Modern Design, Modern Nation
On the role of design in supporting Singapore's industrialisation and modernisation
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Becoming Modern by Design (2021)by Justin Zhuang for BiblioAsia (January–March 2021)
A history of Singapore’s first formal national school for applied arts design, the Baharuddin Vocational Institute. It was set up in 1968 and has since become part of Temasek Polytechnic.
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Becoming Modern by Design: Modernist Graphic Design’s Nation-building Role in Singapore, 1960s–1980s (2021)by Justin Zhuang for the School of Visual Arts
A video lecture examining how the rise of modernist graphic design in Singapore from the 1960s to the 1980s was part of a larger nation-building agenda.
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Between the Lines: Early Advertising in Singapore (2018)by National Library Board
Catalogue accompanying an exhibition on the development of Singapore society as seen through its advertisements from the 1830s to 1960s.
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History and Current Status of Design in Singapore (2022—)by Leon Loh
An overview of the development of industrial and product design Singapore from the 1960s to 2020s.
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Fifty Years of Singapore Design [1965-2015] (2015—)by WY-TO for DesignSingapore Council
A commemorative exhibition featuring Singapore designs over the last five decades since its founding. The exhibition was refreshed in July 2019 and is a permanent showcase at the National Design Centre.
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Rise of Modernism in Singapore Photography, 1950s to 1980s: Aesthetic negotiation under an ethnic and national identity prism (2012)by Kong Yen Lin
Retracing the development of modern photography in Singapore alongside a period of nation-building between 1959 till the 1980s.
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Selling Dreams: Early Advertising in Singapore (2018—2019)by National Library Board
An exhibition exploring the development of Singapore society through its local advertising materials from the 1830s to 1960s.
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Theatres of Memory: Industrial Heritage of 20th Century Singapore (2021)by Loh Kah Seng, Alex Tan Tiong Hee, Koh Keng We, Tan Teng Phee and Juria Toramae for Ethos Books
A review of Singapore's early industrial years through the oral histories of its many workers.
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Transformal Role of Product Design in Singapore’s Transition to a Service Economy (2011—)by Peer M. Sathikh
A recount of the policies and subsequent actions related to design put in place in Singapore from the 1960s till the 2010s to transform a market-dependent economy into a service centered economy.