Singapore
Place Branding
Brief
This individual university brief asked students to create a new brand identity for a place
Credits
Russell Lee
Lyndal Harris (university studio leader)
What I did
Brand identity
Place branding
When
2024
Awards
2024 AGDA Student Brand Finalist
It’s not what you think it is: a brand that celebrates the real culture of Singapore for both locals and tourists
For this project, I chose to brand the country of Singapore.
When people hear the word Singapore, they often think of “no chewing gum in public” or “it’s not really that democratic, is it?” Many quickly jump to a negative impression of Singapore—and while it does have its faults, it certainly has many things to celebrate as a nation.
Singapore’s current brand identity does little to showcase its eclectic people and culture. Instead, this branding aims to harmonize Singapore’s diverse mix of peoples, cultures, and religions under one recognizable visual language. At the centre of the identity is the smiling red dot, inspired by Singapore’s nickname as the “little red dot” in a world of much larger countries.
Designed for government communications, the visual system can adapt to meet the various needs a nation faces—whether it be aiding local wayfinding or guiding foreigners on Singaporean social and public practices with the help of the smiling red mascot.
Furthermore, the Noto Sans typeface enables the brand to communicate in all four national languages—and beyond!
Revisiting this project, I refined the typography. Additionally, championing red as the primary color and ensuring the red circle remains well contextualised—rather than being an isolated element—helps distinguish it from being mistaken as a Japanese brand identity.
An airport poster that visualises how central Singapore is for travelling anywhere.