ADM Travelling Show 2020

2020

Each year, the NTU School of Art, Design and Media in Singapore organises the ADM Show, an exhibition that showcases the works of the graduating artist and designers from the BFA Media Art and Design Art programmes.

In a year where COVID-19 has rendered most physical experiences impossible, the show was inevitable cancelled in the midst of a nationwide lockdown. The challenge for us, was how do we design a solution to organise and showcase the wide-ranging work of 160 multi-disciplinary students whose practices span Digital Animation, Filmmaking, Photography, Visual Communication, Product Design, and Interactive Media? On top of that, how do we present their works to an important group of audience (leading creative industry experts and possible future employers) in an engaging way that has traditionally been showcased via a physical exhibition?

We conceived the notion of a travelling show; a package that contains all of the student works presented in various fashions according to what best-allowed viewers a unique experience regardless of the medium of choice.

Accolades
Red Dot Design Awards 2021 (Brands & Communication Design) – Best of the Best
2021 Art Director's Club Awards (Brand/Communication Design) – Bronze
DNA Paris Design Awards 2021 (Graphic Design/Communication Design)– Winner

In an age whereby print continues its decline, it was imperative for us to design a piece that breathed emotional tactility whilst exemplifying the beauty and power of print; one that would emotionally connect with viewers and buck the trend whereby every event and social engagement has literally gone digital. The travelling show employs the concept of 'Unseen to Seen', as the graduating cohort seek to bring to light multiple perspectives and hidden entities through their creative works. The concept ties into the broad spectrum of how creativity acts as a beacon in such difficult times to offers new insight and renewed ambition.

The notion of bringing creativity to people was also a guiding principle for our design approach. The travelling show cover was designed to have a strong graphic and textural impact in response to a year that felt unrelenting in its intensity. Using the flocking technique, we intentionally obscured the manifesto of the graduating cohort against a backdrop of a bold, neon orange cover, further emphasising on the concept of bringing to light the 'Unseen to Seen'. Upon opening of the package, one would encounter a full black on black interior, marked by an eye-catching vacuumed formed interior, which spells out the show title. Juxtaposing this are six individual packages, which are crafted with a multitude of print techniques that best showcased the nature of the disciplines.

Thoughts on Paint and Canvas

2020

Thoughts on Paint and Canvas is a collaborative project with artist Jane Lee which traces her early experiments with paint that traverse the domains of installation and sculpture. Featuring miniature study pieces exploring the materiality of paint and canvas that she created from 2002-2017, they are accompanied by the artist's notes that highlight her developments at different stages of her practice.

A luxurious burgundy leather jacket with the title set in gold lends an elegant tone for the retrospective’s spare but contemporary layout, comprised of full-bleed pages and spreads. Presented like an artist's sketchbook, it also provides us a glimpse into Lee's processes which have led to the realisation of her signature large-scaled works.

This limited edition artist book is produced in conjunction with the exhibition Reformations: Painting in Post 2000 Singapore Art at the ADM Gallery, 18 Jan – 16 April 2019.

ADM Prospectus 17/18

2017

The annual NTU School of Art Design & Media prospectus publication takes on a different format this year as it prepares its first intake of students under the new structure of its undergraduates programme.

We designed a multi-layered, blind embossed cover to symbolise what we describe as a synergy of creativity; a reflection of the school’s merger of its six majors into two new big umbrellas: Design Art & Media Art. As a nod to the spiral architecture of the school, the multi-layered cover when closed transform from blue to red as it dwelves into the introduction of the school and the new programmes.

HASS Graduate Programme

2017

The College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (HASS) at NTU, Singapore, is a growing academic community, home to about 5,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students. Ranked among Asia’s finest, it has a strong team of diverse faculty members from well over 30 countries, dedicated to achieving excellence in both research and education.

While disciplinary expertise remains critical, the College encourages interdisciplinary explorations that promise to break new ground and expand its intellectual horizons. Engagement with society is closely aligned with research in HASS. We designed speech bubbles as a main visual element as a nod to the conversations and collaborations that contributes to personal development and the flourishing of ideas. The multi-tiered interior of the brochure also symbolise the multi-faceted nature of the school’s programmes.

Swedish Dads

2017

Swedish Dads is a photo exhibition organised by the Swedish Embassy in Singapore, based on portraits of fathers who choose to stay home with their babies for at least six months. Photographer Johan Bävman examines why these fathers have chosen to stay home with their children, what the experience has given them, and how their relationship with both their partners and their children has changed as a result. The exhibition, held at DECK Singapore, aims to show the effects of gender equality in parenting on both individuals and society.

Sea State

2016

SEA STATE is an exhibition by artist Charles Lim Yi Yong, commissioned for the Singapore Pavilion for the 56th Venice Biennale and presented at the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore. For over a decade, Lim’s ongoing project SEA STATE examines the biophysical, political and psychic contours of Singapore through the visible and invisible lenses of the sea. SEA STATE is an in-depth inquiry that scrutinises both man-made systems, opening new perspectives on our everyday surroundings, from unseen landscapes and disappearing islands to the imaginary boundaries of a future landmass.

We took inspiration from this to design the exhibition branding, which is applied across all environmental graphics and print collaterals.

CCA Quarterly

2016

Located in Gillman Barracks, the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore (NTU CCA Singapore) is a national research centre of Nanyang Technological University and is supported by a grant from the Economic Development Board, Singapore. The Centre is unique in its threefold constellation of exhibitions, residencies, research and academic education. The NTU CCA Singapore positions itself as a space for critical discourse and encourages new ways of thinking about Spaces of the Curatorial in Southeast Asia and beyond. As a research centre, it aims to provide visiting researchers and curators a comprehensive study on the contemporary art ecosystem in Singapore and the region. The Centre’s dynamic public programmes serve to engage with various audiences through lectures, workshops, open studios, film screenings and Exhibition (de)Tours.

We were tasked to design the quarterly(s) for 2016, a set of brochures launched every three months to highlight the ongoing events and activities going on in the centre. Set in an accordion fold, its grid system allows the viewer to easily locate activities and programmes they are interested in based on dates and venues. We also specially designed a taller than usual insert for the public programmes to draw people’s attention to it.

Edition Ltd

2015

Edition Limited is a multi-faceted, multi-disciplinary, platform that constantly evolves and re-invents, coupled with a strong belief that through innovation, every Edition will be a new version and improvement from before.

The Edition brand mark is the culmination of stability and innovation. It is centred around a bold square which suggests rigour and discipline while encapsulating a constant development based off a strong platform. To further reflect the company’s innovative and multi-faceted nature, the lines of the square grows and evolves to resemble an abstract diamond shape, opening it up to various interpretations; it resembles values such as Quality, Imagination & Fulfilment.

The concept is further leveraged by combining the brand mark with a bold typographic stack which allows for future add ons of subsidiary brands, emphasising the brand’s potential from constant innovation and evolvement.

The Singapore Story

2015

Seeing Singapore’s past through art

The Singapore Story is exactly that: about Singapore’s past through art depicting the lives of its people and conditions from the time of the island’s founding by Stamford Raffles in 1819 to its present state as a global city. Visitors will be brought back in time through these paintings and video presentations of lost images, the various stages of life in Singapore – the slumps, the simple life, hawkers peddling food on the streets, going to the markets in Chinatown, bump boats lining the Singapore River and the filth and unpaved roads all over the island. Sanitation was lacklustre and as such, diseases such as malaria, measles and other infectious diseases were very prevalent. Health care was very basic. Infant mortality rates were high and life expectancy rates were capped in the 60s.

These visual memories and videos of decades long ago will open a window for the younger generation to reflect on where we’ve come from and inspiration for what lies ahead in the future.

With over 200 artworks displayed, the environmental graphics was focused on conveying a coherent narrative throughout the exhibition. We adopted a bold venture to use two contrasting typefaces for the exhibition title in the words ‘The Story‘ and ‘Singapore‘. This was inspired by how every single artwork was a recollection, a scene, a remembrance, or an image depicting a particular period of Singapore’s history. The typeface and colour choices was extended throughout the various section titles and descriptive texts to ensure a comfortable consistency and balance in the message.

ADM Show 2015

2015

What do we see when a ball is travelling through the air or rolling across a surface? Some may marvel at the effortless grace with which a simple object moves through space and time, but for most of us, a ball in motion is an ordinary occurrence bound by the laws of physics.

But it is more than that. The ball achieves momentum, gains speed, passes by and through the pressures that could slow it down or bring it to a halt. It becomes greater than a simple shape – it’s a circle, a wheel, a cell, an atom, an organism. It takes flight, it clashes and connects with others, and through that friction gains strength, intensity and direction. It is projected into the world; its reach and potential amplified.

This arc parallels the journey that students undertake at the School of Art, Design and Media (ADM). The pathway of the ball is a symbol of their growth and the amplification of their potential, which is showcased during the annual ADM show.

admgradshow.com

AWARD(S)

DFA Design For Asia Awards 2016 (DFA 亚洲最具影响力设计奖) – Bronze

This year, the show’s identity uses a bold, deconstructed hybrid logotype, complemented with the image of a ball that projects the title of the exhibition. While the ball symbolises the possibilities of student potential, the letters in the typographic stack evoke dynamism and vibrancy. Between the division of lines and planes, the message behind the logo is simple: to project creative talent into the world – as our graduates will when they complete the final stage of their journey through ADM.