When I first heard of this SYF Stronger Together project, I was excited. The competition is about making a national day poster that displays our love for our nation!
The top 5 artworks from each level (Sec1 to Sec4) would be uploaded on the SYF government website.
I wanted to take this opportunity to challenge my design skills and see if my artwork is good enough to represent my school. What a treat it will be if my poster was presented to the whole of Singapore!
Hence, I worked my butt off on the weekends to create this poster. To make it better, I did a lot of research online. I took reference from many other poster designs and also consulted my SST seniors. In addition, I asked my family members for feedback. I left no stones unturned to improve my poster.
Everything that I designed in this poster has a meaning. I added the merlions as it is an unmissable icon in Singapore that merges the symbols of a fish and lion. The words on their shirts are to inspire Singaporeans to be resilient and that there is hope that life would return back to normal during the pandemic. The number "55" on their shirts is to represent Singapore's 55th birthday! I place the fireworks as it is always the finalé of National day.
The reason I chose the Dragon Toa Payoh playground is that it is a National heritage after it was picked by New York culture blog Flavorwire.com as one of 15 amazing playgrounds in the world in 2012. I used the Marina Bay Sands as it is an integrated resort notable for transforming Singapore's city skyline and unique design. Lastly, I put the Rain Oculus in my poster as it is well known for integrating a whirlpool in a shopping mall.
A week after my submission, I was pleased to hear that my artwork was selected!
However, my form teacher informed me to modify my artwork as the flag image violated one of the rules. Hence, I proceeded to make the necessary modifications. I now had 2 new designs, a day theme and a night theme (see below).
Personally, I had hoped for my teacher to choose the day theme one as it had more of our national colors, Red and White displayed prominently.
Nonetheless, I was fine with her choice of the night theme because the same iconic Singapore attractions are still reflected in there.
A month later, my poster would appear on the official webpage. Please check out on their interactive artwork webpage at https://www.syf.gov.sg/syf/public/west.html?region=west
I later found out that my poster was also featured in televisions throughout the whole school. I felt an incredible sense of pride. The hours I sacrificed were not wasted!
Howie Chia
14 August 2020
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