I would like to commend Mr Henry Yeo for his work in conceptualising and designing the Ministry of Culture. Community and Youth (MCCY) corporate logo.
Between October to the launch of our logo in December 2012, Henry rendered his professional design services by proposing a creatively designed and symbolically meaningful logo for the new ministry. Henry took into consideration our Ministry’s portfolio and conceived designs that illustrated the diversity and vibrancy of our work. Each design element he proposed well captured the essence of our varied portfolio and did so in an innovative manner. For example, he proposed the use of a “brush stroke” C to illustrate the arts and heritage portfolio and a bright yellow Y to bring out the vibrancy of youth.
Henry saw through the project with consummate professionalism, even to the point of supervising the mounting of the signage for the logo outside the Ministry. He also helped to develop a corporate branding guide for the logo to ensure it is applied accurately and appropriately by other users.
Throughout the process, Henry consistently took in views from various stakeholders, which is very much aligned with the spirit of co-creation that the Ministry espouses. Even as he took on suggestions and faced the off critical comment along the way, Henry maintained his professionalism and patience, and continued to offer good counsel on MCCY’s corporate identity. On 21 December 2013, the new MCCY logo was unveiled to the public and marked a new milestone for MCCY. It is a work that MCCY proudly bears as part of our corporate identity.
We highly commend Henry’s design expertise and recommend him highly for the award.
Ms Yeoh Chee Yan
Permanent Secretary
Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth
I worked with Henry Yeo recently on a project that was demanding on account of the timeframe and also on account of the sensitive issues surrounding its presentation. I discussed the design brief and requirements with Henry who spent the weekend drumming up a design that was sensitive to the issues I had raised. His ability to communicate my vision in design language went beyond my expectations. Having worked in a museum for nearly 8 years myself, meeting designers for many years, I feel it is appropriate to recommend him as someone with special talent. He had also surfaced new ideas to suggest, giving me as client, options within the possibilities that we had explored. Needless to say, his attention to detail as well as his ability to modify ideas were speedy as well.
Separately, the exhibitions that were designed and configured at the Asian Civilisations Museum, brought out the best in the artefact collections that the exhibitions were presenting. Combining an understanding of the storyline as well as the significance of the artefact, Henry created spaces that transported the visitor to the opulent world of Kangxi . He did the same with the Filipino exhibition – exploiting lighting especially, to create the effect of being in a cathedral in Manila. Through design, he contextualised the exhibits and provided the visitor with a more complete experience – at once informed and stimulating.
Ms Jean Wee
Director,
Preservation of Sites and Monuments
National Heritage Board
To the Jury for the President’s Design Award 2011
1) The exhibition design team at the Asian Civlisations Museum (ACM) has established itself as the best entirely home-grown group of exhibition designers in the country (as opposed to exhibition design companies in Spore filled mostly with foreign talent).
2) As someone who has visited many museums and exhibitions all over the world in the course of my career, I consider the exhibition design work of the ACM team almost on par with that seen in the major museums in the west, and is without doubt amongst the best of museums in Asia.
3) The four exhibitions cited as examples of the teams work all display exceptional creativity in bringing out the drama and atmosphere in the different subject of each exhibition, yet without overwhelming the exhibits, some of which can be very small. The team has therefore shown its ability to work effectively at both the broad level of exhibition design work(layout, circulation, visual impact, mood etc), as well as the detailed level of the micro-design of each showcase display (mounting, lighting, grouping, integration with text etc).
4) while the ACM design team was recognised during the first PDA, the leadership of the team has since changed, and all the work submitted here has been produced under the leadership of a new designer, Henry Yeo (the successor to Sebastian Chun). The excellent work continues, but with a different emphasis and flavour.
Dr Kenson Kwok,
Founding Director,
Asian Civilisations Museum
To the Jury for the President’s Design Award
The Kangxi Emperor –Treasures from the Forbidden City instantly struck the visitor with its vivid colours and subtle graphics that convey clearly the theme of the exhibition. The setting certainly enhanced the excellent collection that was brought in for the exhibition. The careful colour palette selection of yellow, crimson red and black with subtle lighting to create contrast between the different sections of the exhibition left the visitor with never a dull moment. Most commendable was the restraint shown in not allowing the design of the setting to overwhelm the exhibits themselves. The use of contemporary design language allowed the visitor to clearly appreciate the actual exhibits of another bygone era. A good example is the use of shadow casting in frosted glass to subtly convey the idea of the Chinese garden without being too literal. Similarly, the use of light projection of stars allowed the visitor to make the association with Kangxi’s fascination with sciences without resorting to a text heavy exhibit. The use of modern technology such as scanning the long scrolls allowed the visitor to be able to enjoy the whole painting. The use of this interactive medium to its optimal effect was evidenced by the long queue at this particular exhibit.
This was a small exhibition with very select pieces that was designed to create a most memorable experience. Clearly, good design made a big difference here.
Ms Fun Siew Leng (BArch, NUS; March(GSD, Harvard)
Group Director (Urban Planning & Design)
Urban Redevelopment Authority, Singapore
To the Jury of President’s Design Award on Sumatra: Isle of Gold exhibition design
In this exhibition, the designers have cleverly weaved a simple narrative journey for visitors to discover the culture and identity of today’s Sumatra that were shaped by a long history of cross-cultural exchanges. Visitors were first led to the middle of the gallery which gave a general introduction of pre-history Sumatra, before they were invited to the numerous “gateways” where each sub-gallery featured the Indian, Chinese, Islamic, Regional and European influences. This combination of open and close concept was ingenious – the designers took advantage of the enormous space by interspersing ceiling-suspended projections and iconic structures, whilst maintaining intimacies for the rich and intricate artefacts that were displayed in each sub-gallery. The attention to details was also evident – from the choice of subdue/bright colour and lighting that accompanied different artefacts, to the interactive games devised to illustrate each convegence of cultural influences — this exhibition is exemplary of what museum design should be – quiet, confident and engaging.
Mr Jerry Soo Tah Keng
Vice President (Academic), Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts
Office of Academic Affairs
This letter serves to testify of Henry Yeo’s work performance and commitment in Addison Pte Ltd. He diligently performs to his best in each project he is entrusted to. His strength is in the area of concept development, producing refreshing design that impressed the client. One particular project is for Ascendas, which he is the lead designer and he created the new signage system for Dalian-Ascendas IT Park (A joint venture between Singapore and China) as well as the graphics and ad campaigns he has done for the Ascendas account. The client is impressed with his designs.
Trust the above speaks of Henry’s unique capabilities in design and his keen interest in developing strong design concepts for clients, always
Mr Mohamed Noor
Managing Director,
Addison Design Consultants.
henry studio 