Asher Wen

Strategist, Marketer, Nerd

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Mar 18 2013

Coherence.

I recently agreed to facilitate meetings for the Photography Club in my residential college in University.  At the end of our first session with the artist-in-residence, Samantha Tio, I asked for advice on how to make my photographs look coherent; like they belong to the same narrative.  Her reply was simple: “Use the same equipment”.

This is exactly the same way we achieve a consistent brand image and brand voice.

By using the same design elements such as fonts and colours, different parts of an organization can be tied together to present a unified image to the world.

One immediate example I can think of is that of my University’s branding.  Simple elements such as the corporate colours of blue and orange, together with the corporate font, Frutiger, makes anything instantly recognizable as part of the National University of Singapore.

NUS Open Day 2013
NUS Open Day 2013. Image Credit: NUS.

Take the recent NUS Open Day.  16 faculties and schools with separate visions and missions are tied together with only those elements to form a larger corporate body.  A visitor who goes down for Open Day would not notice anything jarring because various groups are synchronised through the brand elements.

That’s why most branding agencies would propose only one primary font and one secondary font, together with limited brand colours.  This also means that the more unique your brand colours (Tiffany & Co.) and fonts (Saks Fifth Avenue) are, the more you are able to stick out in the minds of your customers.  Of course, these elements would also have to be coherent with your business and the image you want to portray.

If you are tempted to vary your fonts and colours, be it for variety or for catching the attention of your customers, DON’T.  You will be doing your brand more harm than good.

Written by Asher · Categorized: Branding · Tagged: Brand, Branding, Coherence, NUS, NUS Open Day, Open Day, Saks Fifth Avenue, samantha tio, Tiffany, Tiffany & Co.

Feb 14 2013

Have a Pretty Frivolous V Day!

Pretty Frivolous
Happy Valentine’s Day to one and all!

It’s been a hectic few weeks for me. We just managed to push out our cards a few days before Chinese New Year at Pretty Frivolous and we had to take a break because of the holidays. Kicking into high gear tomorrow since it’s the big V Day!  It’s going to be quite exciting to see if more people would buy from our booth at NUS Business School. [Read more…]

Written by Asher · Categorized: Design Portfolio · Tagged: Bizad, Business School, cards, Ettusais, NUS, Pretty Frivolous, V Day, Valentine's Day, Valentines

Jan 20 2011

NUS Windsurfing Club T-Shirt Design

The above design was submitted for a t-shirt design competition organized by the National University of Singapore’s Windsurfing Club. [Read more…]

Written by Asher · Categorized: Design Portfolio · Tagged: Asher, design, mrsuan, NUS, t-shirt, windsurf, windsurfing

Jan 19 2011

RED: Brand for merchandize from NUS Bizad Club

I was tasked to develop a “brand” for my faculty’s student club. The visual above was meant to be a patch to be used on items that could be co-branded, then sold to students at a low price. They have since decided against it because demand is not certain. [Read more…]

Written by Asher · Categorized: Design Portfolio · Tagged: Asher, Bizad, Bizad Club, mrsuan, NUS, Red

Nov 05 2010

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!

Written by Asher · Categorized: Design Portfolio · Tagged: design, Middle East, Mr Suan, NUS, STEER

Hi there, I'm Asher.
Passionate about Brands, Marketing, Strategy and letting Data speak for itself.

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Recent Posts

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