THEIR PAST: A PRESENT FOR OUR FUTURE

TitleTHEIR PAST: A PRESENT FOR OUR FUTURE
BrandPIONEER GENERATION OFFICE SINGAPORE
Product / ServiceCOMMEMORATIVE BOOK
CategoryC02. Typography
Entrant3-SIXTY BRAND COMMUNICATIONS Singapore, SINGAPORE
Entrant Company 3-SIXTY BRAND COMMUNICATIONS Singapore, SINGAPORE
Advertising Agency 3-SIXTY BRAND COMMUNICATIONS Singapore, SINGAPORE

Credits

Name Company Position
Stephen Choy 3-Sixty Brand Communications Executive Director
Cindy Tay 3-Sixty Brand Communications Client Service Director
Daphnie Chong 3-Sixty Brand Communications Associate Account Director
Jacinta Ratnam 3-Sixty Brand Communications Account Executive
David Khong 3-Sixty Brand Communications Creative Director
Stanley Ho 3-Sixty Brand Communications Senior Art Director
Collin Kam 3-Sixty Brand Communications Senior Copywriter

Brief Explanation

The Pioneer Generation Office wanted to produce commemorative book featuring 50 stories from the Pioneers. The book's objective was to firstly celebrate the Pioneers for what they've done for Singapore, and also let readers of all ages understand and appreciate the Pioneers more.

The Brief

This year, Singapore celebrates its 50th year of independence with yearlong nationwide events known as "SG50". One of the key policies under the SG50 banner was a programme to render financial aid to a generation of citizens known as "Pioneers" – those born before 1950 who lived through Singapore's tough formative years (the 1950s to 1970s). The outreach to these Pioneers was spearheaded by the Pioneer Generation Office, whose task was not just to educate the Pioneers on the details of the financial aid, but also to appreciate and celebrate them for all they have contributed to the country.

How the final design was conceived

Being a government publication should not mean being boring. Despite being about people aged 66 and up, we wanted the book to be read even by teenagers. It would not be just the content that engaged readers, but also the stunning delivery. Typography was a major feature of the book’s design. The words in the book weren’t just characters, but precious memories and stories from lives gone by. As such, every story was designed to be individual works of art, capturing the themes and messages in each story. The book itself was not designed just to be read, but to be touched. The covers were made up of three layers, each continuing and enhancing the message of the previous layer. Each of the 4 chapter title pages also provided additional visual and tactile interactivity. The overall result was to bring the book’s contents to life. Instead of article after article of template-defined text, each page took on a design (and life) of its own.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

The book gave much-needed modernism and vigour to the image of the Pioneer Generation Office. It moved the emphasis away from simply taking care of Singapore's oldest generation to celebrating and appreciating them.