Mixing the present with the past

A stunned Genevieve Tan could not believe her ears when she heard that she had walked away with the top spot at the first-ever Student Creative Award 2001 ceremony.

"When I first knew that I won, I didn't feel anything. It was during the presentation that the reality sank in," reflected Genevieve.

The TP graduate (Diploma in Visual Communication, 2002) had bagged the coveted "Best of Best" award in the design category as well.

"There were only 600 entries; I didn't expect to win at all. In fact, I thought a corporate design like mine probably wouldn't stand out amongst so many entries."

Genevieve Tan and her winning design
The modest student attributed her success to the strong concept behind her annual report.
Said Mr James Na, lecturer of Visual Communications, of Genevieve's work, "I think what gave her the edge is her creativity. We already have a pre-conceived perception of what a statutory board's annual report should look like, but she turns SingPost's annual report into something innovative."

Also known as the Crowbar Award, the event was organized by the Association of Accreditation Agency, Singapore (4As) and supported by various local tertiary institutions, the local marcom industry and the Trade and Development Board.

The competition was open to all tertiary institutions and the public too. Which, in effect, makes Genevieve's win even more impressive.

The past pays
The annual report is a walk down memory lane. Complete with a tagline: "Still delivering", the annual report features nostalgic pictures such as belacan bottles and jigsaw puzzle. (see video clip )

She explained, "Singapore Post was facing competition from other forms of communications with the improvement in technology. So we have emails and faxes. This led me to an idea which is: Singapore Post has a personal touch which the others (such as emails and faxes) do not…. Hence the tagline, "Still delivering" and the pictures. It's emotions, it's about the past."

Said Genevieve, "As the concept develops, I brought in elements which further emphasized what I want to say about the personal touch, but in a different way." As she puts it, the idea is very simple, it's just told in a very unique way.
The inside pages
So focused on she on her project that it didn't take long to finish the pages in the annual report. She said, "Once the concept is decided, it just takes concentration to get it done."

Kudos-a-knocking
The win has led to a fully-paid one-and-half week internship at Fallon Worldwide, a top international advertising agency in Minneapolis, USA.

Said James, "Genevieve has always been consistent in her work - she turns in quality work. In fact, one of the more outstanding students around."

And this outstanding graduand enjoyed her experience in the US so much that she is keeping her options open in the job market. She told us that she will be looking for a local job, but if she has the chance to work overseas again, she would take up the challenge!

The development process:

1. Identify the client
2. Research past and present
3. Compare with similar products/services
4. Pinpoint the problem (probably the most important part because every design is a solution to an existing problem) to unleash the creative concept.

 

*Pictures courtesy of TS magazine and Genevieve; video clip produced by TP Library.