Chance, Luck and Accident at The Substation

Opens this Friday at The Substation

SUTD Logo + Infographics

Random find at SUTD's makeshift campus at Dover. Unfortunately, did not find anything else besides the toilet signs. Looking forward to their new campus at Changi, assuming they have some big plans on their infographics system.

Unprecedented New High - 14 characters

After endless mountains and rivers that leave doubt of any path ahead, one suddenly encounters the shade of a willow, bright flowers and a lovely village.

Special Lecture in Tokyo

Looks like a really awesome lecture. Would love to be there: “The Perspective of Type Designers” at Akihabara, Tokyo on July 2nd, 2013

Twilight Chinese + Italic

So, Twilight has a potential Chinese sibling, the italic (one so far) looks like a sure way to kill myself. Well done to have successfully distracted myself to another never-to-be-finished project. Kill the eyes and feed the soul.

Twilight Ligatures

Week one in school was pretty rough. Today is a beautiful Saturday. I need to take stock of my overdue work such as Twilight. The ligatures are obviously looking as lost and bewildered as ever. There are still some design elements I have not come into terms with. Perhaps releasing the uprights will make the goal more achievable...I will make a date with you again this Christmas.

End of Vacation

Tomorrow begins a new semester and I am glad to have spend a good deal of 'me' time. Never give up on the hope on spending more time with my type babies though!

Crafting Type in SG (17-19 June 2013)

Crafting Type was in SG for three days. It was such a treat to open up Fontlab after such a long pause. Awesome time spent even if it means I have started on something I probably cannot finish *again* On hindsight, the name of this face will start with the letter 'U' :D

Can we have a more vibrant typography presence in SG?

This is for those who ever thought about the above.

Making a typeface required more than a creative spark, in fact, it requires more mental stamina in the laborious process of conceptualizing and orchestrating a family of glyphs into a relevant communication. Not to mention the engineering behind the usability and the marketing behind the accessibility that completes the final product.

But what happens when your environment lacks that infrastructure to allow you to be part of the process? Does that deprive you of no chance to ever contribute and be part of a vibrant exciting font industry of ever-advancing technology in multi-script, super-families that is burgeoning out there? So what kind of meaningful role can a designer play in order to contribute effectively and be part of the font-making industry?

In my opinion, font shopping.

Practice makes perfect. Shopping takes experience, time and knowing thy needs. I am sure Singaporeans at large can resonate with this. We shop enough not only to bring in the biggest brands into the country, we also brand ourselves as a shopping hub for our neighbors with no substantial home brands to begin with.

Life is short. Let's not dwell on what we do not have in the ideal model of a sustainable creative industry. Designers have to invest in their self-education to know what to shop for, whom to shop with, share reviews on their shopping experience and in turn share their favorite design, designers and foundries. It is only through the process of using the fonts that you gain an inner perspectives in the design and usability of the product. And that is only then when you can (at least) be part of a larger conversation that is taking place 'out-there'.

Take heed to uphold the professionalism and copyrights of the products you use. In short, the choice of creating a 'more vibrant typography presence in SG' lies in your hands.

“The world appears to be stagnate only because you are.”

@cupooftea

Never knew I would get into it but it's a great tool. Way more guerrilla and spirited!@cupooftea

What is Transmedia?

I was privileged to have attended a Transmedia storytelling masterclass conducted by Kate McCallum, in conduction with the Asia Festival of Children's Content Media Summit in Singapore. Details of the masterclass can be found here .

I had a hazy picture of what Transmedia was about and was not exactly motivated to do my 'homework' with the advertisement-cluttered website. In short, it was one of those 'stumbled-upon-gold-when-least-expected' moment.

In a nutshell (not that I am an expert now), Transmedia is immersive storytelling with content re-contextualized across platforms and cultures. A potentially ambitious and powerful one if you have a right concoction. In fact, the biggest non-fiction transmedia project to-date is the Obama campaign. Transmedia is as relevant in entertainment and branding or in education and learning and basically anything that has the potential of creating meaningful engagements with the target audience.

The video on Convergence Culture by Henry Jenkins basically sets the context of transmedia. I find the following words particularly exciting: 1:45.

"Convergence culture is a world where every story, sound, brand, image, relationship plays itself out across the maximum number of media channels, It is shaped as much by the decisions made in teenagers better than it is by the decisions made in the Viacom boardroom." - Henry Jenkins

More on Transmedia, case-studies and moving forward with a sustainable industry.

In all, the biggest affirmation is that collaboration is ever more imperative in order for each specialist to shine. We should all work towards the whole than the sum of parts.

Gorgeous Bilingual Union

I am totally in love with how foreign identities can come together and form such a beautiful and clever union. My hopeless admiration ended up in my own rendition of it ❤ ❤ ❤

Gizoogle _______ ← (Thy name)

Here is a little trivia to make up for the long absence.Gizoogle Winnie Tan

Economizing Chinese Characters

This is so mad cool! Economizing Chinese characters through hybridization. Strange but totally readable. Weird cute. Source: 田田圈文創工作群

Of 红楼梦, 美的觉醒 with 衫蒲爷爷& his 福禄寿 friends...

Just as I am in the midst of figuring out《红楼梦》if I am reading the 古本 or 通行本version, (read more on 《红楼梦》：古本和通行本的故事), I was also reading《美的觉醒》。I realized 蒋勋 probably read the 通行本 when he made a mention in one of the chapters that 贾宝玉 is a reincarnation from the celestial stone... Other sources like this states “賈寳玉由神瑛侍者脱胎而成”. Regardless, my latest fascination is figuring who reads what version of 《红楼梦》, and to figure that out from one of my favorite authors, I simply thought it's pretty cool. One can make a career out of 《红楼梦》and be known as a 红学家. And this gorgeous screen is some findings from some 红学家 about original readings from the 古本.

Finally I am done with《衫蒲康平于亚洲同人的对话-亚洲之书／文字／设计》. Apart from my previous mention, I think I am able to appreciate the Indian designers more than fellow North Asians. Nevertheless, the Indians never fail to impress me with their obsession of their mythical beliefs which is deeply engraved in all aspects of their lives, which in this case, book design. Also, if anyone were to assume the grid systems originate from the west, think again!

Behing the Scenes: Twilight work-in-progress

Prelude to 2013.

Art of Art

My first showcase (with fellow colleagues) in Singapore at The Substation from 4-12 Jan 2013. More pictures on FB.