Asher Wen

Strategist, Marketer, Nerd

Logo Design for NUS STEER

Logo design for NUS STEER
NUS STEER Logo Design

This was a logo that I designed for the inaugural NUS Study Trip for Engagement and Enrichment to the Middle-East.  I was part of the first team to go for a business study trip under this programme, and the International Relations Office requested for a logo to be designed for the it.

Design Concept

I was really inspired by the geometry and symmetry in Middle East architecture for this particular logo.  The Muslims believe that we can see a part of Allah in the beauty of nature, and express this in geometry in Islamic architecture.  I got the idea of an octagon from a water feature that I came across while researching more about the Middle East.

Word Mark

The word mark was designed to bring focus to the acronym for the lengthy title of the programme: “STEER”.  Audiences could easily make out the word from afar, and the title of the programme was more informative rather than meant to be read out.

Colour

The color for the logo was inspired by the desert sands of the Middle East, and the corporate colour of NUS. I had the concept of cultural exchange being a mingling of these two distinct groups into one distinctive identity.

The grey of “STEER” brings out the strength and rigour that was intended for the programme.

The trip was eventually featured in the national newspapers, The Straits Times, with the banner I designed.  So proud!

Design: The People’s Church Camp

This particular project was an enriching lesson for me as a freelance designer. This was for a friend’s church without much prior knowledge of the church or what the camp was about.  On hindsight, I would have saved myself a lot of pain – both from murdering my own designs and from endless back-and-forth’s of the design.  The client did not have a clear idea on what direction he wanted either, other than the fact that he wanted the key bible verse to be in the design:

“Ask and it shall be given, seek and you shall find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you”

Looking back, it would have helped a lot if I had even just understood more about the demographics of the church to know what kind of tone they would be more inclined towards, or even what sort of message the church had that could be interpreted into the design.

Although the process was certainly quite arduous in my opinion, I definitely gained invaluable lessons from it.

Read further to see the visual process.
[Read more…]

Sesame Street’s Old Spice Spoof

Sesame Street has come up with a spoof of the Old Spice advertisement that had a runaway success with social media masses.  The original advertisement starring Isaiah Mustafa has gained up to millions of hits in a matter of hours it was released, becoming an instant hit.

Sesame Street’s Social Media Strategy

Sesame Street has done an amazing job at reinventing itself beyond the typical kids’ show. They realise that beyond the children, there is an increasing market of teenagers and young adults who have watched Sesame Street as a kid, and still love the characters. The content that is posted is consistently relevant, child-friendly, yet still enjoyable to older audiences.

It’s amazing how a children’s show can educate kids beyond the alphabet, teaching them current affairs such as the American mid-term elections, and also about the things around them, such as this video about Apple’s App Store. Not to mention the myriad of videos made based on popular culture such as the Old Spice commercial, Katy Perry, and more recently, Willow Smith’s I Whip My Hair Back and Forth

All these are part of Sesame Street’s attempt at remaining relevant to their key target audience – children, and also to target secondary audiences – parents.  In this day and age where social media proliferates and takes up most of the time of the younger generation, the television-only business model is slowly being eroded.  Businesses, even entertainment, would need to reinvent themselves to stay on the radar of their target audiences.

If they keep this up, Sesame Street would definitely still go on strong many years to come.

Momentos by LG Portugal – Marketing through social media

Advertisements are moving away from merely stating the impressive specifications of products or showing how cool stuff look. Marketers are looking at how to alter the perceived experience that consumers have with the product, and the image that the overall brand portrays.

What LG Portugal tried to do here was to show that LG brings the family together behind a TV Screen in quite a literal sense.  The story is about how a homeless man is shown a clip of his child and their reunion at the end of the ad.

The advertisement highlights the key product proposition of LG televisions without explicitly lauding the benefits as other advertisements would.  Instead, it shows the audience the ability of the TV to garner different viewers and the emotional appeal that it has.

Social Media Marketing

Such a video is really only possible through social media, where the low-cost of content publishing versus television ads means that agencies can develop a full story with a strong emotional hook without the cost that would come with traditional advertising.

The video is also clearly targeting the social media masses by creating a strong, compelling story that is both ‘sharable’ and can be a talking point on the social networks, creating a bigger impact than a short TV commercial, thus giving LG a higher ROI.  What’s more, videos online tend to have a much longer shelf-life as compared to TV ads.

Growing trend

The trend of creating viral videos for social media networks is an increasing trend that will not abate in a while, with TV ads becoming obsolete today as consumers can choose to tune out at will.  Companies would have to continually find new and interesting ways to engage their customers if they hope to get their message out.

Design of Nanyang Kayak Racing Team Shirt

Design of NYKRT T-ShirtDesign of NYKRT T-Shirt

One of the very first design projects that I have ever done, the Nanyang Kayak Racing Team shirt was something very personal to my heart. This was mainly because the people I cared deeply for in my CCA would be wearing it, and winning competitions with this shirt.

Looking back, the design was not the best that I have ever done, but it was a stronger validation for my design that any else that I would face in the future. This was what I had to say when it first came to print:

I have the feeling of birthing.   The feeling of delight when one sees the product of his creative energy.  The Kayak Racing Team tee is out! I only designed the back. The front is totally the effort of our dear Audrey. But would you look at that?! I’ve had this design for 3 years and finally it’s out in print!! And everyone on the team would wear it. I feel for the first time, proud!