Brief Explanation

As the design is so elaborate, crafting the posters took a huge amount of effort, just like the original Peranakan craftsmanship we were emulating. We wanted the designs to look totally authentic. So inordinate amounts of time and effort were spent to ensure our designs accurately reflected the spirit of Peranakan design and was faithful to it right down to the very last detail.

The Brief

Penang is one of the most historic destinations in Asia. Its rich heritage is a unique fusion of Chinese and Malay cultures. Penang Global Tourism asked us to capture this uniqueness with a series of print ads and posters. They wanted something which would accurately position the destination as 'unlike any other'. Remarkable for its richness of arts, crafts, traditions and customs. They wanted the whole look and feel of the designs to reflect this.

How the final design was conceived

We visited the city extensively, spending days walking its historic streets, visiting museums, galleries, temples and other cultural sites. There were many unique objects in the museums which were very beautiful and distinctive and defined the culture in an iconic way. We used these as the starting point for the design. The whole campaign evolved from this. The base for the entire feel was based on the beauty of Peranakan design.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

The posters were first displayed at the Shanghai tourist expo in March and attracted a great deal of interest. They were 3 metres high and made a huge impression in the exhibition hall. Many people commented on the beauty of the designs. The ads are also running in other poster and print media and will run in Europe and the US over the course of the year. It’s too early to gauge accurate results so far but the client feels they will be hugely successful in branding Penang as an original and iconic tourist destination.