Buta Huruf is a contemporary Jawi typeface inspired by the calligraphic styles of early Jawi publications in Singapore.
In an increasingly connected world, we have a wider access to different languages that are present to us in contexts in which we are unfamiliar with. This is especially true for languages that do not use the Latin script such as Jawi, the writing system for the Malay language. Despite Singaporeans’ familiarity with the Malay language, rarely do we see the usage of Jawi in daily life with the Rumi script being the official script. This absence is extended to type design, a realm in which Jawi is often overlooked. As a multilingual designer, I wanted to explore Jawi typography, a non-Latin script to design for the writing system with regards to its unique identity and as a way to gain a further understanding of my own cultural heritage.
An experiment on non-conventional printed narratives and storytelling. Adopting traits of ergodic literature, it is a fictional graphic novel/cookbook whose narratives are unravelled through recipes, journals, emails and game(s). As an ergodic, experimental text, it requires the reader to explore the various visuals, texts and formats to fully discover the narrative.
The story follows an unidentified creature seeking to impress a cashier by writing a cookbook, of which the book details its journey in writing the cookbook.
Thirst is a 3-part photobook telling the story of water abstraction. As someone who grew up in a small city with little to no nature to explore, I often feel a sense of alienation towards the world I live in. I wanted to expolore the journey of how something once revered like the ocean has ended up as a lifeless product flowing through our pipes and taps.
‘Get cracking’ means to get started with something quickly. With Singapore’s fast-paced lifestyle, we often forget to fully immerse ourselves in the moment, thus overlooking the little joys in life. Even the act of eating might become a mindless activity, where people rush to finish their meals to continue on with their bustling lives, without savouring the food they are consuming. In Singapore, with the advent of convenience foods or processed foods, and the growing prioritisation of careers and academics in families, there is a decline of home cooking, and children have fewer opportunities to be involved in cooking and planning their meals. Cooking becomes a chore and a hindrance, and people increasingly turn to eating out or taking away food.
Let’s Get Crackin’ seeks to spark joy and interest in food and cooking in children, and help them get in touch with food, using a fun, creative and mindful approach. It comprises an illustrated step-by-step recipe book with engaging activities and educational information that aims to build healthy and joyful relationships with food, together with a kit containing cooking tools and items that would ease children into getting started in their food and cooking journey.