Singapore graphic design studio, ACRE, plough the fields of craft and design to keep their creative passions burning.

They came together to create a platform for creatives as a fun project, but the duo enjoyed working together so much that they started their own creative company as well.

Co-founders of ACRE, Zheng Tian Yu (better known as TY Zheng) and Jason Song, were friends in church when they created Hello Playground in 2010, an online website to showcase the work of talents in the creative scene. While the venture did not take off, the relationship between Jason and TY did. The former was jaded from his time spent as a copywriter in advertising agencies, and was planning to leave the industry to open a café until he met TY and proposed they open a design studio together instead.

“I felt this was the right thing to do as it resurrected my desire to do creative things,” says Jason. “I like his work and I saw the potential for a really talented art director to become his own creative director.”

The decision came less easily for TY, who was then in his fourth year working for local independent branding studio Foreign Policy Design Group. “If he didn’t ask me, I would probably still be there. It took me a long time to consider,” says TY. “He put up a very attractive offer, we clicked, and it was quite simple in that sense.”

➜ Read the rest at art4d (Issue 207)