Project Brief | NUS Collections Visual Identity
Tool | Adobe Illustrator
Organisation | NUS Libraries & NUS Museum, National University of Singapore (NUS)
Year | 2023 - 2024
The Challenge: NUS Collections is a proposed umbrella name that unites NUS Libraries and the NUS Museum. While both entities share an institutional connection, they each possess distinct identities, purposes, and audiences. The challenge is to develop a cohesive visual identity system that unifies them under NUS Collections while preserving their individuality.
The Process: Beyond just visuals, I applied my 4D framework—Discover, Define, Design, Deploy—an approach inspired by Design Thinking and Lean Branding principles. This structured process ensured that the visual identity was not only aesthetically strong but also purposeful and strategically aligned.
Phase 1: Discovery
While distinctive in their own right, galleries, libraries, archives, and museums share common traits.
These shared characteristics serve as the foundational meeting points, fostering exchanges and collaborations among GLAM+ entities, operating under the umbrella of NUS Collections.
Phase 2: Define
Curate-Cultivate-Create represents nodes to guide the growth and evolvement of NUS Collections, enabled by Collections professionals, academia and the student community.
The 3Cs also forms pillars for the brand strategies for this newly conceived cluster. I also look at the Brand Personality which would be apt.
Phase 3: Design
Phase 4: Deploy
The visual identity was first implemented across NUS Libraries, starting with essential applications like PowerPoint templates and operational notices, then gradually extending to merchandise and event key visuals. Elements of the identity system were applied either partially or in full, ensuring flexibility across different touchpoints.
