Here is one more thing to be excited about this SG50.
Brand Guide: Singapore Edition rounds up the iconic homegrown brands that attest to the current golden age of design in Singapore.
Conceived by local design think-tank studio, Foreign Policy Design Group, this publication goes in-depth, featuring the brains behind some of Singapore’s most well-known and well-loved brands, such as Unlisted Collection:, The Lo & Behold Group, Papa Palheta, Ong Shunmugam, GOODSTUPH, DrGL, Supermama, BooksActually, and Plain Vanilla.
Doubling as an alternative travel guide for the modern design traveller, Brand Guide: Singapore Edition hopes to share their appreciation for local brands and to inspire that in their readers.
Deftly balancing visuals and content, Brand Guide: Singapore Edition is a substantial read that captures the creative labours that have gone into the making of the 17 brands featured. Anchored by the core featured brands – Unlisted Collection:, The Lo & Behold Group and Papa Palheta, Foreign Policy Design Group sought to create a well-designed guide.
Each brand and design report about the respective businesses are crafted from first-hand accounts, chatting with the respective head honchos and their designers who are responsible for the brands to ensure both style and substance are duly delivered.
Incorporating words of wisdom straight from the horse’s mouth, the reports are personable and relatable, surmising the handwork and pointers the brand owners have chosen to share with the readers.
This meticulous documentation of the creative inspiration and design processes, filled with takeaways and anecdotes capturing successes and failures, is presented in an accessible manner – easily understood by the everyday man or anyone with a fledging interest in design.
The timing of the guide coincides with a design renaissance in Singapore, which Foreign Policy Design Group’s co-founder and creative director Yah-Leng Yu observed:
The last few years has seen a proliferation of interesting shops, restaurants, hotels, and more. We feel that our current generation, being more discerning and informed, now appreciates and understands the importance of design and branding… This has also given rise to a new breed of entrepreneurs who are changing the local landscape — designers are given more freedom to create better work; work that is different. It’s a two-way street: both designs and brands are elevated. We see it as a win-win.
This is the first guide of its kind by Foreign Policy Design Group, putting Singapore on the global design road map. The group hopes to take this endeavour overseas and produce future editions that will document and feature leading brands and designers in other cities around the globe.
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Brand Guide: Singapore Edition can be purchased for SGD$50 at Basheer and BooksActually, or online at www.thebrandguide.com (+ SGD$5 shipping fee).
