Tag: UNDERSCORE Magazine

Singapore’s New Wave of Mags is an Injection of Diversity and Hope for Local Indies

Over the last decade, some 20 titles have sprung up from Singapore, riding the wave of its cultural renaissance and defying the fact the city-state was once known for its tight media censorship (Singapore still ranks 154 out of 180 in the 2016 World Press Freedom Index). Over the decade or so though, the Singaporean government has pumped in millions of bucks to grow its creative sector and nurture creativity among its citizens—and an independent magazine scene has flourished from this intersection.

Read the full story in AIGA’s Eye on Design

Architecture & Design Publishing from Singapore: Some Hard Truths

I was invited to speak on the topic of local publishing at Allscript x Comman Man Coffee Roaster’s “50 Titles” event last weekend. Yanda of Do Not Design selected for this event 50 examples of contemporary local books and magazines. Below is my response, a presentation on some of the titles and what we can learn about designers expanding their role in Singapore’s publishing scene.

I recently moved back to Singapore from New York. One of the things my girlfriend noticed was how difficult it was to pack my collection of architecture and design books into shipping boxes. Anyone who buys them knows how this genre of books come in all shapes and sizes, and seldom fit neatly into a box. In a sense, design books tend to emphasise a quality of difference, and I hope to explore this element in my presentation on contemporary architecture and design publishing from Singapore.

A few years ago, I fully immersed into the subject of Singapore design when I was commissioned to retrace the history of graphic design in this country. This resulted in my book, Independence: The history of graphic design in Singapore since the 1960s, which chronicles the evolution of the profession over the last five decades.

As a journalism graduate, one thread that attracted me while researching for this book was the rise of independent publishing in Singapore. From the mid to late 2000s, designers were putting out a trickle of local books and magazines, including Underscore, Brckt, The Design Society Journal, and kult. The periodical Singapore Architect had also just undergone a revamp under Kelley Cheng of The Press Room. Incidentally, this issue (#287) is her last as there is a new team coming on.

Designers who traditionally came at the end to give form to a publication are now creating the content, either by themselves or commissioning writers. It isn’t entire new nor unique to Singapore, but there is certainly a new generation of local designers who are putting together niche books and magazines all by themselves instead of trying to convince big name publishers to do them. With designers expanding their roles, what differences have they brought to publishing in Singapore?

Read more

Indie Magazines and Journals in SG

Some friends up north are putting together MEX, an exhibition of independent print magazines as part of the George Town Festival 2013. I ended up compiling a list of such publications in Singapore for them.

There’s a growing scene beyond the titles put out by media giants and localised international brands, I must say!

DESIGN
Singapore Architect (1966) by Singapore Institute of Architects
WERK (2000) by WORK
Kult (2009) by Kult
The Design Society Journal (2009) by The Design Society
Bracket (2010) by Anonymous

LIFESTYLE
I-S Magazine (1995) by Asia City
JUICE (1998) by Catcha Media
Underscore (2009) by Hjgher
Terroir (2011) by Benjamin Koh
Encounters (2012) by Shin
Casual Days (2012) by Casual Poet
Ziggy (2012)
VULTURE (2012)

ARTS & CULTURE
Ceriph (2010) by Ceriph
Cinematheque Quarterly (2012) by National Musem of Singapore
Galvant (2012) by Dilys Ng and Nathalia Kasman
ISSUE (2012) by the Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore
Corridors (2013) by Michael Lee

HERITAGE
BiblioAsia (2005) by National Library Board
beMuse (2007) by National Heritage Board

———–
UPDATED:
16/4 — to include The Design Society Journal and Singapore Architect.
18/4 — included VULTURE (Thanks Neville!)