The inaugural Street of Clans was a local creative festival and a passion project by OuterEdit as a district activation and key programme of Singapore Design Week 2019.
It began with our desire to raise awareness and appreciation for the traditional Chinese Clan Associations along the historic neighbourhood of Bukit Pasoh Road. Inspired by the age-old clan values of Kinship & Unity, Street of Clans bridged old & new, sparked dialogue, and showcased the transformative power of design with a multi-generational
It began with our desire to raise awareness and appreciation for the traditional Chinese Clan Associations along the historic neighbourhood of Bukit Pasoh Road. Inspired by the age-old clan values of Kinship & Unity, Street of Clans bridged old & new, sparked dialogue, and showcased the transformative power of design with a multi-generational
and multicultural community.
When it came to developing and designing the branding for Street of Clans, we knew that we wanted to create a visual system that was rooted in culture, but done in a fresh way.
Drawing from local heritage icons that people were familiar with, like olden tiles and motifs that could be found on shophouses, we remixed these icons with bold, bright colours to create a modern and relevant visual identity.
A major objective we had was inclusivity, and welcoming people of all ages and races to Street of Clans. In our branding, we showcased that through a translation of “creative festival” across all 4 major Singaporean languages. The key visual identity was also designed to showcase the idea of kinship and community through an original illustration of the commonly-known idiom “in the same boat” - used to describe people who are sharing similar experiences.
Through open houses, interactive activities, and extensive media coverage, Street of Clans renewed interest in clans amongst the general public and showcased how the design industry could have a positive impact on our historic culture.
We’re delighted to have shared this experience with over 5,000 people who attended the festival over the 3 days. We're truly honoured and humbled at the multiple opportunities we were given to share our story of Street of Clans with local and overseas media - from print & digital publications, to radio interviews and more. Street of Clans was covered in over 43 media platforms, with a combined reach of more than 500 million people and was recently shortlisted as 'Design of the Year' for Singapore's President*s Design Award.
Beyond the numbers, we were so heartened to hear that festival goers of all ages enjoyed themselves too - we spotted young adults speaking to the uncles of the clan associations to learn more about the clans’ stories, and children interacting with the illustrators. Thank you to everyone who came out and supported Street of Clans, whether as a festival goer, a volunteer, a creative partner or collaborator, or sponsor!
Interested to read more? Check out our full case study here.
Industry: Design & Culture
Our Role: Creative Direction, Art Direction, Graphic Design,
Programming, Curation & Spatial Design
Programming, Curation & Spatial Design
