a population because it provides some improved function. Adaptation Magazine strives to create an archival and organic approach to information, mixing unique storytelling and user interaction to convey complex themes. This issue serves to introduce the masses to Post-apocalyptic Literature and its various cultural and social influences. The cover utilizes a perforation to tear as like post-apocalyptic literature authors, the reader would need to destroy in order to create and thus, opening the book.

Adaptation Magazine Issue 1: Post-apocalyptic Literature

An adaptation is a feature that is common in a population because it provides some improved function. Adaptation Magazine strives to create an archival and organic approach to information, mixing unique storytelling and user interaction to convey complex themes. This issue serves to introduce the masses to Post-apocalyptic Literature and its various cultural and social influences. The cover utilizes a perforation to tear as like post-apocalyptic literature authors, the reader would need to destroy in order to create and thus, opening the book.

A Tale of Memories

An explorative journey through the creation of memories. An immersive interpretation of the bittersweet pursuit of remembrance and capturing longing feelings.

A Tale of Memories

An explorative journey through the creation of memories. An immersive interpretation of the bittersweet pursuit of remembrance and capturing longing feelings.

A Tale of Memories

An explorative journey through the creation of memories. An immersive interpretation of the bittersweet pursuit of remembrance and capturing longing feelings.

A Tale of Memories

An explorative journey through the creation of memories. An immersive interpretation of the bittersweet pursuit of remembrance and capturing longing feelings.

Booker Prize Collection

An unraveling of the plot and characters as the story is revealed stems as my main inspiration for the redesigns of these Booker Prize winners. Readers can interpret their favourite stories through these covers, using the foldable segments to change the image on the front. This lets them continue engaging with the story even after finishing the book and create a memorable experience for the reader.

Booker Prize Collection

Extraterrestrial

'Extraterrestrial' explores the relationship between human behaviour and the mobile phone. How does it affect the way we see things and how do we act in these times when a video can spread across the world with a single click? The hand-drawn animation is used to create an ominous, almost horror-like tone, to drive a stronger message.

Anomiedia

The word anomie is a term used to describe a condition where society provides little moral guidance to individuals. And when the actions of certain social media ‘influencers’ are used as guidance for impressionable teenagers, what becomes of their own actions? Anomiedia is an image series that explores the link between the reality of social media and the facades clouding the true nature of these posts.

Anomiedia

The Epic of Gilgamesh

An adaptation of the historical 'Epic of Gilgamesh' based from the BBC podcast 'In Our Time', this version is retold from the point-of-view of the demigod Gilgamesh himself. The illustrations and typography evoke a more personal story than the original text which lets the reader relate to this larger than life character and even possibly see parallels in his situation to stories told in modern day.

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Real Plastic Love

Beyond Korban

Hari Raya Haji is not widely celebrated in Singapore especially Muslim youths. This is due to the lack of awareness of the significance behind the celebration. Beyond Korban is an online campaign aim at creating awareness about the meaning of sacrifice and the five different values that encompass it (courage, family, community, empathy, faith) in a relatable manner, serving as a reminder to celebrate it.

Beyond Korban

The Beyond Korban campaign starts with a series of Instagram challenge filters that use AI-based on the 5 values for users to participate and share with their friends. This is a mock-up of how the challenge filters will function. For each value, a randomizer will generate the challenge for the user.

Beyond Korban

Let’s Talk About It Bro

Let’s Talk About It Bro is an illustration book that challenges the norm by creating an opportunity to acknowledge that men have a vulnerable side to them and that they can be open to talking to each other about male body insecurities. It is a still a taboo topic however in our society however it is faced by a large population of men.

Let’s Talk About It Bro

Body positivity campaigns are mainly seen among women in the advertising and media industry however not widely celebrated among men. It is not only about being fat and not have muscles, but the illustration in this book also explores the different body issues that are faced by men. The illustrations are meant to be exaggerative to show the end some people take to “handle” these issues.

Let's Talk About It Bro

Malay Heritage Centre Wayfinding Design

Located within Arab Street in Singapore, Malay Heritage Centre acts as a museum, event space and meeting point for the local and tourist to visit and learn about the rich history and culture. Playing such an important role, this tourist attraction needs to have a good wayfinding system to aid visitors and enhancing their experience. However, the current wayfinding system seems dated, lacked clarity, hierarchy and unique identity.

Malay Heritage Centre Wayfinding Design

With wayfinding design principles in mind, my design is inspired by the surrounding architecture that is originally made of timber and the fact that the placed used to be an Istana, a Malay palace. I used the motifs from a royal fabric called songket and kept the overall design clean and easy for the user.

LUSH Flagship Store (retail)

This project analyses how existing shopper’s habits in LUSH could be adapted and triggered in a flagship store by tapping into the sensorial aspects of a consumer. The project taps onto the existing senses of shoppers that makes them move and react in a certain manner within the store itself. 3 senses, “See, Touch and Smell” are observed, thus these senses are being used to develop deeper into the flagship store experience tapping onto these sensorial aspects, allowing shoppers to wander into the space, finding their own preferences. ​

Layout Plan: Proposed Zoning, Circulation and Material

The flagship store is separated into different zones which consists of different scents. These zones are separated based on the experience and scent. The proposed zoning, circulation and material provides an overall view of the space as well as the possible journey that could take place within the store.

Red Experiential Zone

Shoppers could place their head into the opening to get closer and feel the texture of the wall. LED strips from the bottom would shine in enhancement of the experience. The experiential wall (scratch and sniff wall) are used to contain the smell within the space instead of having it diffuse around the store, overwhelming the senses of shoppers. Upon scratching onto the experiential wall, it releases the scent of roses allowing shoppers to get a preview of the smell.

Transitional Space

The transitional space serves as a preview of the overall flagship store before shoppers enters. Different coloured pod gives a sneak preview of the senses that will be tapped into as well as associating the specific colours that matches with the scent and senses.

Yellow Experiential Zone

The texture wall for the yellow zone is left exposed in comparison to the other zones as the zone tapped onto its texture such as its smooth, citrus surfaces to provide a different experience to shoppers.

Passage Way

The passage(way) shows how shoppers can walk through the store by their senses through visuals and scents. Certain zones are placed closely to allow shoppers to follow the type of scent they prefer as they can smell 2 different scents while walking through the space

Inhabitation (Installation)

Inhabitation is an experimentation on multiple design concepts by studying the existing habits within the site, thus creating an installation which enhances and invites the existing habits to take place within the installation. Habits in this project pertain to the routine of people. This project is an installation, a temporary feature on site for a 3 – 6 months duration.

Portal of Memories

Modular cubes that are hollow serve as a portal of memories to users. These boxes are like a frame captured in one’s mind, creating memories. What one sees in each box may not be what others see, hence the “memories” captured in these modular cubes differ for each individual.

Reflective Memories

Mirrors trigger a form of reflected memories such that when one peers into a mirror, what they are seeing is being reflected. This reflection alters memory, as what lies before their eyes will eventually become a memory of the past. What one sees today will become a memory tomorrow. The mirrors reflect what users see, turning it into the past.

Inhabitation

This installation allows users to identify and interact with the modular cubes such that the big modular cubes can be used as a space where one sits to read. The smaller cube serves as a step to get from one space to another. It also provides users use it as a sitting or discussion spot.

The Irreversible Cycle: Life and Death (Exhibition)

The Manifesto project is a curation of an exhibition which consists of a constructed narrative that ties the selected collection of installations and art pieces together as a coherent whole, creating a themed exhibition space. A life cycle is defined as the developmental stages that occur during an organism’s lifetime. A life cycle ends when an organism dies. Life and death are a continuous cycle, making birth and death different ends of the same spectrum of existence. This continuing loop of life, death, and rebirth is at the heart of everyday living.

The Irreversible Cycle: Life and Death (Exhibition)

Spatial context of the exhibition which includes a summarised overview of the exhibition’s narrative and its journey from the beginning to the end.

Floating Time (Mid Life Cycle)

In the dark space where lights emitting are mainly from the exhibited pieces, a black curtain is used to separate the artworks so that the lights and its effect does not seep through the spaces, allowing visitors to immerse each space fully.

Decomposition (Dying/Decomposing Cycle)

The decomposition space consists of artworks which represents death and how it can also be in the form of decaying.

Corridor Transition (Death Cycle)

Leading to the next exhibited object, mirrors are placed with the intention of providing a preview of the next artwork, Archive of Deathclock, as well as having the visitors to be a part of the artwork.

Space in Place

My idea of Space in Place in a Collage from

Place in Space

My idea of Place in Space in Collage form

A take of a Modern + Historical Reading Place

A Perspective view of Modern + Historical Reading Space

A take of a Modern + Historical Reading Place

Perspective view of Modern + Historical Reading Space

A take of a Modern + Historical Reading Place

Perspective view of Modern + Historical Reading Space

A Step to a better Reading Environment

Perspective View of a steps / reading space / Amphitheater

A Step to a better Reading Environment

Perspective View of a steps / reading space / Amphitheater

A Step to a better Reading Environment

Perspective View of a steps / reading space / Amphitheater

A Step to a better Reading Environment

Perspective View of a steps / reading space / Amphitheater

The region rich in history and culture

Illustration of project site, Waterloo Centre, which sits amongst different building typologies, surrounded by rich Singapore culture and visited by people of different race and religion.

Map of intervention

Three interventions, each with different agenda, to sieve out the idea of Ornamentation that may happen at Waterloo Centre.

Sketched elements

Documenting distinct visual elements at site.

Taxonomy of elements

Taxonomy of visual elements extracted from site to speak of the lifestyle of the people, and the mix of old and new architecture.

Overwhelmed with ornaments

Section of Waterloo Centre that identifies existing and new ornamentation that introduce new functions.

The Jungle

Residents transform the site into a jungle where they grow plants and enjoy the sight of greenery outside their windows.

Iconic shop fronts

Part I: Each is a 3D collage of possible shop front design created by isolating the most iconic shapes and textures found at site.

Conceptualising new coffee shop

Part I: Iconic shapes and colours are employed to a busy coffee shop at Waterloo Centre to make it more memorable.

Model of intervention

Part II: Model of intervention outside a junior arts school located at a corner of third floor.

Glass blocks pods

Part II: Exterior view of intervention which shows the prominent material seen at site – glass blocks. The pods with varying heights and dimensions encourage exploration.

Extended play zone

Part II: The malleable sheer wall lets people on either side to connect. It is also lowered to appeal to children.

Waterloo Centre reimagined

Reimagining an ornamented HDB with striking colour, pattern, signage and plants to draw attention of the crowd.

No ornamentation

Part III: Conceptual model of intervention at the ground floor intending to link two major staircases. The cocoon-like pods amplify and transfer sound via metal conduits (represented by the coloured straws). Sound can be an ornament in space.

ornaments

Part III: Sitting area with concrete pods and metal conduits that amplify the sound of wind.

Keeping it neutral

Part III: Pods elevated off the ground to suggest lightness. Plants can help to dampen sound and soften the hard-concrete materials.

The Men's Mall

A collage of *SCAPE in its current condition. In our fast-paced city-state, economic development occurs an unprecedented rate. To keep up and increase density, the wasteful practice of replacing older buildings with new ones is considered the norm. Existing properties are also under constant pressure to renovate and upgrade to keep relevant. The purpose of this project is to speculate the possibilities of how under-utilised spaces in *SCAPE can be readaptedto give it a new breath of life.

The Men's Mall

Site map of *SCAPE and its surrounding in Orchard Road.

The Men's Mall

Process. Sketches and ideation of how the users will be moving through the space with swinging walls and display fixtures.

The Men's Mall

A diagram on layout studies that will be adopted in the Men’s Mall. (top) A maze layout has a fixed path and a maze of spaces for product displays. It also extends the distance users traveled in the store. (middle) A grid layout, most common in stores as it is very convenient and speedy. (bottom) Freeform layout facilitate in exploration and brings users to visit more parts in the store

The Men's Mall

Layout Plan of the Men’s Mall.

The Men's Mall

Interior of the high-end men’s fashion store. A tightly curated selection of products is displayed, encouraging customers to explore other parts of the store.

The Men's Mall

Interior of the high-end men’s fashion store. A tightly curated selection of products is displayed, encouraging customers to explore other parts of the store.

The Men's Mall

The Fashion Gallery is a flexible space that can be converted to suit various events such as workshops, seminars and product displays and aims to increase the awareness of the brand’s philosophy.

HOME, TOO

Location: Interior design studio @ SIT, TP. When i first spoke to a group of migrant construction workers, it sparked off the idea of wanting to find out more about how one feels a sense of homeliness and how do one build their own home away from home. In his book titled "HOME: A SHORT HISTORY OF AN IDEA", Rybczynski compares the sense of homeliness to an onion. Onions are simple on the outside but complex on the inside, like homeliness, when dissected - it just does not make any sense and it cannot be measured. Anyone can recognise the sense of homeliness but have troubles explaining why they like it. However, he states that the Onion theory of comfort (domestic comfort) is essentially about convenience, efficiency, leisure, ease, pleasure, domesticity, intimacy and privacy. As my first project, i would want to find out how do one create a sense of home in the most minimal amount of space away from home. Everyone has a certain sense of attachment to a certain place, as for me, I decided to use my school's studio as my chosen site. The studio is where students spend most of their day there (design intervention can be used in offices and classrooms also) and my design intervention draws inspiration from our very own bedroom spaces. The way how i approached my intervention is based on these 4 main pointers: 1. the different degrees of private/ public spaces 2. the control over your own boundaries 3. the flexibility of space for interaction between people 4. the need for personalization of objects.This table shows the exploration of new materials in co-relation to the modules proposed.

HOME, TOO

In due respect to the current layout of the studio and not break the openness, I did a minor addition to the existing space. I implemented a grid ceiling that holds several elements in which the user can pull down/ take out to configure their own desired space and outcome. This current view shows the plastic netting (made out of deconstructed ziplock bags) acting as a form of partition when pulled down, hence the user can configure it based on their preferred privacy level.

HOME, TOO

The modular blocks are made out of material scraps found around the studio, all wrapped up inside a sewn-together ziplock bag. These blocks can be used however the user prefers - lying down, sitting, leaning, etc.

PLASTEAC

Location: Tekka centre Ultimately, to build the essence of home is about the people and I personally feel the need for not only the Migrant Workers, but also our own locals to not chase the papers but build communities instead. . I drew a parallel of our very own living and dining room where our families commune. Hence, I decided to use Tekka Market as my site as it is a public commune space. Having their vision as the "People’s Market" and a wide variety of audience, it made a good touch point to promote it as a space for interaction and communing there. Also,Tekka Market is home to the Migrant Workers during Sundays. My design intervention and program intends to push optimisation and promote this movement where we make use of things around us to build our own homes anywhere as a community. As there are several tea shops in the vicinity, I have chosen to promote tea culture into the space as tea is a common multi-cultural element and a good catalyst for conversation starters. The scattered layout contrasts with the traditional linear layout so as to give a sense of adventure to the patrons in the space to go around and attend different tea related workshops and source for the different flowers and herbs available for tea blending.

PLASTEAC

Plastic crates are readily available in the wet market and hawker centre. Inspired by the stacking of crates in the existing space, this terrain is where people can enjoy a different dining experience as compared to the original hawker seating. Patrons can also forage from the hanging down plants and from the crates.

PLASTEAC

This space holds the various workshops - tea-infused cooking workshop in the open kitchen, tea dye fabric and paper workshop. Also, this is where patrons blend their foraged herbs or flowers with tea here, This various workshops are marked out by the various coloured scrap fabrics canopy hanging down, In which, the fabrics are sourced from the 2nd storey retail area.

RE-KEA

The existing sewing service is instead, incorporated into the space to be used for sewing workshops. The exisiting walls separating the AS-IS section to the customer service area is removed so that the patrons do not have to walk through the whole of IKEA just to get to the exit.The netting on top acts a dumping ground of the unwanted furniture parts and celebrates the “unsightly” instead.

Location: IKEA (Tampines), AS-IS section To create a home away from home, one just requires a community and they would be resourceful to find what’s around them to build their own shelter. Applying what I have explored from my previous 2 projects, I chose IKEA as the first baby step to promote this movement for the masses to learn and apply it to their daily lives. IKEA pride themselves as a DIY company, however everything is still controlled based on what generates income - from their store layout that restricts consumers from walking around freely and the products flat-packed for one to build. People are drawn to IKEA’s products as when one DIYs, they build a stronger sense of accomplishment and attachment to the product. However, if one deconstructs IKEA’s furniture, you would realize that they actually use found materials, hidden beneath the mask of a capitalist / a major company supporting capitalism. Hence, i would want to further push the idea of DIY - just by being resourceful and make use of any found objects/ materials lying around your own and piece them yourself, you might even get a more durable furniture that you can personalize and feel a bigger sense of achievement. I would like patrons to find more value in the furnitures of IKEA's AS-IS section. That section is already strategically placed near the exit, with its main purpose is to sell rejected or defected goods from customers.Issues: underutilized recycling area, wrapping station and sewing service could serve more purpose, the as-is section is just not curated as compared to the self-serve furniture area. Materials I could consider to use: the IKEA catalogue, the FRAKTA shopping bags and the free pencils and rulers.

RE-KEA

The broken ‘frakta’ bags are repurposed by sewing them together to form a partition. It can even store the loose furniture parts for patrons to create our very own furniture by piecing them themselves. The Original MALM bed is placed beside the DIY bed to serve as inspiration for the patrons to configure their own furnitures. The exisiting underutilized wrapping station outside is instead, incoporated into the space and scattered around the whole area to be used for DIYfurniture and wrapping workshops.

RE-KEA

The wall is made of the scrap furniture parts, and the gaps creates a sense of semi-privacy between the as-is section and the staff area. With the power of repetition, even to the micro level - the free IKEA pencils, can be repurposed to form a ceiling feature for zoning, or a work mat or even a partition to give a little more privacy for the user using the sewing machine.

UOB Plaza installation

We commonly perceive boundary as a form of physical segregation, rather than as a state of mind. Using the construct of efficiency as a focus on this study, the physical intervention is designed disrupt the psychological boundary. The idea of boundary as a state of mind stems from the observation of people's behaviors during the course of their commute. In a journey, different events may occur, efficiency results in people being fixated on their next destination, often forgoing interacting with their surroundings, like an intangible imaginary boundary around an individual.

UOB Plaza installation

Much of these observations lay testament to Pierre Bourdieu's theory of Habitus, which mentions ingrained habits, skills and dispositions, the way that individuals perceive the social world around them and react to it. An intervention in the end brings about a platform of interaction to an open fast paced region. However this opens up a new question, must boundaries be blurred? or can they be balanced.

243 Joo Chiat Road

This project explores the notion of balance, using a shophouse unit at Joo Chiat Road to carry out this investigation. Joo Chiat has an interesting mix of contrasting functions under one roof, typically segregated by levels. Using existing functions of a bar, habitation and KTV, this project tries to build a reciprocal relationship by blurring the physically boundaries through an interconnection of the functions.

243 Joo Chiat Road

This project uses the idea that lights give preeminence to the active functions at a given time and vice versa. Forms used create different levels of privacy for various functions, whilst light and materials determine the degree of privacy. The denotation of shadows, light exposure over times of the day and form allow for allocating of functions, functions categorized according to their levels of privacy

243 Joo Chiat Road

In the space, activities of each function are exposed to one another. The KTV here can be seen in contrast to the bar, artificial lights from the KTV indicate its dominance in activity at night, while daylight of day reveals the bar open as an eatery and the active function of the moment.

243 Joo Chiat Road

Apart from lights to denote boundaries, forms and materials are important. Consistent materials that pertain to particular functions subtly indicate the domain of public and private. Difference in forms denote the difference in domains. The denser and more rigid forms indicate the habitation area, while more open areas denote the public areas. All of which are connected to each other in different ways. The question of balance in boundaries among functions may not solve immediate problems, but rather opens up avenues on boundaries and their intangibility, and how they can experiment with in the vast domain of interior design.

Environmental issues have been so much more important to me in recent years, and that has influenced the ways I approach the type of projects I want to do and how I want to execute them. For my Final Year Project, I wanted to explore the possibilities of how we can live with the least carbon footprint as possible. This will be done by tackling how HDBs can be reconfigured in order to be more self-reliant and self-sustainable. As we live through a strange time, through the COVID-19 pandemic, the notion of being more self-reliant and self-sustainable is more relevant than ever.

This collage was my way of expressing a ‘futuristic’ Singapore and how Archigram’s unbuilt projects could become a reality. My project was very inspired by Archigram and the theory of Rubanisation by Tay Kheng Soon. The idea of Plug-In City constantly evolving to meet the needs of people, and by having all the resources needed in one mega-machine – without harming the environment, was something that intrigued me. I wanted to combine those ideas, with the strategies of Rubanisation, to redefine how we live today so that we live with the least carbon footprint.

This is a series of materials made from waste. Gas, oil, consumerism, electricity, transportation and every other form of human activity, contributes to our carbon footprint. I asked myself, what if I could make my own spoon? Knowing that waste is a great carbon footprint contributor, I wanted to explore how household waste could be reused and made into something new, to kick-start the project. What if I made my own spoon using banana peels? That would mean I do not have to buy a new spoon - I do not contribute to consumerism and energy to produce a new spoon, and I get to reduce and reuse my waste, promoting a circular economy. 1. Milk + Vinegar 2. New-paper (made from waste paper) 3. New-clay (made from waste paper) 4. New-clay 5. Alternative Banana Peel Material 6. ABPM lamp shade 7. New-paper + ABPM 8. Slab of ABPM 9. New-paper 10. Weaving ABPM 11. New-paper + ABPM 12. Weaving ABPM with mesh

This neighbourhood is the site I chose as it already had a lot of existing amenities that I could work with to create a new masterplan. The analysis and masterplans done were based on the strategies of Rubanisation. My main objective was to ensure that no building was just purely residential, it had to be combined with another programming.

The diagrams of different configurations were a process of redistributing the existing amenities from the site, to one HDB building. Although this idea sounds like a Mixed Used Development, I was exploring an idea away from that typology, hence I decided on Diagram 6 as its configuration was most different from a MUD. I then translated this idea to a very draft collage to envision the type of spaces I wanted to have. To continue, I traced over the collages so that I could draw out how certain spaces could relate to one another. It was very important to sketch them so that they came together as one whole space. In order to redefine the way, we live, I chose to focus on a HDB building because it is the most common form of local housing.

What if HDB blocks had everything we needed? A pandemic-proof, zombie apocalypse-proof housing, because we would not need to leave our homes? My vision of a new HDB typology was to combine everything in a neighbourhood, into a singular block. Having urban farms are integral for residents to be able to grow their own food. This new typology is all about self-reliance, self-sustainability and a circular economy. This compilation shows the final iteration of the collage and how in reflects on a HDB from the site. The diagrams on the right show the circulation of the different spaces, programming and space planning.

To decrease carbon footprint, the principle of sharing is very important. For instance, not everyone cooks, hence, not everyone needs a kitchen. Layout explorations 1 and 2 were to explore the optimal potential of a HDB floor plate and how many bedrooms there could be by creating a central node of common areas. Traditional HDB units were eliminated for a floor to become one. With reference to my envisioned HDB typology, I decided to develop Level 9, which consisted of co-working spaces, farm, common areas and residential.

Inspired by Archigram’s Plug-In city and how it is able to adapt and change to the needs of its users, I wanted to incorporate this idea to the residential quarters by designing adaptable bedrooms. The bedrooms can be made bigger or smaller depending on the user. By having this flexibility, it lessens the likelihood of people having to move homes which in turn decreases the demand for new housing. Hence, this could possibly lessen buildings that need to be built and thus decreasing our carbon footprint.

This series of models is an ideation of furniture design. There is also potential to incorporate the earlier exploration of alternative materials, with the construction of the furniture.

This series of models is to explore the design of the common areas. I wanted to explore how people could come together, their co-existence in this new typology and their co-existence with nature. The idea was to create spaces without having to build solid walls, so that the spaces could be open and allow for natural ventilation to take place. By being more open, the common areas are also able to seamlessly connect with the other spaces.

Wandering to Dwell

The Dwelling - Located at 8b Canton St above the convenience store, Seven Eleven, the living room was designed accordingly to the preferences of eating instant foods that both inhabitants cultivated whilst they were wandering in Glasgow. For example, the living room boasts of an unconventional kitchen with a sit-down hotpot experience. This is so that the inhabitants would be able to get their instant food from Seven Eleven.

An elaborate floor plan recalling the activities that happened in Ada and Kelly’s accommodation in Glasgow. The map revealed certain habits cultivated from their wandering in Glasgow. For example, the kitchen was always in use as the food in Glasgow was expensive. This resulted in both the inhabitants going to TESCO supermarket frequently to purchase instant foods.

This section is a work in progress to translate these wandering experiences into a dwelling. According to Witold Rybczynski’s ‘The Most Beautiful House’ in the world, the entrance is a key component in setting the tone of the dwelling. Hence it was considered that the inhabitants can enter their dwelling through Seven Eleven to create a certain porosity to the living arrangement.

The wandering experience also extends beyond Glasgow. Based on the experience of a visit to St. Andrew’s Cathedral, the bathroom was designed in a way to facilitate reflection and pondering by including a prayer area as well as a shelf for scripture to encourage the meditation of the psalms. Meditation and prayer are acts that allow the inhabitant to truly dwell.

Based on wandering through the magazine Apartmento issue #24, it was realised that a house is a collection of all things and experiences. Hence, the bedroom was designed for the many items and clothes that were collected as a result of travelling. There is also a seat by the window to allow the inhabitant to look out onto the streets and wander vicariously.

Ada was inspired by Japan’s tiny homes where a young couple bathed under the sunlight. She also loved how the layout of the couple’s tiny home was open. There is also a ladder incorporated for Ada to climb up to the roof and wander visually through the scenery of the Singapore River. An opening on the wall beside her bed was designed to allow both Ada and Kelly to interact whilst still having the privacy of their own rooms.

So Close but So Far

SO CLOSE BUT SO FAR - This project is a speed dating laundromat and bar that is a continuation of the dwelling. It was found that wandering continues as we meet new people - we are the vessels in which our experiences are contained.  However, in light of the COVID 19 pandemic, this response looks at how people might still love without touching each other.

Inspired largely by Hippie Modernism, collages were made in an attempt to translate the visual aesthetic that closely simulated one on drugs, as well as the concept of not being able to touch each other.

The participant will first: 1) Order a drink from the enclosed bar at a safe distance from each other. 2) Proceed to engage in the different systems that would allow interaction without physical touch. 3) Couples can proceed to the enclosed kissing booths. 4) Designated areas for the speed dating hosts to have a view of the entire bar to facilitate the rotation of couples.

First impressions count. Inspired by the fish tank scene in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ as well as ‘A Minute of Silence’ by Marina Abramovic, the aquarium seats offer speed dating participants to interact without touching. It does this through a visually heightened experience.

Creativity in Everyday Life

Project: Creativity in Everyday Life. The project intention is to allow the user to unveil their own sense of creativity. The project aim is to build an awareness that creativity is present in everyday life. Designing the circumstances for creativity to arise.

Creativity in Everyday Life

Conceptual models and sketches done to interpret the frameworks by practitioners (Bruno Munari, Johannes Itten and Tim Ingold) that motivated the study of Creativity in Everyday Life.

Creativity in Everyday Life

An exhibition showcasing the subtle presence of creativity in everyday life at home. Site: HDB Estate (Hougang Street 91 Block 909 Singapore) Taxonomy Poster: Exhibits of everyday household items in their settings and their multiple uses as created by the user.

Creativity in Everyday Life

Initial exploration of the exhibition - circulation and spatial planning. The site of the exhibition was suppose to be at Gilmann Barrack AFA Block 28.

Creativity in Everyday Life

The circulation and spatial planning were reorganised to the new site, the HDB Estate. A sense of unveiling in an inconvenient setting that allows the user a greater sense of curiosity in stimulation. A spontaneous reaction between the user and the exhibition. Evoke a higher catalyst for awareness.

Creativity in Everyday Life

Exhibition Design. Modules of the various different settings in a Home. The modules are fully interactive. Users may inhabit the space and interact with everything in the module. The interaction between the user, object and the space is a key part in evoking the sense of awareness in the presence of creativity in everyday life.

Creativity in Everyday Life

Exhibition Design. Highlighting the placement of the exhibits within the module space.

Creativity in Everyday Life

Creating from imagination rather than following instructions. This gives users the tools to create. Users are free to imagine, explore ideas and invent new things. Site: Kallang Rivergreen Building - Singapore. Taxonomy Poster: Understanding creativity in everyday life in the context of the workplace.

Creativity in Everyday Life

Perspective of intended spatial design - I. Building the workstation is intuitive and fun and resembles the direct creative output of work (precedent studies that were referenced are the Caroline Pratt Unit Blocks and Interslot by Rodger Limbrick).

Creativity in Everyday Life

Perspective of intended spatial design - II

The norm of working

This is so apt in this moment of a worldwide pandemic where we are all forced to stay home, work from home and work from our limited desk. Humans are the most adaptable creature in the world, we went from agriculture to a capitalist society in such immense speed. What lies in the future of work?

Adaptive Living

Most of us are comfortable in our homes because it is a place to unwind after a full day out. It is a place where our true character unveils itself. Walter Benjamin famous phrase “to dwell is to leave traces” applies to most spaces, but especially in our dwelling, our home.

Spatial Use

When we micro-analyse our space usage, the original intent of the space ended up suiting our needs instead. A room turns into a workspace or a store. A dining table turns into a study table. A coffee table turns into a dining table. How users define the use of these objects and spaces are different in every household.

Embracing the mess

A collaged utopian world of what embracing all our assumed flaws and mess could be. A messy table with a conveyor belt of endless items. A house filled with surveillance cameras. A living room with clothes piled up. The lounging seat with extension plug becomes one with the wall filled without enough socket to charge all the devices at home. A balcony filled with cigarette butts that must be cleared away every day.

Life vs. Play

In the functional bus interchange, what difference does it make when life gets injected into the space. Through play elements, biophilia elements, art installations or localized bustling coffeeshop? The robotic-like functionality of the space was disturbing. The fact that we are all part of the system of dropping off and picking up points made the idea of this standard bus interchange boring and monotonous.

Interventions

A myriad of intervention designed for a functional bus interchange. It aimed to diminish the efficiency of the space by injecting elements of life, fun and play. Where kids can play, where adults can sit.

Elemental Examination

If interventions are placed in a non-obstructive manner to ensure the efficiency of the space, is that how we can celebrate pluralism? If the intervention lies within a commuter’s walking area, how would the commuter adapt? Take a longer path? Possibly.

Life

The act of playfulness in a bus interchange does not align with the stringent requirements of what a bus interchange should be. But why should bus interchanges all look the same?

A collage that shows the overall aim of the project which is to understand the sensorial needs of hypersensitive individuals with autism and support them in spaces where they transit into an existing community.

Exploration of the spatial qualities of the communal garden by thinking through making.

In case of sensory overload within the community centre, hypersensitive individuals with autism could use the lounge, which is designed as a therapeutic healing space with interior elements that promote mental curiosity and stimulate the desire of experiencing the space.

The second part of the project is a redesigned hawker centre. The food stalls are placed within the high-stress areas while the seating area is placed nearer to the low-stress areas. The two areas are separated with the main circulation path. This redefines a spatial hierarchy which would help hypersensitive individuals with autism.

Seats that allows configuration are integrated with the redesigned hawker centre. The seats can be converted into booth seating if hypersensitive individuals with autism require a space of a sense of enclosure.

Pause spaces with seating are added into the hawker centre to provide opportunities for prospect while consuming meals. These pause spaces are clearly distinguished with a ring of landscape design which also helps with odour abatement.

The third part of the project is a community library. The library cantilevers above the communal garden, blurs the transition of exterior spaces into interior spaces and creates an inclusive environment for the local community.

Re-Imagined Spaces: The play of light and shadow in our everyday life

This project started with questions of how the duality of light and shadow, that is so significant in our lives, impact us on a daily basis. I believe that light and shadow has the ability to evoke one’s emotions in a space even in very mundane spaces. 'Re-imagined Spaces' aims to investigate the notion of light and shadow and how it can affect in representing a space. Through a selection of ordinary and common spaces, the projects questions the possibilities of how these spaces can be re-imagined when light and shadow is used as the driving force of the space.

Part One: Exploration of light and shadow

The documentation covers 8 various sites in Singapore to explore the existence of light and shadow in our daily life. Ideas from the collection of photographs from the site visits are translated into simple study models. Through it, making discoveries on how light and shadow can affect our spatial experience.

Part Two: The Rhythm of Shadows

Looking into the play of light and shadow in everyday spaces, a transitional space was chosen as the typology of this project. A hospital can be a very anxiety charged place for some visitors. Thus, this project aims to target users from the hospital and explore how light and shadow can momentarily evoke a sense of calmness through the transition. The idea of rhythm and intensity of light and shadow was explored. Darkness evokes a form of mysteriousness and portrays silence. The forms of shadow becomes more rigid and darker when reaching the middle of the transition walkway. The idea of darkness, minimal light and stillness evoke silence in the space and aims to create a contemplative atmosphere.

At the darkest and most still point of the walkway, a slit allows a ray of light to enter the space. The only benches are placed here to encourage one to momentarily remain at this place.

Part Three: Sanctuary Café

This part looks into the typology of an ordinary food court. The project aims to create a relaxing space for people to dine in, contrasting to the surrounding fast paced and crowded environment. It will explore how the interplay of light and shadow create a comfortable experience in such a setting. The project explores calmness through the use of water. In particular, the experience is catered for solo diners.

Moving forward, the glass floor is removed and replaced with glass steps, revealing the texture of the water. The light strips aims to entice people to continue walking forward, while the black tiles gives a sense of depth.

Nearest to the kitchen is the short-term dining area. The curved seating is intended to break the linear geometry and also make it harder for users to communicate, giving more privacy to solo diners. Sounds from the cascading water fountain behind the panels can be heard to create the calming sound.

For the private pods, shoji screens are used as the materials for the partitions to keep it less rigid yet maintain the level of privacy. The screens will also reveal the shadows of people. As it is a really long corridor, the alcove will give depth to the shadows and users will be drawn towards that as they walk through.

The visual and audio aspects of water is strategically integrated into the design of each space to help create the calming experience.

A New Housing Typology for Rental Flats

Strong community ties is capable of providing a form of social support and resource network. Despite its importance, it rarely exists in HDB flats today. This project aims to investigate a new typology for rental flats that incorporates the notion of community within the housing estate. It sought to improve the standard of living for lower income families and strive towards achieving self-empowerment to break away from the cycle of poverty.

Utopian Vision

Le Corbusier’s idea of “vertical garden city” in Unite d’Habitation focused on communal living for residents to shop, eat, play, live and gather together outside their private dwelling space. This integration of communal service into the housing model has further encouraged interaction to take place among inhabitants. Drawing reference to Unite d’Habitation, a utopian vision on the future of a community orientated rental flat is being projected in the form of a sectional elevation collage.

Reconfigured Layout Plan

As compared to the void deck, the corridor has a greater possibility that residents would linger around as it is more accessible from their units. However, the linear and narrow nature of the corridor in block 1 Jalan Kukoh is not the most efficient space for residents to gather in. As an attempt to bring in communal spaces that encourage prolonged interaction, the linear walkway is transformed into an enclosed space by deconstructing and rearranging the layout plan, eventually coming up with multiple iterations.

Breaking Away from Standardization

Referencing Habitat 67 where the units are interconnected and stacked on one another, it allowed for a private garden terrace to every unit and play area throughout the building for children. By breaking away from the standardized design of HDB, new possibilities of interaction are introduced. Therefore, taking two reconstructed levels and stacking above each other turning it into a single floor increases the chance of interaction by half.

Eyes on the Street

The concept of "Eyes on the Street" as a form of surveillance provides a safety measure as residents help to keep a lookout for one another. Breaking up solid walls and having screens allow residents to have visual or verbal contact. These are explored with different degrees of privacy. With screens at the feet level, it provide clues on the safety of residents without taking away their privacy.

Persona: Single elderly living alone

With safety as the main priority, the unit is designed with a communal herb garden that allows residents to be involved in nurturing the plants. While doing so, residents are able to ensure the safety of the elderly through verbal contact. To a certain degree, it also allows a glimpse into a small area of the room such that the privacy of the elderly is still present.

Privacy is a common issue face in large family. Curtains fitted in bunk bed allow children to be entitled to a small personal space. By staggering the beds, these children get a private play corner of their own, accessible from all four beds. An opening is created at an eye level of a child for children outside to invite them out to play.

Persona: Single mother, 4 children, 1 baby

The vertical screen frames the amount of area to be seen in the room to retain privacy for the other family members. However, it is sufficient for the baby cot to be visible for residents to help keep an eye on the baby while the mother attends to her other children. When the sofa bed is folded, the space transforms into a living room.

Persona: Parents and a teenager

From the conceptual models, the idea of encouraging interaction to occur through close proximity by blurring the boundaries between the private units and communal space is executed in this unit. A cohesive language with the usage of panels are extruded from the steps of the stairs to seating in the living room and further extruded to form platforms for residents' use in the communal space.

Overview

The concept of interfaces as a form of threshold between public and private domain is explored through different implementation throughout the housing model. It is integrated to work as a system that encourages residents to not only interact but also to connect with one another.

From entertainment to salvation, the former Venus Theatre in Singapore

In 1983, the Venus theatre in Singapore’s west went through a metamorphosis by adaptive reuse after the cinema suffered economically. In 1985, the Church of Our Saviour became its new occupant. Today, the church continues to operate in the community, struggling to stay relevant. This project aims to create a greater connection to the community through a multi functional, therapeutic space bringing people together whilst being relevant to the current context.

Breathe

This collage shows how the project proposes to open up the enclosed space, bringing people together and breathing new life into an old building. The site happens to be strategically located along the Queenstown MRT and Queenstown Secondary School. Because of its favourable location, the church adapted the space to fit the needs of the youth who can use the site’s facilities for quick foosball games, water break, resting spot and meeting point. However, the main church auditorium remains untouched during the weekdays making this space underutilised.

Model Exploration

With a desire to open up the enclosed space, model explorations have been undertaken to break the buidling’s rigidity by adding alternate circulation, playing with volume height and width, yet celebrating the original structure, and taking both its interior and exterior activities into consideration. Some of Singapore’s buildings seem greatly influenced by Le Corbusier’s modernist, 1960s practice, especially his “Five points of architecture”. In the case of the Church of Our Saviour pilotis act as a primary support of the building.

Redefining the Church

While adaptive reuse gives a space new purpose, the church community was forced to dwell in a building that was not originally meant for its use. This photo montage hopes to represent how a church hall could look- drawing individuals into the holiness of God through considerations of form, materiality, zoning, light and shadow.

Forms, Light and Shadow

Martin Luther gave birth to the reformation and protestantism, changing Christianity through a rejection of ornamentation, the legacy of empire and majestic socio-spatial power. These model explorations look at the influence that materiality and light can have on atmospheres that may draw individual to sacredness. Taking influence from monolithic architecture where buildings were carved from a single piece of material, these models try to replicate a similar raw, intimate dwelling space.

The journey into the main sanctuary

To create a dynamic and versatile interior space that enhances the look and creates a timeless, classic feel, materials such as natural stone, in particular limestone, were used, as well as both elements of wood and glass. Lime stone is known to be strong and able to withstand abrasion. A tunnel was designed to play with depth, and a low ceiling creates a space that allows for individual contemplation.

Sanctuary

In reference to Peter Zumthor’s Bruder Klaus Field Chapel of which he says: “In order to design building with a sensuous connection to life, one must think in a way that goes beyond form and construction” this design was established from a foundation of two contrasting materials: rock and light. With minimal ornamentation, this design hopes to bring people atmospherically into an experience of holiness.

Interior Space

This image shows the exploration undertaken, to captures both materiality, form and texture in render.

Space for the community

This project looks into creating a dual functional design, i.e. two programmes that operate at the same time in the same space. The first floor caters to a public crowd, while the upper floor caters to the existing Church of Our Saviour community. This design hopes to revitalised and be relevant to current community activities in the face of urbanisation.

Urban Mobility in Singapore

It seems that vehicles take precedence and acquire privileges in the form of transportation in Singapore. However, a far more affordable and environmentally friendly mode of transport like bicycles and PMDs has insufficient opportunities and relevance in our country. Singapore is still lacking in offering traveling alternatives for car-less commuters other than its existing high standard of public transport.

Urban Mobility Devices

Over the years, bicycles, PMDs (personal mobility devices) and e-scooters have been a new mode of transportation for a handful of individuals in Singapore. It does not merely serve as a form of transportation but also as an important asset for some users to perform their daily jobs. However, pedestrians are anxious and unpleased as how these devices cause public alarm over the risk that it put to others.

Reactions From The PMD Ban

A large number of individuals were upset after being informed of the PMD ban on shared pathways in Singapore. It seems that these users are not given the rights and access in moving around the city freely. Besides, there are plenty of solutions that can be executed to facilitate them. Thus, banning of the PMDs is not a final resolution.

Collage of Site Settings

Collage of different site settings – hawker centre, market, MRT station and cinema.

Diagram of Hawker Centre

Diagram of inhabitation – hawker centre

Visual 1

To make use of the double volume space in the existing site, a second level was designed to particularly accommodate cyclists who prefer dining in the hawker centre. It also includes a parking space for users to park their bicycles safely while they enjoy their meal.

Visual 2

Food stalls were designed with double openings so that one of each can be used to facilitate customers on foot and the other for cyclists or delivery riders. This will allow a better interaction between hawkers, customers and cyclists as it avoids the intersection of purchasing and collecting of food within one another.

Visual 3

To avoid any collision between a pedestrian and a cyclist, the implementation of zebra crossings can alert both individuals. Hence, arrows and signages on the double bicycle lanes play a major role in creating a safe and comprehensive pedestrian-cycling network. So do the choice of colours used to differentiate between various zones respectively.

Visual 4

Cyclists can utilize the ramp that brings them to their dedicated eating space while non-cyclists have the entire ground level to dine in the hawker centre comfortably.

Visual 5

Food stalls were also designed in a fluid form as to display the flexibility of movement and interaction between pedestrians and cyclists in the hawker centre. Thus, each stall owns a distinct form of space.

Itten X Aēsop

Initial collage showcasing the synergy between Swiss Colour theorist Johannes Itten and Melbourne’s health and beauty franchise Aēsop. The bold contrasting colours of Itten’s art works complements the colour scheme used by Aēsop.

Aēsop X Itten

Window design grounded by the principles and theories of Swiss Painter and Colour theorist Johannes Itten designed for Aēsop’s stores.

Axonometric Study

Site study diagram of Golden Mile Complex The intention for the structure was to create a lively environment and a vertical city in contrast to the homogenized cities. Golden Mile Complex comes from the concepts of the Linear Cities of architect Le Corbusier.

Impressions

Artistic impression of envisioned design concept of play space located in Golden Mile Complex.

Play Space Perspective (East Lobby)

A new play space located in the Golden Mile Complex, focusing on the effects of light and shadow where sun shades rotate anti-clock wise throughout the day.

Play Space Perspective (West Lobby)

The play space focuses on generating a space that caters for relaxation enabling users of the space to experience Live, Work and Play in the same building.

Reclaiming Spaces

Typical shop in Golden Mile Complex where shop spills out beyond boundaries while the tenant place make shift markers defining their own boundaries. A lawless spillage of shops creating a reclamation of space demonstrates The Right to the City concept developed by French sociologist Henri Lefebvre in 1968.

Accentuated Pipelines

Unique pipelines that forms character, identity and uniqueness to the Golden Mile Complex.

Unique Characteristics

The image shows shops spilling out of their de-marketed zones and unique floor tile patterns in relation to the accentuated pipelines across the atrium of the Golden Mile Complex.

Lawlessness

The image shows the plan in relation to the pipes added years after original construction running above unique floor tile patterns that cover the ground floor. Further demonstrating how shops spill out.

Comfort Zone

Comfort Zone is a project that aims to improve the standards of gathering spaces. By looking at the liveability of an interior space through the users’ comfort and the overall spatial layout, a design intervention would be developed. Proposed design would then be applied to three sites with different typologies, and this aims to maximise the user experience of such spaces.

Recurring Language

The design language of ‘Steps’ has been identified to be a suitable design element that can evoke a sense of comfort in interior spaces. It does so by introducing the idea of ‘Versatility’ into the users’ experience. This element was then incorporated into the design interventions throughout each of the three sites, serving as a connection that links the seemingly different proposals together.

Don't Tell Me How To Study

Don’t Tell Me How To Study is a library project that aims to break the studying conventions of a library space. Proposed at Jurong Regional Library, the project focuses on promoting ‘Physical Comfort’ through the intervention of a steps design which creates a versatile study space, and ‘Visual Comfort’ with the incorporation of a uniform design language throughout the whole site.

Don't Tell Me How To Study

All forms of structural elements such as walls and doors on the site are removed, resulting in the steps intervention spanning across the library. Different spaces such as walking paths and areas to read books are thus all integrated and taking place at the same area.

Don't Tell Me How To Study

The stairs intervention is a safe design that, while appropriate for a library reading area, seems to be too ‘sensible’ aesthetically. A dose of ‘fun’ in the form of box features was thus added into the otherwise boring space. While they stand out, these box features are still in keeping with the sense of uniformity created by the ‘steps’ intervention.

Rest Well, Shop Again

Rest Well, Shop Again is a project proposed in Jurong East Mall (JEM). Although located in a shopping mall, this project focuses on the communal area in the mall’s Basement 1 floor and how well can shoppers rest in this given space. Hence, the proposal aims to inject a sense of calmness into the hectic mall environment, while attempting to blend into the mall surroundings.

Rest Well, Shop Again

Water is used as the medium to evoke calmness. Being a powerful sensory element, the use of water here was kept subtle to prevent it from overpowering the existing site. The intervention attempts to blend into the site, and thus the effects of water could only be experienced when shoppers use the space. Sensory characteristics such as sounds of water falling are also used to maximise the potential of water.

Rest Well, Shop Again

The shopping mall has walkways which are too restricted to be used as communal areas. Instead of forcefully doing so, subtle elements such as ceiling designs are instead incorporated into these spaces to create a visual link that ties the entire floor together. With this, the functions of the walkways are retained.

Sit Down Talk

Sit Down Talk is a project that aims to improve the comfort of the overall dining experience in a neighbourhood coffeeshop. Proposed to be at the Broadway Coffeeshop at Blk 286 Toh Guan Road, the project emphasizes on using the notion of ‘Decentralization’, an aspect that modern day coffeeshops lack, to bring back the coffeeshops’ original intention of being a welcoming space for everyone to gather and mingle.

Sit Down Talk

The site also presents an opportunity for a semi outdoor dining experience. This dining experience is emphasized with the selection of cork as the flooring material. Cork flooring provides a comfortable sitting platform for users, thus encouraging them to gather and sit on the floor. Not only does this freedom of choice emphasize on the sense of community, it also creates a versatile dining space that prioritizes the diners’ experience.

The living room

Project 3: The mall is my living room (co-existing). Since Funan co-living is located in the mall, using the layout to allow the resident of the co-living to venture out and use the entire mall as its living room, wardrobegamesdining to workliveplay.

open living

project 3: Co-living- using the idea of IKEA showroom, as a living space for my co-living where everyone is able to mingle and live together and experience a different experience of co-living.

Margiela+Moholy-Nagy Collage

A conceptual collage forming visual links between the brand, Maison Margiela, and chosen practitioner, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, was crafted to aid the process for The Window Project.

Spirit of Geylang Serai

The genius loci or character of Geylang is represented by a vibrant, crowded environment and its Malay community shown in this collage as part of the research study for the final year project.

Material & Activities Collage

The conceptual collage propose the use of materials and the idea of sharing knowledge through different means. It guides the process for the final year project, A Cultural Mosaic, to achieve the essence of Malayness and the importance of interaction.

Learning Space Entrance

A Cultural Mosaic is a learning space that allows a glimpse of Malayness to both the Malays and non-Malays. With an integrated library that curates books about the Malay identity and culture, it serves as a useful resource for people to learn about the Malays.

The 'Kitchen'

The furnitures were designed to play with different levels of height to create the kitchen experience inspired by the Malay rituals in a traditional Malay house. The use of screens instead of walls aims to open up opportunities for interaction and knowledge sharing.

Emotional Canvas

A look into the Vandilist Expression, a space where the youths and students can release their pent-up emotions onto a canvas, as part of the proposed intervention for The Ways We Shop.

Shooting Range

The entire facade of the assembly for The Ways We Shop uses one-way mirror to provide the freedom to express freely without fear of being stared by the public. However, from the outside, the public are able to view the emotions that are being expressed by the users.

Pandora Box

Tackling the repressed, negative emotions of youths and students which may come from peer pressure, a utopian space for students was ideated. The collage expresses the concept of the intervention for The Ways We Shop, inspired by rage rooms.

The Ways We Inhabit This Space

The proposed inhabitations for A Cultural Mosaic was illustrated through a sectional perspective view. The key ideas of the learning space’s design plays with the different ways a person can sit, referenced to the sitting rituals where a single mat can accomodate for multiple needs.

Sectional Perspective of Cinema

An open-cinema was designed for Reminiscene which aims to bring back the spirit of Malayness, the spirit of community gathering, that was lost in the present. The use of the roof abstraction was to symbolise nostalgia due to the past site, the Geylang Serai Malay Village.

The transition of light to this sacred corridor

The light guides us and sets the mood. “In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.” By Le Corbusier.

At a state-of-mind

The lighting goes seamlessly through our journey. At the start, the lights define the familiarity between us and the object that represents the dead.

The movement of bricks

The attention of the loose bricks starts to reunite as we walk further into the corridor, creating a wall of memories.

The transition back to reality

At the end of the journey. The brick wall starts to lose its tension and fades off to the lights, that transits us back to reality and daily routine.

Roof Terrace of Chong Pang Community Club

Located away from the crowd and noise of the community club, the unused roof terrace creates the opportunity to take us away from our hectic and stressful lives to peace and relaxation. Natural-like and flowing water feature helps to set the mood of this space.

Pods for 2

Pods for two is where personal information are keep safe, with the adjustable soundproof curtains the amount of privacy can be controlled. The fabric paper on the outsides blurs our identity to make us feel comfortable and confident.

Pods for 5

Pods for five is where a small group can exchange ideas and remarks. This idea was inspired by the Japanese seating culture. In this case, we are submerging ourselves, making us feel like we are diving into our journey of overcoming our loss.

Pods for 9

Pods for nine is the maximum amount of people that a counsellor can handle on the topic of grief. The gap between the ceiling and the pod allows us to look out to the sky and view the movements of the clouds as we overcome our thoughts.

Introduction

IntrThe original definition of panopticon in relation to the prison environment, as discussed by Foucault has changed dramatically in the present day - to an all pervasive digital form of surveillance by governments and technology firms.oduction

HDB Corridor - Thief Deterrence

This project aims to explore states of ease and discomfort in public and private environments brought about by digital surveillance. Can interior design mitigate the fine line between surveillance for crime prevention and the crime of voyeurism?

HDB Corridor - Thief Deterrence

An initial idea of space appropriation by residential unit along a corridor.

Workplace - Controlled supervision

The use of views and perspectives are used in this office setup to maximise efficiency.

Workplace - Controlled supervision

Screens are used for privacy.

Workplace - Controlled supervision

Subtle differentiation of spaces within the same volume help to mitigate the ill of the open office plan.

Workplace - Controlled supervision

View from a workstation.

Introducing the Outdoor Experience

There used to be a “Gulong Gulong park” that was famous as a gathering spot to the community back in the 1980s, however, it was taken away for the development of Orchard road. This project aims to design spaces to evoke the outdoor experience of rolling in the park and improve the quality of community life through the play of leveling and staggered platform that is ideal for a wide range of events from performances to community gathering.

Redefining Spaces

To counter the struggles of overcrowding issue, retractable seating that resembles the picnic experience is introduced to periphery spaces around the shopping mall to aid crowd control and improve the quality of life to the community.

Light and Shadow

The overall ambience of the park experience is enhanced by the shadow cast of the perforated plates through the natural lighting. Creating a dappled light effect that mimics the layer of leaves in a tree canopy, visitors sit under the ceiling feature feeling calm and cozy.

Interactive Design

With the strong influence of The High Line project, this project seeks to transform a neglected corner into an inviting picnic garden space for people to enjoy. The project seeks to explore an approach to design in which walls, floors and ceilings function as permeable membranes to allow shoppers to dwell in the space,

Addressing the overcrowding Issue in Lucky Plaza

The drive of this project started from an empathetic approach towards the needs of foreign workers based here who seek a sense of community and understandably crave a connection to home. The space is relatively hectic weekly (Sunday), there was not much space to hang out with restrictions everywhere. People are struggling to look for a place to interact comfortably without getting chased away.

Interior Spaces

The language is kept continuous, and occur at every level, in every possible space with the play of lighting, surroundings, materiality and forms into the building.

The Community Retreat

This project puts focus on reclaiming existing space, readapting a disused atrium, bringing it to life as a community meeting and event space for people to connect. Each level forms an intimate yet connective space for small groups to gather and at the same time provides a public frontage and awareness of the ongoing cultural regeneration.

Dwelling in the Retreat

Housed in the Level 2 Plaza, the large, stacking freeform pavilion shapes took reference to the square forms tiling of the existing building. Leaving no definitive lines between each of the structure’s components, thus blending the entire interior of the space together, as well as, forming furniture, walls and ceiling to function as a retreat for the community.

Design Ideation

Inspired by the versatility to endless possibilities by Bruno Munari “ a low wall becomes a seat, the church steps become a living room in which to meet, the open area behind the house hosts infinite soccer games in his hot playground project and the Storefront for Art and Architecture project by Steven Holl that introduces improbability and punctures the façade. The space is designed to bring harmony between the environment and the way the human body behaves within the space.

Versatility Design

The versatility of the design is expressed around the periphery spaces in the mall, making subtle design implementation into elements such as the floors, ceiling, walls and built-in elements, also creating moments of pauses in which one can rest and enjoy the serenity of their surroundings.

Adjacent Play Space

This project explores ways to bring about playfulness in adults; to relieve stress relief, develop social skills, to allow for relaxation and to provide “escapism”. The installation is located in front of Ocean Financial Centre and is open to use for all who are passing-by. Enhancing their experience on what they deem as escapism / leisure in Raffles Place is key rather than physical play.

Adjacent Play Space

My models made were inspired by Bruno Munari’s geometrical shapes and Alexander Calder’s theory of the relation between things, to create “private-ness” as most adults there are comfortable being in their own zones like using their phones, talking to friends and looking around. Iteration one consists of most models but seem too enclosed. While visual play is being explored, play in this project is about embracing “private-ness” in the open space.

Adjacent Play Space

The proposed design works around existing circulation with visual play, movement, and interaction. Having natural lighting, there can be a play of colours that will reflect on the ground. The shapes hanging is an interactive installation, allowing to be pulled down or rotated while able for one to sit on it. This might make one feel more comfortable if they want to have a certain private physical boundary.

Retail Play

“Retail Play” This project leverages on the activeness in teenagers to create an interactive experience with the displayed products. Located in 313 Somerset, Level 1 and 1M, for the fashion brand, Bershka, the design centers on the idea of decentralisation. Bershka is about fashionable colours, contemporary furniture designs, and for it positions itself for adventurous young people who are aware of the latest trends, music and social networks.

Retail Play

Observations of consumers were made, and models were presented on how products can be interacted differently. The circular shape is chosen as the final as it is more cohesive with boundless circulation as compared to rigid fluidity, and there can be interaction with both merchandise and forms.

Retail Play

Being a retail space, play in this project is interactivity. Although being able to see the merchandise from afar, there might be a gap between the levels that forces them to figure out how to get there. The coloured areas indicate fitting rooms, rails, and a platform for the products.

Retail Play

With decentralisation, all the non-load bearing walls and the mezzanine level were removed to create one space. Similar to model 7, the levels allow one to figure how to get to certain products. Fitting rooms are incorporated throughout the forms so that consumers do not need to carry so many items all the way to fitting rooms at the end of the shop like most do.

Retail Play

Products are placed on different heights, materials, and colours to engage consumers. These platforms blur the line of a resting space and an area for merchandises.

Retail Play

Lights of different colours, shine from the grout of the surfaces giving it vibrancy. The different levels allow one to explore where they want to go next.

Retail Play

Tablets are provided for consumers to look at the merchandise all at once at the entrance. Similar to model 8, this spiral allows a clearer view of the merchandises on the red rail and green display.

Retail Play

A workshop area is found at the corner of the left, while the right has an alteration area and seating at the front for the seasonal fashion show. During the fashion show, models will be coming from all areas and have a runway at the empty space in the middle.

Retail Play

Similar to model 9, the extruded circle serves not only as a platform as there is different heights. The left shows an area for evening dresses while the right shows the alteration area, with the fitting rooms on the extruded platform.

The In-Between

A simple Question of Inhabitation: What would happen in that in-between space between modern corporate shops and traditional strata shops? How would the audience from each typology interact with one another? How would the intended program in the in-between space turn out? The in-between space isn't solely owned by either party. A no man's land.

Corporate

Elevation 1 of the intended proposed design of the In-Between space.

Strata

Elevation 2 of the intended proposed design of the In-Between space.

Changing Home

A simple Question of Inhabitation: Shouldn't space be determined by the play and inhabitation of the users rather than the play and inhabitation of the users to be determined by the space layout? Boundaries and Territories are always referred to as built-in and rigid structures. Boundaries and Territories should be easily moved around to cater to the ever-changing needs of the audience.

Changing Home- An Axo

An axonometric overview of the intended proposed design.

Kitchen

A movable kitchen wall/cabinet that can extend the use of the kitchen and dining space or to minimize it in order to use the extra space for other activities.

Gym & Art

Likewise a movable gym wall/cabinet acts as a door for two rooms, and when not in use can be extended to facilitate gym and art activities.

Collage of Model Exploration

The first project aims to challenge the idea of slowness in a fast-paced transitional space. Here is a collage of form exploration to explore how the repetition of forms slow down the users of a space.

Collage of Materiality Exploration

A collage of exploration using different types of translucent and transparent materials to incorporate in the space.

Line Drawing of Intervention

Atelier Bow-Wow inspired line drawing of the installation design of the ceiling incorporated in the transit area.

Slowness in a Transitional Space

The final image depicts how the ceiling installation would look like. It may seem like fabric or a dreamscape to some; it allows users of the space to imagine and ponder what the design could be and to appreciate the materiality at the same time.

Passage of Time

A conceptual representation of how the lighting condition will be throughout the whole day. The lighting mimics the movement of the sun during the day, creating a different experience within the same space.

Exploration of Textures and Patterns

The second project is to create a homestay within the context of a Housing Development Board flat in Singapore as a temporal pause from the busyness of everyday life. Plaster casting that explores different textures and patterns The intention is to create textures that attempt to speak of the passage of time throughout the day.

Re-arrangement of Spaces

The walls of the space are reorganised to have the living spaces in the middle. This creates a longer walkway for users to slow down their pace. Panels with different degrees of translucency are added to offer privacy and invoke curiosity as one walks through the corridor space.

Conceptual Model of framing and materiality.

A model exploration using framing as well as different degrees of transparency to slow users within the space. By using framing and translucent materials, it allows users to be cautious, but allowing exploration within the space. This creates different experiences as well as different views one can experience within the same space.

Sectional Elevation of the Home-Stay

Sectional elevation view that shows different degrees of transparency and wooden panels that offers privacy as well as invokes a sense of curiosity for users in the space.

Corridor Space

The corridor view when one interacts with the translucent washi paper. It offers privacy as well as invokes a sense of curiosity for users in the space.

To Rest and Ponder

Small pods for users to sit ponder and rest as well.

Different Degrees of Translucency

The bedroom where fluted glass panels are placed to offer privacy as well as to continue creating different degrees of translucency throughout the space.

Layering of Spaces

A small garden is placed in the middle, separating both living spaces.

Function, aesthetics and construction

Throughout history, the triad of aspects corresponding to function, aesthetics and construction has been proposed as the fundamental components in design, from Vitruvius to various contemporary authors. This year-long research, titled 'Optimal design: function, aesthetics and construction', builds upon these theoretical underpinnings, and through a series of exercises, this idea is investigated and clarified within the context of interior design. The lobby-seating area of SIT@TP was chosen as the site.

Designing to the context

The optimality of the design to its context is explored. For example, in 'Project 1: Function', a 'double-decker' strategy (shown on the left) may be better when there is space constraints, while a flexible programme and capacity may require collapsible furniture (shown on the right).

Finding the context

Factors, such as the pedestrian flow or circulation of the site, largely influence its function. In this case, the circulation reaffirms that the site is heart of the building. Thus, it may serve as a kind of landmark as one of its main function.

Functional design explorations

The circular design is explored, which conveys the centrality of the space, and contrasts against the straight lines of the building. Refinements are made on the basis of the functional concerns – its primary uses (programmes, activities and users), comfort (such as privacy, access and noise) and safety.

Spatial arrangement

Atelier-Bow-Wow style perspective plan of the design.

Aesthetics

In 'Project 2: Aesthetics', the design is approached first as a kind of sculpture or art before dealing with functional concerns. Through collages like this, the atmosphere of the space and the visual composition can be quickly explored. For the site, the quiet and darker study and resting area is contrasted with the brighter and more busy lobby area.

Aesthetics design explorations

Through understanding the formal visual language of the existing building, the new design can be conceived as the continuation of a visual composition of the whole gestalt. Different aesthetics forms can be produced based on the formal language, although they are functionally similar.

Modular furniture

A modular approach may be interesting, where the furniture can be arranged to form many different seating configurations.

Different arrangements of furniture

Physical models exploring the modular furniture configurations.

Track details

Exploration of how the modular furniture can be moved along a track. In A, a metal floor strip provides only visual feedback on where it should be. In B, a custom-extruded strip provides a small slope along the edges, allowing the furniture to slide more easily into its track. In C, a wheel-and-grove design enables users themselves to easily reconfigure the furniture arrangements, although more maintenance may be required.