Everyday Singapore
On the design of commonplace things in the city of Singapore
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A Design of Its Time (2010)by Justin Zhuang for The Design Society Journal No. 00
A survey of the publication design of Singapore’s leading newspaper, The Straits Times, from 1959 – 2009.
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Between the Lines: Early Advertising in Singapore (2018)by National Library Board
Catalogue for an exhibition looking at the development of Singapore society as seen through its advertisements from the 1830s to 1960s.
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City of Memes (2011—2013)by Justin Zhuang
Popular memes about Singapore politics and current affairs collected between 2011 and 2013.
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Deriving Alternative Models to Script Harmonisation: The Case of Singapore's Multiscript Environment (2023)by Damien Chong Hou Yin
By analysing manuscripts, politics, cultural and historical contexts, this paper proposes that script harmonisation is a Eurocentric concept that was not originally practiced in multiscript environments such as Singapore. Although modern day graphic design and typographic education in Singapore follows Western models, many of the multiscript documents are designed with the implicit assumption that readers are bilingual. An observation of these documents and vernacular have led to the development of a new typographical phenomenon called Typographic Approximation, that is script-agnostic rather than latin-centric. From this phenomenon, the paper proposes a model which alternatives to script harmonisation can be derived.
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Rotis Revolution in My Head (2004)by Karen Huang of Manic Design
An investigation of the choice of Rotis for Singapore’s street signage.
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See this City's Voice (2009)by Justin Zhuang for Singapore Architect #251
On the typefaces found in the streets of Singapore and how they reflect the voice of the city.
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Selling Dreams: Early Advertising in Singapore (2018—2019)by National Library Board
An exhibition examining the development of Singapore society through its local advertising materials from the 1830s to 1960s.
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Singapore Gothic (2020)by Mark de Winne
An Instagram account of vernacular shopfront signage across Singapore.
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Singapore School Crests: The Stories Behind the Symbols (2013)by Justin Zhuang for the Singapore Memory Project
A survey of school crests in Singapore, examining how the evolution of their designs reflect changes in the city's education policies.
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Sign Language: Singapore’s Graphic Vernacular in Jalan Besar (2020)by Vikas Kailankaje
Retracing Singapore’s industrial past through the traditional shop signs that still line the footways of the Jalan Besar area. Originally published in By Design: SINGAPORE (2019).
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Stamping History (2018)by Justin Zhuang for BiblioAsia [January-March 2018]
How the establishment of the Stamp Advisory Committee in 1968 changed the face of Singapore stamps.
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Stamps of Singapore (1948—)by CS Philatelic Agency
A listing of stamps issued in Singapore stamp since 1948.
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Tape Measures (2020—2021)by Berny Tan
Crowdsourced photographs of tape designs used for social distancing measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The Forgotten Murals of Paya Lebar Airport (2021)by Dahlia Shamsuddin for BiblioAsia July-September 2021
An inside story on how the three large murals came to grace the walls of Singapore's former Paya Lebar Airport—and their disappearance.
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The Zouk Flyer Chronicles (2014)by Dawn Lim for The Design Society Journal "Anew"
A survey of ephemera designed for the pioneering discotheque Zouk since its establishment in the nineties.
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Vote for Me! (2011)by Justin Zhuang for The Design Society Journal No. 03
A survey of the ephemera produced by Singapore’s political parties for the General Elections in 2011.
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Where to Next? (2010)by Justin Zhuang for The Design Society Journal No. 01
Looking back at how the design of Singapore’s public transport information system has evolved since its modernisation in the 1970s.