The Student Agency News

London's Calling Exhibiton - The Launch

2012-02-28T00:05:00.024+08:00

It's truly been a whirlwind to the start of the year. We began this year with Singapore Polytechnic Open House Campaign, early in January. Months of preparation from the year before has finally led up to the open house itself.

We were not done yet, though! Besides school assignments and major deadlines to meet, we were still working on the London's Calling Publication and Exhibition continuously from the moment we got back from London. Towards the end of 2o11, we managed to gather a number of TSA alumni, who were more than willing to contribute to the illustration-based book.

This publication was to be a collection of visual interpretations of our experiences in London. It really meant a lot to us that our alumni got on board to be able to be a part of our project.

Behold! London's Calling, the publication.

This twee book of illustrations is based on each of the Year 2's concepts for their exhibit. Qom and I, then put together a story that summed it all up as The Student Agency's takeaways from London.

Earlier this year, our Year 2 members started to source for their materials from places like school workshops, friends and family. It was a challenge to balance time between rushing for presentations and other commitments, and still returning to school during the weekends to build their exhibits.

Anson and Justin, meanwhile were brimming with work as well, with guiding the Year 2s, Anson's Final Year Project as well as overall in-charge with the branding for the exhibition.

They're really super human.

We silkscreen printed posters for the event in blue and red.

Through the months of preparations and creating invite cards (which are level 57 fancy, in my opinion), we learnt to be more independent and resourceful as Azhar and Sarah could not have been physically there to oversee matters all the time.

A few weeks prior to the big day, we roped in some Year 1s to be curators and to help out the Year 2s in their exhibits. Here's Azhar briefing them on the background of LCE and what their roles entail.

A really helpful bunch : )

Then came the task of transporting the exhibits to *SCAPE, where we would be showcasing our works.

We spent the whole day and night packing, unloading, fixing up lights, webcams and wiring to set our exhibition up nicely. Nothing would have got in our way. We had gone so far!

And finally...24th February rolls in.

The opening night for the London's Calling Exhibition!

Our space at *SCAPE was decked out with the exhibits, that are mostly in blue and red. Yeap, staying true to its UK roots. A special London experience brought to you by The Student Agency.

Azhar and Sarah speaking to our Principal

And here's Faris, the director of Design School checking out the exhibition.

TSA's lovely alumni

It was a great turnout, all in all. Family, friends, lecturers and even alumni came down to *SCAPE to support and have us share with them our very own London experience, in just a night.

Everyone had a great time mingling (for real!) with industry practitioners and even our good 'ol SP principal who came down to support as well.

An enormous load of work and effort truly paid off for all of us.

Oh, we also had a workshop held by Daphne for some secondary school students as well. In conjunction with the theme of sustainability, the workshop was about using recycled materials to bring out fashion.

It's only coming to the end of February, who knows what the year will bring for us?

Stay tuned, fellow mates!

View more pictures from the opening night here: http://tinyurl.com/7d27xy4
Syarini

Copywriter

ARTSTAGE 2012

2012-01-18T13:42:00.000+08:00

I was really privileged to attend ARTSTAGE 2012. To be honest, it was my first time attending ARTSTAGE. If i could sum up my experience in one word: mind-blowing. It was definitely an eye-opener for me. I really enjoyed Singapore Biennale 2011, but ARTSTAGE was of a bigger scale, whereby different galleries from all over the world come together and showcase works by different inspiring artists.

To me, an art might not be necessarily be design. But a piece of design, is definitely art.

Art (as defined from dictionary.com) is the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination,typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional. As a vcomm design student, i would however like to say that i'm someone that's very inclined to visual aesthetics, to be honest, i'm attracted to almost anything that looks visually pleasing (weird, awful, everything) more than that of sound and words. Like a piece of exhibit, an installation, on its own they already make a visual statement. For every piece of work, there were bound to be some reason/feeling/emotion triggered in a designer or an artist to produce and to create. In this expo, i've realised most of the works displayed are hugely political and cultural related. They were visual self-expressions by different artists from all over the world. Something so close to them, expressed out in forms of paintings and installations. I secretly wished to be like them someday.

Enough words, (plus i'm not very good with my language) let's get on the some of the exhibits that i really adored:

One of my favorite: The Pink Man by Manit Sriwanichpoom

I first came across the photography series of The Pink Man during Singapore Binnenale 2011.

I was glad to see other series of The Pink Man during Artstage.

Might be my interest in Thai culture, food, politics, almost everything (I need to learn thai asap!), i'm drawn towards any Thai artists' work. Still, this The Pink Man was the artist's upset and alienated feeling towards the concept of consumerism which has been accepted simply and without consideration by Thai society.

"In Navin. we trust."

Live painting

Works of Bang Yao Liu were there as well

Bang Yao Liu might not ring a bell to you but this video might:

The ABC store curated by The Secret Little Agency. This pop-up store is like an ABC soup (as the name suggests). It sold everything from design books and magazines, to knick-knacks you would find in an old-school "mama shop" like tiger balm. They even provided phone charging services for iphone users! Here's what i scored there:

I am a sucker for anything "old school". Sometimes i think really should be born two decades earlier :P

" Dogs are made to bark. Humans were born to speak. Cellphones are made to communicate everywhere. And every SINGER is always gifted to SING." - Bagus Pandega

They provide pinhole photo shoot (black & white!!!!)

Meet Jiarong(aka rong rong), the visualiser

Ok, my flu is silently killing me. I shall end here. Wished you were at ARTSTAGE 2012 as well!

Signing off,

xinying (the Instagram addict)

Junior Designer

"Maybe I can do this for my exhibition too!"

2012-01-17T00:25:00.006+08:00

Last Saturday, a bunch of us went to Marina Bay Sands for this year's Art Stage exhibition!

It was a really great experience being there. To be honest, it was my first time there and I really liked it. Many of the works were really impressive and well made. Really like it a lot. Can't wait for next one's already! I felt really inspired after seeing some of the works and for some others, I can't help but think that maybe I can adapt some of the ideas and execute it in my exhibit for the London's Calling exhibition that's happening next month! (It'd happen on 21 Feb to 28 Feb! Do pop by!) Here are some of the works that I particularly liked.

Aaaaaand my favorite:

It's actually a collage!

Overall, the entire exhibition was really great and I realised that installations doesn't exactly have to be huge to be impressive, what's most important is still the idea and concept behind it. Just like this one!

It shakes! Just like during an earthquake.

Description: This work was created one week after the earthquake in Padang, West Sumatra in 2009 measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale, as a welcome note to the Earthquake Era in Indonesia. After the earthquake that caused the tsunami in Aceh, one after another came Padang Earthquake, Yogyakarta Earthquake, Nabire Earthquake, etc. And this will go on along the southern islands of Indonesia, due to the shift of plate in Indian Ocean.

Such a simple looking execution but it just works so well and it was really impressive.

I'm really looking forward to seeing Art Stage 2013!

Also, like I mentioned earlier in the post, do look out for our exhibition in *SCAPE during 21-28 February!

Jia Rong

Visualiser

2011, 354 days later

2011-12-29T09:31:00.005+08:00

2011 has been really meaningful for me as it is filled with many 'first', I had my first trip to London (which was also my first trip abroad out of Asia, yay) in which I experienced amazing design exhibits, visited the great Mother London, and climbed a lion statue at trafalgar square. I have my first real namecard for which we did a real neat photoshoot, the result is as you can see on the header of this page. And, I also have my first job in which my work speed engine is pushed past the limit by exciting briefs and have allowed me to learn a whole lot beyond what a typical lecture can give me. All thanks to The Student Agency.

This may sounds cliche, but the year sure passed much quicker than it seemed. It has been a real joy to be able to dedicate and hone my skills with such a great team of student designers in our comfy little office at a corner of InnoVillage, which sure feels almost like home nowadays. Sure, it is not comfy as in 'you-can-sleep' comfortable per se, as everyone bustles about to get works done, but hey, without all those creative sparks (and fireworks!) flying about and thrown around, TSA would not feel like TSA. Oh, and also not without the awesome team.

And so, here is to another great year for The Student Agency. Which is, by the way, turning 5 soon! so look out for more exciting news and happening from us.

Happy New Year everyone,

Chrisvensia

Junior designer

A BIG HUG FOR EVERYONE

2011-12-28T21:53:00.010+08:00

Looking back upon 2011, I remember that the first assignment I received as a Visualiser was to redesign the TSA Blog. It was my first time working with Anson, the Art Director. Since I was then a green-horn, Anson thankfully guided me through the design process leading up to the finished work you see on the page! I was entrusted with the HTML coding for the site as well, but struggled as I was not very familiar with it. Again, fellow TSA member JiaRong, so nice and thoughtful to offer assistance!

It is moments like this that remind me that I am not just working for a 'corporation', but that the friendships I have forged through this year across the Year 2 and 3 cohorts! I am glad I made these friends! Thank you all of you!:D

Happy new year everyone!

Chloe

Visualiser

2011 in a long-ish nutshell

2011-12-28T12:55:00.031+08:00

And 2011 just went by. Well, almost.

This year has really been a whirl, with our new friends from Year 2, a whole 'nother Singapore Polytechnic Open House campaign, not forgetting our London trip in September!

Here are the highlights of 2011 in chronological (I'll try my best!) order:

Our very first TSA retreat to Siloso Beach Resort in February.

We got together in this really cosy and pretty resort and started a sweatshop, drawing on t- shirts on the roof. Really.

Even our alumni, Nic goh, Brenda, Lester and Justin came down to join us. It was a nice bonding experience through our group sessions. What better way than by the beach?

In March, TSA was awarded an Achievement Award from SP!

Here's Amelia and Charmaine with our principal. Photo credits: Amelia

In May, TSA went through a publicity campaign, which consisted of a long photoshoot and an equally long poster.

The photostudio working at full capacity.

Props to Sam, our photographer for the day..and night. Jacq and Dana as art directors/ assistants.

The end product.

In the month of June, we had the Crowbar Awards submissions.

One of Anson's entries for Nanoblock. Photo credit: Anson

One of Jacqueline's entries for Listerine. Photo credit: Jacq

Here's a part of Dana's entry for the Photography Category. Photo credit: Dana

A pleasant surprise came by in July, when a napkin I submitted was shortlisted.

A TVC storyboard for Earth Hour.

This is followed by the madness that is Crowbar 48-Hour Challenge. Two teams participated.

Below is my team and I. We look calm here, but we were a bunch of nerves! Okay, maybe just me.

From left: Jacq, Anson, Sya, Farrah and Chloe. Photo credit: Anson

From left: Sam, Dana, Michelle and Aishah. Photo credit: The team!

In September, we ate, breathed and slept London. We were also kindly sponsored by Feiyue with their sneakers. It is the very first time TSA has been sponsored by a brand!

This is us at Mother London, with Alex West.

Levitating in front of Buckingham Palace.

In the printmaking studio of London College of Communication.

They see me blushin', they hatin'

It's not everyday that you get photobombed by the London Tower Bridge.

In front of Tate Modern, with our super duper Feiyue kicks

The NVPC Shoot was held in September too.

Our SPOH creatives have finally been executed in December.

The photography team (and 1 model) for one of the outdoor shoots.

From left: Sarah, Chloe, Jiarong, Dana, Sam and Justin

Lastly and most recently, our lunch and gift exchange at Vivocity's Marche.

All sorts of goodness on the table

I regret not having that waffle & ice cream ;_;

With that, I want to thank TSA and SP for all the working opportunities this year and ohhhh..

New mini-fridge and microwave oven

: ' )

Syarini

Copywriter

In a flash

2011-12-27T22:40:00.013+08:00

2011 was such a short year, time flew by so quickly!

Joining TSA this year was such a turning point in my Poly life for me. And I'm glad I did. I've learned so much from my time in the agency. I've learned how to step out of my comfort zone, how to communicate and work people that I'm not close with (initially), and so much more.

One of the main highlights of my time in TSA this year was the London trip that happened in September. It was such a memorable trip for me, and I believe for everyone else who went for the trip too. I was very inspired when we visited the various places that were part of the London Design Festival - especially Skew. Not only that, it was really interesting to learn about the culture - be it design or street culture - in London. Also, bonding and getting to know most of the TSA members was really great too. The experience was really great and I really wish to go back there some day again! (Not to mention free shoes from Feiyue. Heehee. Okay I need to stop, my Singaporean side is revealing it self.)

Another major highlight of the year would be me being involved in the SP Open House campaign. It was tough. Pretty damn tough. But hey, I pulled through, and I'm really proud of myself for that. Even though it may not be as much as how much my art directors (Anson and Justin) are doing, but I think Chloe and I did a fair bit of work too! The process wasn't exactly smooth-sailing, and I wasn't the most positive throughout, but when everything is done and executed, the feeling of satisfaction was definitely overwhelming. Also, it was awesome that the creative team got closer together not only as colleagues, but as friends.

Seeing stuff that was done by the creative team around campus was really exciting, and gratifying. It's something I can say that I'm part of, and I contributed into the process. That "I did this!" feeling is definitely something that I look forward to whenever I walk around campus. That for me, was definitely one of the best parts of being involved in a huge project like this. (Blog post here)

I did this!

You know being part of projects like this, and also other projects within TSA definitely has its perks. One of the biggest advantage is that my portfolio is different from most of my other coursemates. TSA has given me many opportunities to be more exposed to the outside world of design and I'm really thankful for that.

Exciting things are coming up soon for TSA in 2012 (like our 5th anniversary) and I can't wait! Hoping for a good year ahead!

Till then!

Jia Rong

Visualiser

'Tis the season

2011-12-27T22:27:00.009+08:00

Last Wednesday, we gathered for an annual end-of-year-cum-christmas lunch at Marche. Armed with a present each for our gift exchange, we all had a hearty lunch before drawing lots for our secret gifts.

Just a bit of the drool-worthy food we indulged in while chatting away about what we've been up to during the holidays - attending workshops, catching up on several TV series and most of all, taking a well-deserved break.

Then, came the most anticipated part of our gathering!

Drawing lots to determine which gift we will get!

A flurry of excitement while we scramble figuratively for our gifts.

Presents range from little stationery sets to collectible toys and everything in between! I was lucky enough to receive a terrarium from Sarah who made it herself!

On the other hand, Michelle got a super adorable lego display shelf along with two figurines to start off her collection from Azhar.

Well, that brought us close to the end of our gathering, which also means the end of this post. Before signing off though, I'd just like to say that it's been a pleasure to be in TSA despite the amount of stress we put up with because it's the company we've gained that makes it worth while - moments like this, cheesy as it may sound, really make it worth while.

We hope everyone has had a good break as well, as we welcome 2012 with open arms for a better year!

Cheers!

Sui Kee (Junior Designer) & Michelle (Designer)

An update on SPOH 2012

2011-12-14T09:20:00.006+08:00

Phew. It has been a long stretch of assessment period and the embargo on our open house creatives, but here they are finally!

Presenting, www.aspirations.sg.

An all-in-one microsite that takes you on a get-to-know-us journey around SP. Through a series of videos, you'll follow Belicia, Fadzly and Darren on an average day in and all around SP.

Get a feel of the campus grounds and facilities in a, personal and down to earth style.

Watch Belicia flaunt her dance moves, Fadzly heating up the radio waves and Darren live up his Churro dreams. I genuinely liked his painting he did with a piece of churro. Really! Haha check it out okay?

Aspiration is the central figure of our campaign this year, which is great and really inspiring. We carry the belief that we can do possibly anything we want to, if we have heart and willpower.

Like the Fab Four said, "I get by with a little help from my friends". They meant SP, actually.

Look out for our banners all around SP too. You can't miss them, they're massive.

More to come soon.

Syarini
Copywriter

Pumped Up Kicks!

2011-11-21T23:41:00.004+08:00

On Wednesday, The Student Agency went down to Zouk x Feiyue 20/20 Sneaker Launch, a special collaboration in celebration of Zouk's 20th Anniversary.

We were there to support Feiyue and it is a gesture of appreciation for the gifts they shared with us for our London trip. It would be the first apparel launch party that I have ever attended and I felt that it was a good experience for myself. The various installation arts and the interactive activities kept me busy while the others had a nice chat with people who were attending the event as well. Special thanks to DJ Clashthediscokids for the nice mix to add up to the atmosphere. At the end of the night, TSA members gathered outside for a drink as we discussed the event. It was agreed that this eventful night is full of new experience and valuable lessons, and I couldn't have phrased it better.

Cheers,

Qomarul Arifin

Copywriter

LONDON'S CALLING

2011-11-15T23:40:00.005+08:00

The long awaited video is here! Enjoy!

After Melbourne and Hong Kong.
The Student Agency embarked on its most adventurous trip in 4 years.

NVPC Video Shoot

2011-10-20T23:32:00.004+08:00

The weekends was very packed with activities for TSA members Jia Ling, Jacqueline, Samantha and myself. We were busy shooting in the studio for an upcoming video for National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre ( NVPC ). The shoot included a total of 15 volunteers who took turn to share with us stories about volunteering.

I must say it was a very interesting shoot, quite unlike what I have ever done before. This was the first time I had to work with a group that big. Although they did not come in as one full force, the whole team had to ultimately work with 15 at a go in a sense because we had to take measures to ensure consistency in how we shot the videos.

I'm sure you are all not interested in knowing the little details of the shoot so let me jump straight to some thoughts I had at the end of it all. The volunteers were really sincere in sharing their stories. They were all inspiring and yes, they did manage to convince me to start volunteering....soon.

Many valuable lessons were learnt. For me, I realized that volunteering is not what I have always thought it to be. It is not about labor work. I have never doubted that it is not about money. Now, in addition to that, I have learnt that it is not only about helping organizations or registering with one.

It could be your neighbor, your friends, a stranger you met on a street.

Volunteering is, at its most basic level, a small act of courtesy.

Volunteering can involve your passion. For example volunteering for an event that requires photography, or soccer players and even music.

Volunteering is a huge word that is unfortunate enough to be stereotyped to such a narrow definition.

Oh and the video's got a small surprise too! Do check it out when it's done! Looking forward to viewing the whole string of videos when it's done.

Signing out,
Qomarul Arifin
Copywriter

Get Inspired

2011-10-07T00:08:00.011+08:00

I met Isaias in London and one of the most prominent memories I had was how inspired I got by some of the discussions we had over lunch. Back in Singapore, I managed to contact him via good ol' Facebook where we had a mini interview done over the internet. Hope this article warms your heart as it did mine and may it prove to be useful for all who reads.

Q: Hi Isaias would you introduce yourself to the readers?

My name is Isaias Ponce I'm a 19 year old fashion student studying fashion design and marketing at American Intercontinental University London.

Q: That sounds like a mouthful. Care to break it down for us?

With the degree that I'm seeking I'm able to understand the creative aspect of the industry. I learn how to materialize my sketches into real garments.

With marketing I get to learn how things work within a business, which is really eye opening. Marketing also aided me with my design process as well because you take into consideration the factors which designers have to face in order to be a successful business.

Q: Share with us the juicy bits of being a fashion design student in London.

Studying in London has been a really fantastic and blessed experience like no other! The city itself welcomes new designers. They let our creativity run wild and we can come up with a lot of crazy concepts. They say London fashion is very experimental, and it's because everyone is always playing around with fashion here. Through living here I have been able to attend two fashion weeks! London Fashion Week (LFW) is an event showcasing the biggest names in fashion. It has been rated one of the top four fashion weeks in the world.

It's great because I never thought I would get to experience London Fashion Week and that it would happen so soon. Through the LFW events I was able to network and meet people from Europe and Asia. These people includes big time fashion bloggers and jewelery designers. To top it all up, I even got to meet menswear designer Lou Dalton who showed up for her menswear showcase at LFW.

I've also been able to meet some of the models in the industry that im a huge fan of. One of the most memorable being top model Thomas Penfound who graced Burberry's ads these past seasons. Thomas also worked with some of the world's greatest photographers like Mario Testino, and respected menswear designers: Neil Barrett and Christopher Bailey, who designs for Burberry, Thomas had even worked with Lou Dalton.

Thomas Penfound, one of the models that Isaias idolises

With experiences like these and having friends in the industry, I've also been able to learn things prepares me with what it takes to be a designer. Such as: hiring a PR company to promote your designs, knowing which factories will produce the types of garments you're looking to get made, and just the amount of dedication that goes into the construction of a garment. [WHICH IS ALOT!]

Q:What do you think makes a design student stand out from the others?

I think what makes a design student stand out is someone who is truly passionate about what they do and will grab any opportunity to further their career. Ultimately ALOT of drive is needed in a student. It can come in the form of taking up internships, attending seminars, researching designs and improving their design capabilities. In short,the amount of work that a design student puts in - is what they will get out. There are many design students who say that they are passionate, but when it comes to the actual work they produce, they dont care much and they don't push themselves to grow. They don't even take advantage of living in a city with so many opportunities to experience design in the real world, not just in a school environment. Take a trip to any design school, and you'll be able to understand exactly what I mean by who are 'stand out students'. These students will be the next big things in design. I have a friend who's in his last year of his fashion design program and he's a standout.Basically he is always working and reworking his designs and the way he thinks and sees things.Constantly growing his knowledge on the industry and how to be a great designer. All this led him to landing a design job with menswear designer: Lou Dalton! It is great because he's still a student when he was offered a real design job due to his amount of talent! He says he couldn't have done without the many hours of hard work that goes into being a designer.HARD WORK AND SLEEPLESS NIGHTS, things i'm beginning to experience as a young designer.

Q:How do you continually ensure that your branding is unique, or different from the other students?

When it comes to being a designer, I've learned very early on that you have to build your brand and that I have to look at myself as a brand.So with that it just takes a lot of thinking and discovering who you are as a talent and what you offer the industry as well as knowing where you want to take your 'brand' and how you want it to be looked at. When you do this, you get to see whether your brand is unique or if there are others just like it.That way you can go back and change it so it's not like one that already exist.

Personally my brand is put together with a little madness or unexpected elements. It comes from my upbringing. My mom always kept my dressing very clean cut. I was raised as such. I was a very "proper" boy in terms of behavior and all. But I began to rebel from that when I was 13. This was when I was discovering a world of music,which heavily influences my works and mentality towards design.Now it has become a really big part of my life. So,yeah, all the different worlds have fused into one.Combined with the passion I have for designing menswear and the growing talent I know I have. It's made me really confident that I will have a brand like no other. It is very personal, and very me.

Q:I heard you have a website. Tell us more about that.

I've taken little steps to making my brand 'official' as i grow, one of the biggest and most recent projects is my website:

www.isaiasponce.com

Its called Isaias Ponce Portfolio.It began as a medium to show off my talents. To discuss and share some of the designers and musicians I am influenced by. It acts as a portfolio where one can enter my world and understand me better. It's really interactive because I want people to read and react to the things I post. It would be even better if it'll offer a worldwide database for me to show my viewers how I grow as a designer. My viewers now includes people from around Europe, America and now even Asia.

I 'm always thinking two steps ahead. At the moment I will continue to update and add new content on the site. Like now, I have a new music content that I've been dying to add! I would also be posting all my sketchbooks so people can see the madness in my mind haha. What I hope to come next for the site, the fashion section will solely focus in on what I'm doing as a designer.

Currently we've updated the site a week ago so check it out!

Q: Alright Isaias it has been a wonderful chat. Anything you would like to share with the readers?

I've been living and studying in london for almost a year now and I've really grown alot as a person. More cultured, more outgoing, and now I'm slowly understanding what it means to be an adult. This has tremendously helped me as a designer too, as I find myself as one.I'm networking and meeting people in the industry, and I'm expriencing fashion, which is what I came out here to do. I often find myself saying "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" when something really cool happens and I'm in disbelief! haha. But I really love what I do and where this city has and will continue to take me and I'm really optomistic about what is to come in the future, It'll be good things I just know it! I dont call London 'The magic city' for no reason.

I must say that I have learnt quite a lot from this small discussion. I have to thank Isaias for giving me the chance to do this interview. Reading his words made me more excited in finding out what the future has for me in the design industry. London has truly proved itself to be a magic city.

Cheers

Qomarul Arifin

Copywriter

*Photo credits to Isaias himself.

Thank You, Steve.

2011-10-06T14:46:00.003+08:00

We will miss you.

- The Student Agency -

Oh mother, London.

2011-10-03T09:00:00.000+08:00

London is such a beautiful, beautiful place. Even though the skies were grey and clouded most of the time, but the weather was so cool and sometimes, breezy. Cuddle weather.

On the first day of London, I was too jetlagged to feel anything. London just felt like... another gloomy place. A tad too little people on the streets and the shops closed way too early. The people there are always dressed so proper and they walked a little too fast. It was difficult to absorb London then.

My impression of Lond

on only changed when I had my first conversation with a Londoner. He's name is Bryan. I met him at the hotel lobby while Azhar was busy dealing with our check-in documents. Like most of the Londoners that I have met, they all were extra friendly. A drastic contrast between the locals in Singapore. They had confidence whenever they hold a conversation. I love that about them. I could learn from them. We all can.
Ever since my conversation with Bryan, I looked forward to more conversations with the locals. They were really interesting people to talk to. Most of them were very expressive while conversing and I enjoyed every conversation with every single one of them.

The people in London, I feel, are what makes London...well, London. Despite the old buildings, streets, cold weather and gloomy atmosphere, I felt so happy and excited while speaking to the locals. Soon I got addicted, hoping to strike a conversation with random strangers whenever I get the chance to. It felt amazing, to be able to talk and meet new people. In fact, I learnt more than I should about the beautiful London town while speaking to people than just walking and touring around. I even got to make a couple of friends! Amazing. The people in London are so amazing.
I guess Singaporeans should loosen up a little and be more outgoing and friendly, and maybe a little less conservative. I've learnt so much just by striking conversations with random strangers. I hope maybe one day, I'll be able to study/live there. Heck, maybe just a short visit there would great! T'was a marvelous experience. :)

Signing off!
Samantha

Account Executive

+ To view more photos of my experience, please visit sammotakesphotos.

London vs Singapore.

2011-10-03T08:00:00.000+08:00

"This doesn't feel right" was my reaction when I first reached London. I can't help but notice everything that seems so similar to Singapore. Whilst everyone was busy snapping away, I was awed by the similarities. To start off, here are some:

1. Public Transport

Our Mrt lines look really similar. The colors, angles, the north,south,west,east and circle line. We call it the same thing too, just that London's is of course much more complicated. I used to get lost at Dhoby Ghaut station in Singapore a lot because firstly, I've never been good at directions and Dhoby is like a personally crafted maze intended for me to get lost. When I saw the London Underground map, I knew I was in trouble. In the end all I did to not get lost was to stick close to everyone else.

We all use electronic ticketing to get around. It is called Ez link card in Singapore and Oyster Card in London. Interesting that they name it Oyster Card isn't it ? It is so named because of the metaphorical implications of value in the concealed pearl in a oyster and the association of London and the River Thames with oysters and the well-known travel-related idiom, "The world is one's oyster".

Proverb

The world is one's oyster

All opportunities are open to someone, the world is theirs.
In order to achieve something in this world, one has to grab the opportunity.

So technically, grab your oyster card for opportunities to the world! Ingenious! This is so conceptual, so Mun Ying.

2. Road Signs.

The exact same colour combination is too much of a coincidence. Or perhaps it's not ? Some one told me that Singapore used to be under British colony so we might be influenced by them in many ways. I guess road signs is just one of them. Singapore's design and layout of the road signs were directly imported from Britain. As such, most road signs in Singapore are similar to the United Kingdom.

There are a few changes since then though. For example a locally developed typeface is used for Singapore's road signs instead of 'Transport' that is used in UK. Nope,UK does not use helvetica. :)

3. London/Singapore Flyer.

Which is Singapore's and which is London's ? I couldn't really tell without close inspection of the photos. They look so similar! The London Eye was the tallest ferris wheel in the world until Singapore took over this title after our Singapore Flyer (541ft) topped the London eye (443ft). Early designs of the Singapore flyer drew many criticisms saying it lacked originality as it showed a tall wheel very similar to the London Eye. Later, the developers pointed out that the design wasn't finalised and was merely for conceptualization purposes. However, the final project changed little from the early designs. Singapore, how could you!

Heres something for your amusement.

Did you know that the Ferris wheel was named after its inventor George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr.

4. Eat Restaurant!

This is the most shocking of all. To see the EAT restaurant in London. They sell light food like sandwiches, instead of our meepok and wanton mee in Singapore. And it features very classy interior design, as with everything else in London.

In anycase, I did enjoy myself in London. Wasn't totally charmed, sadly. But i LOVED the architecture. Their red buses, classic looking taxi with the tagline, 'London's calling' cough. Hope I'll get to go there again.

Cheers,

Junior Designer,

Clarice Choy.

Loving London.

2011-10-02T23:48:00.014+08:00

It was a hectic week before I headed off to London. I was selected by JWT to participate in the JWT/Spikes Asia Young Integrated Creative Art Instillation Project. Thus, I didn’t manage to get enough rest for my trip.

I was really burned out and I concussed on my 13hour flight. Of course, I did wake up a few times for my in-flight meals and some movies in between.

When we touched down at Heathrow Airport, everyone was so excited!

Tired but excited!

We couldn’t wait to drop our luggage at the hotel and start our learning journey in this awesome city.

London is indeed a very beautiful city to be in. Inhaling a deep lungful of London’s air and immersing myself in the cool temperature, I was raring and ready to discovery more about the city and its unique culture.

In retrospect, the experiences I had during my stay in London had been simply amazing. From the advertisements on the streets, to the people to even the littlest things that I saw around me. They never fail to amaze and excite. Indeed there were a thousand and one things there that you would never ever get to experience in Singapore.

For instance, I chanced upon an interesting advertisement. The ad bore a provoking message that was warning commuters about likelihood of being caught for fare evasion by plain clothes inspectors. Fare evasion is a serious offence and came with a hefty fine of 1000 pounds.

AWESOME COPY!

I managed to strike a conversation with a Londoner when I was at Primark. Most of them were really friendly. Only a handful of them were kinda angsty. I was shopping alone in Primark and had trouble deciding which top I should get. I tend to always buy both choices if I cannot decide at that moment but I did not want to waste any more money. A local lady noticed my dilemma and stepped in to offer me some comments on the items I was trying out. After a few words were exchanged, she actually became my shopping kaki! You won’t get anyone talking to you randomly and offering comments when you’re shopping in Singapore.

I have this nick for sales/discounts/whatever that catches my eyes. In another words, flower-eyes.

But that is not the whole point; I like to observe people’s behaviour and the things that are around me.

So the first thing I couldn’t help noticing was the newspaper. It all started in the tube when a huge guy reading a newspaper left it on the seat before alighting. An old man came in, picked up the newspaper and started flipping the pages. Soon, he left and the whole process repeats. It's amazing how a newspaper could be passed like that. It’s a London culture!

Yea, if you ever see this in the MRT, you'd probably get fined for littering.

I observed something and was quite amazed by it . Does it remind you of any brand logo?

YES, Chanel logo on a lamp post. HAHA!

But there wasn’t any Chanel store nearby. How strange.

And another road sign on the street which was pretty interesting!

I must say going to London College of Communication of the University of the Arts London was really a wakeup call for me. I had so much thoughts going through my mind. Each and every student’s portfolios have its own character/style. It wasn’t just something a student did out of a thought and definitely not just a school project but something that they had put in so much passion and hard work for. Every student’s portfolio was akin to wine; full bodied with a unique aroma in it.

Being original is being unique.

I love Skew! Nope, not something that can be eaten of cause. It’s a design clinic! I love their illustrations style which is pretty simple and makes you feel happy just by looking at it. Their studio looked so fun to work in.

I WOULD LOVE TO GET AN INTERNSHIP THERE! *HINT HINT*

Anyway, if you ever step your feet into Mother London, you’re up there! Alex West was really nice to bring us on a tour around the agency and to give us some tips on how we could get in an ad agency and staying in. Okay, best part, his name card didn’t bear any pictures of himself instead had a picture of a pretty lady, which was his mother. Beneath, there was a caption that said, ‘Proud mother of Alex West’. How awesome?! I would love to have my mother photo on my name card too!

*From the TSA FB*

These are the top 3 places I visited during my stay in London and I was heavily inspired by them. I’m really thankful for the school’s sponsorship, TSA and also fei yue for their shoes, to present me with this opportunity to have an eye opening experience in London. However, I wished our stay there was much longer because there’s still so much more to discover in the amazing city!

I LOVE FEI YUE!!

Since Singapore just a tiny red dot, more of such trips will be great for Singaporean’s brain!

HAHAHAAHA~

Jacqueline T

Art Director

NOW I JUMP WITH MORE PPL!

2011-10-02T21:32:00.006+08:00

It feels good to be go on another overseas trip with TSA(The Student Agency). This time to somewhere much further, London. The furthest place TSA had travelled so far, and I am proud to have been a part of it. :)

I did jump shots in Melbourne during a TSA trip in 2009:

recently did more jump shots in London:

The difference? Many more people in the photo! Excluding the fact that I actually put on much more weight.

This is how much TSA had grown over the few years. In my previous entry I mentioned about how glad I am to see the number of members growing. Now I would like to add on to that, really glad to see many more students given the opportunity to have global exposure. Especially London, a city rich in culture for the arts and design. Truly ideal for budding creatives.

Being able to see what a letter press look like, travel the streets of London and even get a chance to step into Mother. Not many design students get to travel and see London to adopt a world view and further understand the cultural difference in the art and design scene. All of that was also a first for me too. This London trip is indeed a great milestone for The Student Agency, establishing more relationships with agencies and creatives in London. I look forward to see collaborations between TSA and other agencies in London, eventually with the rest of the world in the near future.

A few personal takeaways for me during this trip:

Given the opportunity to see the light sensitive UV ink in action, when demonstrated by the lab technician by putting the printed paper out in the sun, allowing the ink to absorb UV light from the sun and changing colour. It really fascinated me because I am currently researching on UV inks that react to light, water and temperature. The effects are truly extraordinary!

Lastly, I can't stop emphasizing how great the lighting there was during the golden hours, great for photoshoots! The shadows cast by the sun created contrasting dramatic lighting and long shadows.

During this trip, I was the overall photographer capturing all the important moments. Hope everyone enjoyed the photos posted on our Facebook and do look out for a short video on our experience in London coming out in a week. :)

Cheers!

Justin Tan
Senior Art Director

the further you go, the closer to yourself

2011-10-02T20:48:00.006+08:00

Since my dear fellow londonistas have wrote pretty much all of the details of our amazing adventure in London, I shall attempt to write this entry on my own personal insights.

They say first impression is the strongest one, and sure it is. My first night in London, shortly after touch down and a quick bus trip to the hotel, drew the most fascination out of me. I suppose it was due to how it had not been driven into us yet that we were in London that it felt almost magical, embraced in cold autumn breeze, strolling upon the cobbled street looking for a good hearty english meal at 3 am Singapore time.

But it was definitely not Singapore, my brain nagged me as I gape in wonder upon the most mundane of mundane things that filled the street; the street signs, the shop signs and displays, the map, everything was wonderfully designed and a feast to the eye.

And then it struck me, can I do such a good job if I was to design the same sign? or the map? for goodness sake this was most probably designed when I was still a design-ignorant. And oh gosh, these are mundane things on the street, people are used to seeing these, so even if you do a same standard job and submit it to design schools here, it would not stand out because it is just as good as their street sign. And man, so envious of the people here, they live with such good design surrounding them, not even counting all the wonderful museums and other artsy relics.

And that was how my wonderful adventure in London started.

Fast forward to the day we visited Mother London. Alex West of Mother gave us designer-hopefuls a very resounding advice to 'just be (ourselves)', yet another strong impression echoing in my mind. I thought, but how can I be myself? how do I know if I am good enough that I should just be myself? the person is after all, to quite an extent, defined by his surrounding and experiences. And at that moment in the trip, I sure felt like an ignorant teenager who has barely seen or know the world or myself.

Oh the woes. Now I understand why those main characters in movies get stumped and depressed after being given an important advice instead of having their moment of epiphany. But I digress.

Looking back, it was a really great personal insights made, as it motivates me to be wide-eyed and pay as much attention as possible to the surrounding and happening throughout the trip, and even after the trip. People say traveling makes you open-minded and knowledgable, but I think it is more of the insights and questions you made throughout the journey. And the sense of curiosity for everything that formed from those insights let you see the exceptions, intricacies and wonder in your surrounding back home. It is amazing how you can discover many things by looking at the mundanities from a new perspective or in a new light. And I hope one day, I will discover myself too, and be able to channel all those discoveries into my design works. Sounds like an exciting journey yes?

Thank you so much to SP, Design School and Feiyue who had made this insightful trip possible, Faris for his support and also Azhar, who has been patiently chaperoning us for the whole exciting week in London!

2 weeks of holiday left, let's get cracking everyone!

Still jetlagged but happy,

Chrisvensia

Junior Designer

Stalking? Or Research? It's Just Spams

2011-10-02T19:30:00.019+08:00

I'm back in Singapore!- miss my family, friends and local food. And I miss London too!

---

Took it in the plane

....and we went there too!

I've been thinking about what I've experienced in London.

The architecture? No.

...traffic? No.

The street? No.

It's people.

Don't get me wrong, I don't treat people as aliens or monsters. I love people that is why I take their photo. Every few metres I walk, I see beautiful people and I wanted to capture that moment, their faces!

I regretted not being able to capture most of their faces because I have no courage to speak up to ask for an acknowledgement to take a photo. The thing about me is- I'm afraid of striking conversation with strangers. Be it in Singapore or London, I'm just scared.

Fear was also the reason why I bumped into troubles a few times.

In London tube, a woman shouted across the cabin: "This is not your home!" Plus a lengthy of reprimands. She accused me when I wasn't taking her photo at all, but it's fine. I apologized anyway. I know it is rude to take a person's photo without his/her permission, and I'm sorry.

And I was actually taking her photo.

Another incident happened in Elephant & Castle. It was so scary that I was stumped.

I was at total loss when she(the above pic) screamed : "Hey you! Hey you! You come here! You come here!" I figured I'll upload because the more risk it is to take a photo, the more valuable it is, and I'm not going to waste it.

It was a little life threatening because I thought of a million negative consequences that could happen to me that instant- like I was punched in my face or my camera was thrown. Luckily Jacq broke my train of thoughts and hurried me to run. It was my blessing that she did not chase after me. I wonder what would happened.

All these happened because of the one word I hate- Fear. The fear of approaching strangers. The fear of asking their permission. This word is always haunting me but I'm going to break free someday. 'Replace fear of the unknown with curiosity!'

I'm thankful for the strangers that did not mind me snapping their photos! Some even smiled back at me even though I did not asked for their permission at all.

I'm grateful:> You made my day!

And thanks to Qom, he taught me stuffs and helped me open up a little. I see the way he approached strangers for their picture makes me wonder, what exactly am I afraid of?

Nonetheless, London is an amazing place to be! I'm clickin' the camera's button like there's no tomorrow. The people are friendly, architecture, everything is so nice and beautiful. I'm grateful for the opportunity to be able to travel to London. Thank you for the opportunity! SP, SD, Feiyue, Azhar, mummy and friends! I really enjoyed the trip. I had so much fun because of this fun bunch of friends that I've met in school.

They each have qualities i respected and could learn from, from the way they work, they react etc. There is so much more to learn and grow and I'm going to say this to myself again- GAMBATTE CHLOE! That someday would come soon! And soon, you will be having conversation with strangers and not feeling a tinge of fear at all.

Below are some pictures of people I took in the tube! SuiKee also added-no wonder people wants to scold you.HAHAHAA. I know right? Who zoomed up on them in their face?

I've got more pictures but I'm not going to spam this blogpost.

With love,

Chloe

Visualiser

Crazy in love

2011-10-02T19:22:00.009+08:00

The week i spent in London went by like a camera flash; i took in as much as i could about the charming place but at the same time, it was almost a kind of overwhelming blindness that made me dizzy in love with London.

Being in London was inspirational, learning from London was instinct.

I was led to the Tate Modern Museum. The biggest highlight of the trip. (for me that is) And again, i was hit by a bigass blow of beauty and art. I almost cried seeing an original Picasso piece, right there in my face at arms length. I wanted to shrivel up and die it it's amazing-ness.Needless to say. Inspirational. I didn't need to make a mental note to memorize or analyze. Learning came instinctively and unknowingly. I learned so much in London -of course at that moment i had no clue.

I remember every night, as we stroll down the tan uneven streets back to our hotel i would reflect upon the art, culture and beauty of this dreamy place, white smoke rising from its chimneys defiant of the lovely blue sky above it. It was impossible not to have new insights and ideas to return with.

OH YES! Of course, a big thankyou so much to SP and SD that gave us this special experience and exposure that is truly priceless and unforgettable. London has opened up my mind. The people, places, culture. I'm going to transfer all of it back here, to Singapore. Hopefully through TSA's up-coming exhibition (keep a look out for that!)
Catch you soon!

Kai Ling
Junior Copywriter

London, I'll be back.

2011-10-02T18:04:00.013+08:00

Our week-long trip to London was more than just an educational trip to museums, galleries and notable design agencies. It gave me a larger insight about their culture, way of living and how I have been truly living in a bubble in Singapore, all my life. We needed to get out and see the world. Well, in this case, great old London. London is quaint and rich in history, but so bustling all at the same time! The harmony of it is evident everywhere, from the cobblestone ground, architecture, to people rushing up the escalators (whilst politely keeping to the side, mind you) and self-checkout counters at Marks & Spencer. Heh.

I am so glad we took public transport to our destinations as that enabled us to really explore the areas, even when we took wrong turns. Thanks to Azhar and his trusty iPad, we got around easily.

We visited London College of Communication and toured its campus. They even have a letterpress studio! That was really cool because letterpress itself is becoming rare. We managed to hang around for a bit and take some photos as there was an ongoing class. We spoke to a course director to learn more about its design courses and the criteria to get in. What was more inspiring was looking at current students' publications that they submitted for their projects. Some of them were really awesome.

Visiting Mother London was another inspiring session. Alex talked about the works they have done as well as how the agency operates. There was even a strategist who came in to talk to us about his experiences and tips. Thank you thank you, really. Recently, I have been toying with the idea of going for the strategist route in advertising.

A photo montage of none other than - mothers!

I have to say this: One thing that really struck me was how immensely friendly people are here. I don't want to be a bummer and say "Oh that's cos we're tourists". We had passersby talking to us, taking pictures and owners of cafes sitting with us, explaining how to differentiate wild rocket leaves from the other kind and just chatting. Everyone has problems, all over the world. But the people we meet here, just seem really sunny and open to everyone. It's lovely.

The Raphael Cartoons at the V&A Museum

A friendly dog with Jacq, Clarice and Jialing

Mind Over Matter: Alan Fletcher's The Art of Looking Sideways at Kemistry

This trip only confirmed that I would definitely be returning, with a stronger desire to immerse myself into the London culture and for a longer duration. I understand that there is much more to London, its beauty and even its ugly, but that is what I mean by immersing anyway. To embrace London with all of its flaws.

Our 7-day trip was just a teaser. I'll have to go back again for an all-around full experience. Truthfully, I am as pumped up as I was before the trip, and after.

OH YES, Kai and I totally had a poltergeist in our hotel room. Mysterious puddle of water on our dresser, TV switching on by itself, a nail dropping out of nowhere. Well, I'd like to think there was. Haha, not Kai though. But you were a great room mate, Kai!

So, here I sign off. And with that, see you again London,
Syarini
Copywriter

Lifted

2011-10-02T17:45:00.005+08:00

Day in day out, it’s been four days since we part London. Me, I could feel a slight weight on my eyelid only after 4am in the morning, which happens to be 9pm in London. (I think?)

Nevertheless, I’m still living off the inspiring experience I had there like a vampire with the thirst for blood. Visiting the different design houses, exhibitions and Mother have shown me a lot; they opened a whole new perspective in my life. I would love to share every tiny winy bit that happened; like how amazing Mother was. The interior was superb and I'm love the working environment. Oh! Not forgetting taking the tube, which happens to be quite annoying sometimes. Well, the distance between different tube lines are very far, it’s pretty complex down there.

Unfortunately, no. I’m trying not to start gibbering.

Back to my title, Lifted.

Lifted, changed, inspired.

The chills, thrills and frills. London’s an eye opener for me. And yes, there are always lessons learnt and knowledge gained. I’m leeching off all my memories I had there, trying to brainstorm on our upcoming exhibition next year. I’ve already thought of the concept -“Preservation”. You might think that the idea adapts from the rich culture and history London possessed. but nope, it is actually from my amateur fruit eating experience there. That’s how I realized that the word PRESERVED describes London the best. So, if you want to find out more about “PRESERVED” do check out our exhibition. (next year, heh)

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Design School of Singapore Polytechnic for sending us and Feiyue, for sponsoring us our awesome kicks. :)

That’s about it, before I go,

IWANTTOGOBACKTOLONDONPLEASE.

Cheerios!

Jialing

Visualizer

(ps you cannot not take good pictures in London. #justsaying)

We'll do it all

2011-10-02T15:28:00.003+08:00

It would have seem that everyone's talked about what I could. So I'm going to talk about a new friend we met at London. This post is nothing formal so just sit back and read with your eyes half closed.

So while walking around with Samantha and Dana one night, we chanced upon a guy who was standing alone. We decided to ask him for directions, as we were somewhat lost. Ok, ok we were VERY lost. Without any idea of where to go or how to get anywhere, we had no choice but to ask a stranger. He introduced himself as Isaias. A 19 year old fashion design student. We exchanged contacts like email and phone number and planned to meet again on a different day, before we flew back to Singapore.

Fast forward to that day

So we were having pizza at Fuel Restaurant somewhere around Covent Garden. We had this beautiful conversation about the design industry. Be it interior, product, visual, games, fashion. Many of the designers in Singapore would have the mindset that they could never be as good or achieve what designers from more acclaimed parts of the world like UK, US or Japan can. We always feel that we have our capabilities capped. These thoughts can be subtle and subconcious yet sometimes you just can't shrug it off.

Isaias made a speech that day, which I felt was very inspiring. Everywhere around the world, it is not where you come from, not your skin colour, not your race, not your heritage and definitely not your lineage that will get you where you want to be. It is still in who works the hardest and who wants it more. It is still about the people with bigger dreams and bigger passion who in the end works towards their dreams instead of sit around convincing people they have one.

When we went to London. Raise your hands, how many of you thought we were going to see for ourselves how good the artists/designers are? Don't lie. I myself raised my hands.

How thought that when we went there, we were looking at how good we can be?

I don't have any relevant photos to share so I'm posting a picture of me sitting on the floor looking up into the sunlight. It does not represent anything deep,actually.

I think a point Alex from Mother forgot to explain about being ourselves was about how we first had to believe in ourselves.

Just a short reflection guys but I hope it made you guys think.

Cheers!

Qomarul Arifin

Copywriter

Old x New = London & its Textures

2011-10-02T07:19:00.012+08:00

Firstly, I apologize for the really weird title.

Secondly, I'm still jetlagged. It's a few minutes to 8am on a Sunday morning and I've yet to fall asleep. Its really depressing as I've NEVER been jetlagged before. There goes an achievement I was proud of.

Thirdly, its still surreal to me that I've actually set my Feiyue-clad feet in London. To me, the week I've spent in London seems like just a dream and I've just been sleeping for 7 long days.

Honestly, I don't know what to write here. Do I write about the copywriting I've seen in London (since I am a junior copywriter)? Should I share about how I felt? Or should I just share about the days in general? I've no idea.

Initially, I have to admit, I was really unenthusiastic about this trip. Heck, like me and Suikee discussed, we were more excited about our Malaysia Perak trip we had in the start of Year 2. But in just 4 short hours, London and its electric taste has won me over.

Looking at my pictures, I realized I subconsciously was amazed by the textures in London. From the brick floors and walls to the smooth glass of the more modern buildings, to the soft wool of a vintage sweater to new leather of a jacket in Primark, London sure knows how to mix its old and new perfectly.

These are some textures I've observed over the days:

D-1

-Brick walls that are everywhere. (I'm a huge sucker for brick walls, I absolutely LOVE them.)

-The cobblestone floors of Covent Square. I nearly fell on my face 3 times.

-The smooth wood and brick walls of the Mac Store at Covent Square. So different from the stores we have here.

-The white tiles in the Tube station.

D-2

-The paper bag Primark uses.

-The white walls and black uppercase san serif text that LCC uses. Really nice interiors they have going on.

D-3

-The red leather of the bar where me, Jiarong, Suikee, Sabrina and Xinying had a Thai lunch.

-The mix of wood, metal and concrete used for Mother London's interior.

-(Honestly, I have zilch for Oxford Street as I was too obsessed with shopping to notice..)

D-4

-The canvas of the paintings that hung in Curved Angel Cafe.

-The canvas that Vic Lee silkscreens his prints on.

-The slightly damp grass in V&A Museum's garden where I hung around with Jiarong, Suikee and Sabrina; the best 2-3 hours I spent in London.

D-5

-The gold chains of vintage jewelry that were sold along the streets of Portobello Market.

-The wonderful feel of vintage denim in a vintage store along Bricklane, Blitz Blitz.

-The smooth marble of the lions in Trafalgar Square.

D-6

-How the area around the traffic lights are yellow.

-The concrete floors of Tate Modern which were complimented with white walls and red accents.

D-7

-The smooth marble fountain we sat on at Buckingham Palace.

-The white metal used to construct the London Eye.

-The aged marble of the building where we had Macdonalds outside of.

I apologize if my post has been kind of boring. But London and its mix of textures is amazing to me.

I'd sincerely like to thank Singapore Polytechnic for making this trip possible, Feiyue for sponsoring lovely shoes to ALL of us, my parents for paying for this trip, Azhar for being a chaperone for this trip, and all my lovely TSA mates for being wonderful to be with.

To make up for the lack of substance in this post, below are a few other experiences I'd like to share in jpeg form.

And with that, I sign off,

Jeslynn Ong

Junior Copywriter

I came back as a new person

2011-10-02T03:34:00.002+08:00

Everyday, everywhere we went was a form of inspiration for me. London is stunningly beautiful. I love the culture, i love the place, i fell in love.

To tell the truth, all this time before leaving for London, i never knew who i was or what i really want to be but after the trip to Mother, i guess i've found myself.

"Just be yourself" - Alex West

I don't know how to put in words how overwhelmed and inspired i was everyday. Even before leaving for London, i've always had that idea of coming to London and further my studies. I'd imagine myself here, and all the other possible things that could happen. Who knows i'd really be here, even if it's just 7 days. This trip really is a wonderful wonderful opportunity!

What i loved most from this trip, besides absorbing insightful knowledge and feeling inspired everyday, was sitting down and blending in at the John Madejski Garden at Victoria & Albert Museum. It feels really nice to rest your feet and clear your head, and just observe the people around you; Children playing by the fountain, couples making out, mothers pushing strollers or families just having a great weekend. What i observed in London is that people don't really care about what you do. I see people sitting on the pavement reading a book, or lying on the grass absorbing the sun rays. Maybe this is just my perception of what i see...

People enjoying the day on the lawn

Two friends talks about something

A father watches his daughter

All in all, i totally enjoyed myself in London - The visit to Mother, Nobrow, Skew, LCC, Vic Lee, and not to forget the shopping experience Etcetera. I would say that i've brought back a part of London in me and i still feel so inspired. (Picks up my pencil) Part of me just don't wish to snap back to reality. I'll be back. :)

Sabrina Khong

Account Coordinator

She's a French girl! No? German?

2011-10-02T03:15:00.004+08:00

(As far as I know, the only thing I look is Asian so people mistaking me as French was quite a highlight.)

London was beautiful in all the right ways - awesome weather, relatively friendly people in general, efficient public transport, intriguing advertising and great company all made this study trip mind-blowing.

That said, it is my second trip to London; my first being back in 2008, also a school trip but a literature study trip instead of a design study trip. Going back to places like Oxford Street, Trafalgar Square and visiting the Big Ben were nostalgic, but being able to go to even more places this time made this visit much more exciting. Plus, we had a lot more freedom because we're independent and responsible young adults now cough.

Other than being extremely hyped to visit the London College of Communication and various design studios and agencies, part of me wanted to go there just because Britain has an amazing military history (with spectacular war museums to boot). I was on a mission to procure everything WW2-related, but that is hardly relevant so I shall move on.

Before this trip, I always had a notion of furthering my studies in London. It seemed like a really good idea, with so many great things coming out of the English designers. Plus, studying overseas seems so much more glamourous and fun (yes, I know I seem rather shallow right now, moving on~) so being able to have a taste of London before actually deciding was a god-sent opportunity.

I'll be honest and say that in the first few days of being there I felt completely overwhelmed with the prospects of living alone in London. I'm what you would call a typical Singaporean/Asian person - not really open to talking to strangers at all. Thus, when kind locals start talking to me I end up mumbling to myself instead. It was really embarrassing. Adding on to that was my bad hearing, which means I either smile and pretend I understand or pretend I don't understand English at all - still terrible either way. I had serious doubts about living and studying in this city - in all it's glory and glamour, it just wasn't home.

All that changed after a few more days though. Especially after visiting Mother London and Skew, I was inspired! Sounds so cliché right? Laugh at my naiveté all you want, but that is what I really felt - I wanted to much to stay, to learn, to be able to produce work as astounding as theirs and to be able to feel proud of what I create. Most of all, I wanted to be able to bring all that I have learnt back to Singapore and help create a name for Singapore in the world of design.

I was also amazed by how Britain has managed to both keep up with modern times while still staying true to their roots - their architecture is one awe-inspiring mix of old English houses and modern futuristic buildings. I could go on and on about how much I enjoyed this trip but bottom-line is:

It may have made me think twice about applying to study abroad but it has also rejuvenated and inspired my jaded mind and love for design.

And for that, THANK YOU!s are in order to Singapore Polytechnic, SP Design School (Especially Faris) & TSA for giving me this chance to experience London again, but as a designer instead of a literature student. I have gained much invaluable experiences. Also, thanks to Feiyue for sponsoring shoes 8) I wore them until they were literally caked in mud.

Cheers~

Sui Kee
Junior Designer

PS: If anyone is interested, the Imperial War Museum is DEFINITELY WORTH A VISIT, I almost died of happiness the moment I stepped in.

Lost & Found- A tourist? An explorer? Discoveries.

2011-10-02T01:36:00.017+08:00

London - A city that i have never thought of visiting (you might think i'm sleeptalking, probably, but i'm not)

Firstly, i would like to thank the agency and the school for giving me such an amazing opportunity to visit London. Also, Feiyue for the sponsorship! I'm still in the midst of seasoning my shoes, give me some time!

P.s I want to thank my roomate too, Dana, for being accomodating because i was sleeptalking everyday- no worries i'm paying the doctor a visit very soon!

(Photo credits: Qomarul)

I feel like i'm Charlie (from the Charlie & the chocolate factory) that had the golden ticket already.

Being someone that is fond of travelling, and exploring places, i've never thought of being able to travel to other side of the globe at such young age. (Well 18, not young, but i think i'm pretty young still)

Unlike any destinations/countries that i'm going to visit, i would always try to visualise how the place looks like. Well, sometimes i would even dream of that the country that i was going to visit. (I barely rest, i dream alot.)

But for London? No. I couldn't visualise myself in anything at all. No, this wasn't depressing or anything bad, but it made my curiosity multiply- and my 13 hr flight there was filled with excitement, and anticipation.

3-4 hours on the flight, over the skies of India, being able to see the plane fly so low, anticipation xdouble (sorry all i did to the entertainment set was to look at the flight map, and listen to a couple of songs on repeat)

Over the skies of Afghanistan, holy sh*t 3(anticipation xdouble)

Finally, London! It's not close to being real! It's for real!

Ok, so that's my little "experience"/food for thought that i want to share about how i felt that London was such.a.dream.

London was such an eye opener for me:

The culture.

The weather.

The transportation.

The places.

The food.

The people.

Lastly,

The sense of feeling lost and ~~getting~~ feeling found.

London filled me with inspirations, alot ALOT of them and they're not just soley on design. It's everything.

"We don't just want to go London and take something from there." - Azhar (hi!)

This hit me and i began to question myself.

I've always loved to travel, but am i just being a tourist?

Or do I want to be part of where i had explored?

Tourist with an itinerary?

Tourist with no itinerary?

Explorer with an itinerary?

Explorer with no itinerary?

I wanted to be the last option. But for this trip, we were pretty much of the third option. The experience was still amazing, nonetheless.

To be lost, that's when you would discover new things. Getting stucked/lost would always be discoveries (for me)

Was eating at a restaurant when the waiter ask, "How do you say thank you in Singapore"- Lost

"Thank you? We speak English in Singapore too." I replied.

It was then i realised the waiter thought Chinese only spoke Mandarin.

Found.

Me & Sabrina boarded the wrong train- Lost

We were called out by Azhar (luckily) to get off the train. It was then i realised the track had 3 different lines running, all going to different destinations. We were on the wrong direction as well.

Found.

As much as i miss London, and i would love to go back there again- I am all inspired again and all set to feel, and re-experience my home country- Singapore in a different perspective.

"Hey, i could get lost here too."

As what others always say, change is constant, if not you'll stay stagnant.

London was a really enriching trip for me.

I want to be part of where i had explored.

For London, for every country/city i visit, for Singapore.

Not a tourist anymore, because a tourist pretty much learns nothing.

(I have finally experienced London)Cheers,

Xinying

Junior Designer.

Leaving impressions.

2011-10-02T00:07:00.004+08:00

I'm still slightly jet lagged so if I start to sound incoherent, I'm sorry! Haha!

Before going to London, I was actually feeling pretty okay about it because I didn't want to expect too much for fear of not having my expectations reached. I'm not gonna lie, as much as I've enjoyed myself in London, the place is not oh-so-perfect as everyone thinks it would be. It has its down sides, like everything else. But I just don't want to sugar-coat everything to make it seem as if the place is literally perfect.

But that's not the point.

To me, London has left lots of impressions. Mostly good, some are bad.

Being in London has definitely left a mark in my heart. I really loved it there. The sights and places were really inspiring. Learning about the culture there was really different. The Londoners are really open. To most Singaporeans, violently shunning away from having an unknown waiter strike a conversation with them is most probable, but not to Londoners (and maybe most Western cultures). And it felt really great there. Being able to talk to more people on a casual basis. It was pretty new for me, and it was a really nice experience. People like them, they made me remember.

Curved Angel had amazing service and great food. Never forget.

For the seven days in London, I've learnt a lot. As the most places and environments were really inspiring, it really got me to love design more. Seeing the amazing architectures, street art, and ads all around has made me have the "oh, I want to see my work up here" feeling. Especially after having deeper insights at Mother London, it really made me feel that being part of a viral campaign would make me feel - sorry for the cheesy word - special. Looking at how proud Alex and Erik were while they were presenting really motivated me. Not saying that the work in TSA don't make me feel proud, but having your works shown outside of SP, outside of Singapore, outside of Asia. I feel that it's a pretty huge thing to me. It's like leaving a mark of yourself in the world. I wonder how the dinosaurs felt. But I digress.

So pretty~

Not only at Mother, but also at SKEW. Even though it was their first time to be part of the London Design Festival, they showed and talked about their agency with such pride. I feel that leaving a strong impression in the industry really meant something. Something big. I feel like having your works recognised by the big shots in the industry is one, but a bigger achievement would be how people from the general public would know your name. That is the challenge.

Humble, but fun.

I hope Azhar, TSA, and myself has left a lasting impression on the people whom we visited. People like Jamie from LCC, Alex from Mother, Abby from SKEW, and Vic Lee.

Shopping is another. At the places where I shopped at at least. What left an impression onto me was how awesome the shopping environment is! I'm verging on sounding really bimbotic, but seriously though! There are people who say how Singapore is a shopping heaven but to be honest, it's really nothing much to me (mostly big and expensive brands which equates to BORING). Primark was a main highlight for me. Cheap, fashionable, big variety. What's there not to love? I got a pair of shoes that could pass of for at least $70 for 10pounds there!! Is that affordable or what?! Also, the HMV there is like heaven to me. Not to mention we managed to be there during the sales period, I've never felt happier. I got an album on its release date! I felt so happy. It's like being one of the first to get it, at a really reasonable price too. The free times where we went shopping, left an impression.

Whee Primark!

Finally, I would like to just mention how TSA has left a really lasting impression on me. I've gotten closer to friends, and even closer to my close friends there. I love these people, this entire trip was really fun and it's probably all thanks to them. The fun and laughter we have. I'm so grateful to be going to London with this bunch of people. I feel like we've bonded, like really bonded. It's like a family now. *cue violin backing*

A group of awesome people right there.

Okay I shall stop being sappy. I shall end of the entry with a happy note. Overall, the trip was great and it was a really great experience for me. Also, I MUST thank Feiyue's sponsorship, SP Design School (especially Faris) and of course SP for giving me a chance to be part of the trip. I can't wait for another trip like this!!

Also, 13-hour flights are really not my thing.

(All pictures from TSA Facebook except picture no.3)

Jia Rong,
Visualiser

It's finally released!

2011-10-01T10:47:00.005+08:00

After so many weeks of drafts and amendments, the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre has released the Individual Giving Survey 2010 Supplement to the public last month!

I had always wanted to do an info graphics chart, and finally, NVPC gave us this chance to help out with their deck with icons and pie charts. It was my first time working on projects like this. Although it was not something that I expected myself to be doing, to design pie charts and icons were definitely a great start out. Because I realised that coming up with icons that people would understand at a glance is definitely not easy. Especially when there were so many icons that was designed by so many people internationally!

I must say that their deck now has a fresher look and feel, no more chunky text!

Have a peek of the slides that we created!

It was actually quite a lot of work to do. Thankfully, Jiarong, my visualiser helped me out even though we were in the mids of submissions.

Oh! you can download and view the full NVPC Individual Giving Survey 2010 (here)

Anson:)

Art director.

It's all about connections.

2011-09-30T14:15:00.006+08:00

We’re finally back from London and I guess all of us here at The Student Agency are currently suffering from a major jet lag.

Adjourn to a place with cold autumn air lingering everywhere, a home to one of the biggest underground music scenes in the world, a diverse of many cultures, renowned for it’s variety of landmarks and icons such as The Tube, Big Ben, the red telephone booths as well as the Union Jack. London to me was simply breathtaking and it was such a beautiful city to be in!

Being an Account Executive in The Student Agency has taught me a lot of social skills and how to deal with clients. In other words, I love dedicating myself to meet new people (in and out of the creative industry). It’s the stories that I’ve heard and the interaction that I’ve had with “Londoners” that have made this trip so fulfilling and inspiring.

During my stay here in London, I made a lot of friends. Whether is it striking a conversation with a Londoner while waiting for the Red Double Decker bus to come, asking around for directions, greeting shop owners, touring around prestigious institutions and design agencies, these experiences has certainly made me realised that communication is something that our culture values alot.

To me, it also values connections.

We had a conversation about advertising and how to survive in this industry.
"Just be yourself."
(with Alex West from Mother)

We also had conversations over mustard.
"English Mustard or French?, I prefer FRENCH."
(with the chef of Ruby sandwich bar)

Conversations about how awesome his omelettes and cappuccinos were.
"I'll make a cappuccino with higher foams in it so that you can take pretty pictures of it."
(with the chef from Curved Angel Cafe)

Conversations with a random stranger by the bench.
"I'm leaving London in an hour though,I'm just sitting here waiting for time to pass."

Conversations about how he came up with his collections of
intricate prints of London.
(with artist Vic Lee )

Conversation about jeans and fashion.
"The truth is in the details."
(with sales person from Denham)

Conversations about the Beatles and John Lennon and getting serenaded by a busker!
"Let me sing you a song, I want to hold your hand by the Beatles."
(busker by the streets of Soho)

Conversations about how beautiful people are.

Conversations about being the minorities in London!!
"Let's take a picture! We're the minorities! Hey Alex you're not asian. Get lost."

Conversations about the British army.
(with a shop owner selling second hand army loots from Portobello's Market Flea)

And not to forget, conversations that are built to last.
(Isaias and Taylor)

To sum it all up,I must say that I'm deeply inspired by the people that I've talked to and I've learnt alot from all of that interaction.

Want to know the secret to start up a conversation? It's easy! All you've gotta do is to be confident and be passionate about your own ideas and what you believe in. After all, it's easier to talk to people if you have shared an experience with them. Now, there you go, you've made yourself a new friend! :)

Tata,
Dana Lim
Account Executive

So you think you can think?

2011-09-28T17:31:00.016+08:00

When people say educational trip, we would most probably think of a journey or a trip which starts off with thousands of questions lingering in our minds. The answers to these questions can be found during the trip, or at least clues and various key guides would be slowly picked up along the way which will ultimately leave you with answers for your questions.

At the start of the plane ride on the way to London, this was my train of thoughts. I began the plane flight with various questions. I go to London, get the answers and come back more knowledgeable. It sounds simple and I get to have plenty of fun while I’m doing it. Seems like a pretty simple affair.

In fact, I sincerely thought my trip would be as easy as that. Learning new mediums and getting inspirations for the execution of my designs. It is, after all, a visit to the London Design Festival. I would get to see more styles and works and……there you go; a fruitful overseas trip. Or is it?

Throughout this trip, I met many interesting people and the lessons I’ve learnt goes well beyond just on a visual surface basis. Many casual conversations lead me to believe that appreciation of your work does not come solely based on how well it looks or how intricate your designs are. It is not about that. It is not about how big you get it to be or how many colours you squeeze into a design. It is not that either. It is not even in how able you are in using the software to craft your designs. It is not about complexity either.

Then what is? Yes, this was not on my list of initial questions at all. In fact it may seem a little shallow that it wasn’t. My idea of this simple getaway became more complex. The answers I was hoping for came in the form of questions. More and more questions came up. This worries me. Aren’t questions and doubts a sign of weakness? To not know the answer seems like a flaw if you get what I mean. And I thought the answers would be easy to find. Silly me.

In TATE modern museum, I walked around and observed the works. Again, more questions. In fact some of them raised enough questions to make me stare and ponder for a while.

“Why did he use these colours”
“Why did he align it such that it was not even symmetrical?”
“These are just squares and rectangles!” [I really asked that]
“What is the inspiration behind this? Was he crazy or whaaat” [more weird questions]

As more questions filled my mind, I find myself more and more intrigued by the art piece. It was almost as though these questions were baits the artist placed along a path to lead me deeper into his or her world. To further appreciate his design. More than just a “hey that looks really cool” but more of understanding the story behind the products. More than just the story of the artist but the story his subject tells too. The emotions portrayed and also the hidden emotions that were masked behind a simple painting/picture/exhibition. It would have seemed that the artists had deliberately made it the way it is to prod our brains, make it work a little harder to interpret their works.

Then was when it struck me. Questions are not a sign of weakness or a sign of the uneducated. Questions are signs of interaction with the art pieces and the thinking shows that we involve ourselves with the art piece. It was a sign of maturity. Curious souls learn the most.

With that, I understand how these artists had massive attention drawn towards them. To trigger a thought or to convince people to think is not easy. They managed to get generations of people to work their minds and to spend time to process thoughts. This was what made them remarkable. This was what made people really intrigued and amazed by their works. The way they almost manipulated our minds.

So guys, just a heads up. Keep thinking. Make people think.

Signing out with a cheek to cheek greeting.
Cheers
Qomarul Arifin
Copywriter

Photo credits by Justin Tan Wei Yang.
The logo at the start of the post was taken from http://versouk.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/tate-logo.jpg

TATE MODERN

2011-09-27T22:30:00.000+08:00

I was pretty excited initially when I heard that we’re heading down to Tate Modern Museum. I mean, c’mon, it’s a world-renowned museum! So I was totally psyched for it.

The environment in there was totally cool. The place has a variety of international modern art and I wanted to go to all of them! But due to time constraints and the attractive things in the souvenir shop, we decided to go to the one that’s most relevant to us – “The States of Flux”, “Energy and Process”, and “Photography: New Documentary Forms” – they were all on the same level so it was really convenient for us. All the exhibition pieces were really good and they were exhibits of the best works from various art movements. It’s a pity Mun Ying isn’t here because I believe that he would totally love all of this and also include whatever he saw into his lessons. I believe the future cohorts would definitely benefit from that.

However, the highlight for me in the exhibition would be the photography exhibition. Basically, photos of five contemporary artists were displayed and they were all very intriguing and really well taken. I was really inspired by them and it makes me want to do awesome works like theirs too! It was a really nice experience in general. Here are some of the photos we've taken.

After leaving the museum, we headed out to more places of interest. But to get to the train station, we had to go across the river via the Millennium Bridge. The bridge was BEAUTIFUL! The architecture and structure was really impressive, wish we could see bridges like this back home in Singapore. The famous St. Paul’s cathedral was in sight from the bridge and it was just so majestic. I was really excited when I saw it. I mean, I just saw a really famous landmark right in front of my eyes. I think I teared a little. That was how amazing it was!

For people who are interested in various art movements, this exhibition is definitely a must-go for them. What better to top it off but with awesome architecture and a world-famous cathedral? I really want to go there again!

I can’t believe I’m flying back home tomorrow! I’ll miss this place so much.

Jia Rong

Visualiser

NOBROW

2011-09-27T21:30:00.000+08:00

We went to the NOBROW Gallery located at 62 Great Eastern St, which was just a stone throw away from Kemistry Gallery- the gallery that we went to for Alan Fletcher's: Mind over matter exhibition. Before going there, NOBROW to me really struck my curiosity about how the name came about. With just this, i was already quite excited about what would be there and the exhibition that was going on in conjunction with London Design Festival- "MASKS" by BEN NEWMAN.

NOBROW gallery is a studio/shop/exhibition space located in Shoreditch, an area that is slowly becoming a place where boutique agencies set up their creative studios and some with a little cozy shop space. It has been on and running for about three years now, and the illustrations/design works were solely run by Sam Arthur, the owner of NOBROW and his partner (Oh, and the cashier boy who was quite humorous!)

When i just arrived at the shopfront, even before entering the shop, the shop front was already filled with monochrome illustrations and displays of the exhibition. When i went in, i was amazed by the range of books/publication they have. Personally, i feel that NOBROW has a certain art direction that they had. So, the books that they were selling had a certain style to it. (The illustrations blew me off.) I wouldn't say that the illustrations are "cute", but more of whimsical, and somewhat provocative in an expressive manner. Each illustration has a unique personality that would call out to someone. I am in love with the illustrations, i purchased a book, postcards that i thought it would serve as a great inspiration if i added it on my wall of "inspirations"- with interesting photographs, illustrations and designs that i've collected, just beside my work space. Even the paper bag had really nice illustrations- i'm thinking of getting a frame and framing it up! It's not just a paper bag, it's a piece of art.

About "MASKS", the exhibition, it was quite interesting as well. The illustrations were illustrated with use of similar shapes and patterns, and same colors were repeated. Unlike other exhibitions that i've been to for the last 5 days in London, this was slightly different. Instead of showing different styles of illustrations following the same concept, the works all followed a certain style, so the entire space looked neat and uniform. It was really interesting.

I really like the space and works displayed in NOBROW. If there's a chance for me to return to London again, i would definitely drop by and check the space out again!

P.s. dont wanna leave London!!

Xinying,

Junior Designer

PORTOBELLO MARKET

2011-09-26T07:00:00.003+08:00

Portobello Market, stretching up to 2 miles long, feels inviting and warm with a hint of rustic old charm. Not forgetting, the colourful architecture along the streets with people and street performances. The people there are not just locals alone, but of many different nationalities judging from the way they speak. It is just an awesome place.

The items sold in every stall are unique, although there were a few similar stalls along the way. And I BOUGHT RANDOM SOUVENIRS which CAN'T BE BOUGHT IN SINGAPORE. I bought a few of them for my family and friends! Usually, I would spam pictures but the items were eye catching and I hardly used my camera at all! Especially the vintage stuff! And their tote bags were awesome too. Coincidentally, we met our seniors - Kenneth and Andrea. They are currently studying at Central St. Martin's in London.

Flea markets can be found at the end of streets and even Teh Tarik (which Jacq was craving for one since she was here) can be bought in this Malay restaurant, called MAKAN. It tasted exactly like the Malay food in Singapore. Yes, we do miss Singapore too. I mean the food. HAHA! 2 more days and we will be back in Singapore! We will miss you London!

Chloe,
Visualiser

Skew

2011-09-26T05:44:00.015+08:00

We headed over to Shoreditch again to visit Skew Studio this afternoon for the Curious World of Skew. A design clinic, basically. They had little tables for children to create cardboard monsters with glitter and sparkles and. Do not let the silver sparkles fool you! They are ferocious snapping things, yo. And for everyone, a screenprinting workshop to create our own characters with the given stencils.

We managed to ask Sarah at Skew for screen printing tips so that was pretty cool. Only recently, I (Sya, hehe) experimented with silkscreen printing and went through some hassle with my frame. Although we didn't actually did printing there, we did pick up really great tips.

There was also a corner for children to have a shadow puppet show. It's really great that they involve kids in their workshop, as part of the London Design Festival at that. 'Cos design IS for everyone, not just for designers and those familiar with the industry.

All in all, we all had fun at Skew with all the interaction and their photo studio corner. Check us out with these Victorian costume cutouts!

That's all from us!

Kai and Sya
Copywriters

HELL YEAH VIC LEE!

2011-09-25T05:51:00.004+08:00

DAY 4!! How's everyone doing? I know we've been enjoying the trip so far. Today we went to visit Vic Lee's exhibition at the Craft Centrals Corner Shop on Clerkenwell Green EC1. But before that, we had brunch at curved Angel. The food was SIMPLY AMAZING!

I want to go back there again!

Anyway, back to the point, Vic Lee's exhibition in the corner shop was really small and humble. However, the size of the space was really doesn't matter because all of his works were really impressive!

They were so impressive that many of us were willing to part with 40pounds for reprints of his silkscreen prints.

Here's an interest fact, every print is numbered, signed and embossed with the artist mark. So in a way, every print is a limited edition. How cool is that?!

Another quick fact, most of his prints have stories written on them. And they were all thought out by himself and manually written. It would be really nice to have Vic in Singapore to share and talk about his thought process. I would totally go for that! I believe it would be an interesting feat and I would definitely learn a ot from him.

So, with that, till then! Bye!

Jia Rong
Visualiser.

ENGLISH MUSEUM.

2011-09-25T04:55:00.010+08:00

Two days have gone by since we were first scheduled to visit the V&A which we had to reschedule due to time constraints. We were absolutely psyched when we were finally able to squeeze in some time for the V&As.

Entering the exhibition halls i was absolutely blown away by the intricate details that was put into each of the exhibits, and how the museum accommodated each exhibition by decorating the space around it, even installing the exhibits as part of its surrounding architecture. It was truly an an amazing place to be in.

What really impressed me in particular where the renaissance postmodern exhibits on sculpture and architecture. There is nothing like it, the detailed sculptures, intricate carvings, impressionist painting did nothing but inspire me.

One of the main highlights of the event was the Crafts Council Exhibition, the ' Power Of Making.'

Much of the work wasn't about making or finding a single image to summarize it, but rather to question or bring meaning to its subject.

Each exhibit was meticulous and refined in its craftsmanship ingenious and strong in its concept. (no pictures allowed though)

This world acclaimed museum is absolutely beautiful and what i believe all of TSA gained out of it was the real virtue behind each piece of art- that's the special gift of museums, they bring inspiration and knowledge to all who enters it.

Seeya soon!

KaiLing
Junior Copywriter

How we met your Mother!

2011-09-24T16:16:00.010+08:00

Asdjkdjkd was how our mind went as we walked into the home of Mother London, filled with anticipation. We had to wait a little while before Alex West of Mother could meet us, but no matter for we were the ones who were early (and while we were airing at the lobby that doubles as a staff canteen, our excitement got a little loud). Soon after, we were taken into a nice spacious meeting room where Alex shared with us Mother's key projects such as the Ikea Happy Inside campaign as well as BECK'S campaign which proved to be extremely interesting because Eric (a creative) shared with us the concepts and thought-processes behind them.

They also gave us a tour around Mother where we got to see they incorporating the idea of everyone sitting around on one table into their "office". As such, no one got a private room or cubicle, but were instead sitting around a huge table at random. What is cool is that they also get shuffled around once in a while so as to interact with everyone else. Because of this ingenious idea, despite having almost 170 employees, they pretty much seem to know everyone which makes this agency particularly cosy and welcoming.

Thereafter, Sam, a strategist, shared a quick 5-minute tidbit with us about how he does his work which was rather insightful. Even though we were hesitant to ask questions at first, that problem was soon solved as questions followed questions which range from dealing with clients to getting employed at Mother. Alex answered all our questions patiently and thoroughly.

Personally, I (Sui Kee) found several bits of their answers interesting, such as when Eric said an ad should not be something that you need to get over with while watching TV, but something that should involved the viewer and make it fun. I find that this is relevant to all kinds of advertising - they should not be a chore to go through but something that people are willing to take time to look at or read and have a smile on their face afterwards.

The answer Alex gave us when Samantha our AE asked about how to get employed at Mother was inspiring to me (Chrisvensia) as he talked about how it is not about how much do you know about advertising (even though the knowledge helps) but how good you are in what you do , that may not necessarily be in advertising. He also went on to talk about how students tend to add things or arrange their portfolio in a certain way because of their tutors' instruction. Just be yourself and be really passionate and fantastically great at what you do. Now that's insightful!

At the end of the visit, all of us were extremely inspired and I am sure that everyone was giddy with excitement and could not wait to get our mind working on creative projects. No wonder the Mother is so proud of their children!

Sui Kee & Chrisvensia

Junior Designers

Mind over Matter

2011-09-24T06:01:00.003+08:00

We travelled all the way from Russell Square to Shoreditch High Street to visit Alan Fletcher's Mind Over Matter. To be honest, we were expecting quite another exhibition of illustrations and posters, but ooh we were mistaken. Alan Fletcher displayed his works, and most importantly his thought processes that went into his publication, which had all sorts of quotes and sketches plucked out from newspaper clippings to printouts.

What was really interesting from viewing his works was that he never really followed a specific structure for his finished book, (which we had a look at, too), but it felt raw and almost candid. It was really like taking a peek into his brilliant mind.

We liked some of his quotes and thought-provoking news reports that he gathered

Overall, it was a good experience and we were definitely inspired from this exhibition. Yay, inspiration for personal work! : )

Kai and Sya

Copywriters

Just Our Type

2011-09-23T05:55:00.012+08:00

Chilly Weather, winter wear, eyes wide open for the beautiful architecture. (And people, especially the blokes. Heh.)

Nothing beats a cup of hot chocolate with those tiny marshmallows. After the flight yesterday, we were all dead before midnight, JETLAGGGG! Well, we all had our share of stories of the night before, interesting stories.

We kicked off our second day at LCC, which is the London College of Communication of the University of the Arts London. We took the tube to Elephant and Castle (that's the name of the station, yes) after which we had a short walk to the campus to meet David Phillips, Senior Lecturer for the School of Graphic Design.

The school is sleek with its white wall and funky typographic decals. It really was visually appealing and the atmosphere was fresh and energetic, which rubbed on to us as we became equally motivated. We met David at the reception; he brought us to one of their studio to give us a brief introduction of LCC, its courses and what to expect as a student here.

Walking in the campus was a fantastic experience! We really loved the environment of the school. Simple, yet classy and it had a touch of elegance.

The letter press was an extremely fascinating experience. We agree to what both David and Mr Jamie Hobson (the Course Director of the BA Hons Graphic and Media Design faculty) said during their talk. How type press can really make attentive to the smallest details, and appreciate the effort in each letter.

With evident effects of globalization, I strongly feel that getting to bridge with overseas colleges and practices for this industry is very relevant to us. It would definitely help us in the next stage of our education and we are really thankful to LCC for hosting us.

We believe that pictures speak louder than words especially when it comes to sharing an experience. So here goes. Hang on tight. WE HIT TURBULENCE.

Samantha & Jia Ling
Account Executive & Visualiser

Answering London's Call

2011-09-23T04:31:00.007+08:00

So here I am, in London, submerged in a totally new lifestyle and culture. I can safely say that every member of The Student Agency has got their own perception of what London culture would be like, woven by what they see in the media. Television, internet and what you see in the movies could not accurately sum up what it would feel like.

Firstly I would like to talk about the flight. For some of us, it would be our first few flight. Unfortunately, the 13-hour flight drained us of energy and enthusiasm. Our excitement at the start of the flight slowly died down as the hours passed as all of us got rather restless at sitting down, with a lone screen as our company. Many times I fell asleep and woke up to still nothing but the sky outside the window. The occasional turbulence provided a, surprisingly , good entertainment and was far from being traumatic. It broke the mundane cycle of watching movies and listening to the same music all over again.

Our dampened spirits slowly raise when we arrived at London's Heathrow airport. We quickly headed for the bus port where we awaited the bus that would take us to our hotel. We were greeted with chill breezes that confirms that we are in a totally new environment.

On board the bus, I looked out at this totally foreign land, with their interesting architecture and a very new style of advertising. What really catches my eye at first was definitely the very interestingly dressed Londoners. They were all really attractive. Once again, I must say that this is a new culture that I am experiencing because back in Singapore, dressing up would be for occasions or for people who would be labeled as "vain".

The fact that we are finally in London struck hard and very suddenly. When we saw buildings with red bricks as their exterior and the many red double-decker buses, it was a seal of confirmation and a trigger for our brains to fully digest that this was it. We are in London.

It was almost as though we finally thought of a solution to a hard problem. It sunk in rather slowly but when it did, we were almost freaking out in the bus, with the very frequent "wow"s and "woo"s and "hey look at this" and "check that out!". Everywhere around me the members of TSA were furiously snapping their cameras at anything and almost everything. What was once a bus full of tired kids immediately morphed to jumpy excited guys and girls who began screaming and clapping their hands in delight.

When we arrived at the hotel, we were allocated rooms where we unpacked our luggage. We did not have much time as we had to gather for dinner almost immediately. After being told what we were supposed to do, we were handed our Oyster cards. Think of Oyster cards as EZ-Link cards in Singapore, only in English pounds. We traveled to Covent Garden for our dinner via the underground aka The Tube. Once more I was exposed to the culture in London. The Londoners travel around by a series of underground trains they call The Tube. The whole experience was very different compared to Singapore's train system. Everybody was very courteous and surprisingly the whole trip was very silent. No chatters from commuters and everyone was very calm. Everything was so slow paced, in a good way.

When we reached Covent Garden, me, Sam, Dana, Jacq and Sya headed to a small pizzeria where we shared two plates of stone baked pizza and ordered hot chocolate for each of us. This was when I just leaned back at my seat and slowly process the fact that I was in London. It was a rather unique experience. It was a pleasant feeling. I was tired and my feet were aching but it all just felt right. I felt so calm and it was a feeling I loved.

The hot chocolate was a drink that deserves a paragraph on its own. It was a hot cocoa drink served with whipped cream at the top with sprinkles of cocoa powder on top. The moment I got the drink, I immediately smelled the aroma that lingered around for a while. I took a spoonful of the whipped cream and was totally embraced by an amazing flavor unlike what I have ever tasted. It was so good that I just stared into space speechless. Stunned out of my wits.

I really appreciated the fact that the SP Design School gave me the opportunity to experience this inspiring and much-needed trip. I am speaking on behalf of the rest of TSA when I say that we truly believe that we would learn a lot from this trip and the various memories would be an invaluable momento for all of us.

We would also like to thank Feiyue for acknowledging us as their ambassadors, well almost.

Cheers!

Qomarul Arifin,
Copywriter.

Our babies have arrived

2011-09-21T01:19:00.005+08:00

Ooooh our lovely Feiyue sneakers are here. Jiarong and I hauled the hefty box and up the stairs to TSA but it was hella worth it. Herein contains our sneakers which shall be our soulmates (pun initially unintended) through our London trip, which I might add is in less than 9 hours.

So we got around distributing them with the others who came down to TSA on a rainy day to get our sneakers, and how we paraded. Well, we didn't have so many pictures of the others, but here's me and a little bit of Qomarul at the back.

According to le Qomarul~, he feels "like a ninja sia", when he put on his shoes. I do not doubt it. I'm really happy with mine, truly. I'm glad it fits great too.

Okay, gotta get some rest now, COS WE'LL BE COMING DOWN TO LONDON TOWN. (I did not just write that..) Night!

Syarini
Copywriter

Gabriel , Youngest Volunteer

2011-09-15T22:40:00.007+08:00

On the 14th of September, a selected few members of The Student Agency headed down to St Anthony Church on a special mission. Fresh out of Papparazi School, Samantha, Jialing and myself set out to put our skills to the test.

We were briefed on our assignment a week back. We were going to stalk the youngest volunteer, 11 year old Gabriel. Our client would be the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre (NVPC). We were tasked to produce a video for them.

Being professional stalkers, we quickly and quietly got our equipment ready. We looked for our target and immediately moved out, taking as many clips as we can as Gabriel went about his routine, washing and cutting vegetables. These vegetables would be cooked by other, older volunteers. The cooked food will then be transported to dormitories where the food will be distributed to the immigrants living there.

We were accompanied by Debbie, the Manager of the department of Marketing Communications. She would be ensuring that the shoot went smoothly. She would also help us in terms of communicating with Gabriel.

We expected Gabriel to be a cheeky, and mischievous little boy who would be prancing around as he does the various chores and were looking forward to shooting a young boy. We were shocked to have found out that he is actually is a very matured and intelligent kid. It was like he was a teenager stuck in an 11 year old body. We greatly admired his sincerity and diligence. In the end, the cheeky and mischievous little boy prancing around turned out to be me, Qomarul.

" He tells us that we have touched his heart.

Truth is, he touched the hearts of everyone here"

- A volunteer

We look forward to shooting the other videos in the series. Do look out for our paparazzi stalking skills and the post-production skills of Aishah and Hakim.

Oh and 5 more days to London [ I just had to fit this in, haha ]

Till then,

Qomarul Arifin

Copywriter

Counting down the days to London!

2011-09-15T01:37:00.009+08:00

Hello world!

While preparing ourselves for the inevitably awesome London trip, a few of us worked (very hard) on creating souvenirs to give out to the agencies or friendly people we will meet there. We came up with the idea of pin badges, because they make cool and practical souvenirs B)

With Justin supervising us (Kai and I), we learnt to work the laser machines in the workshop to engrave our designs and cut them out.

We came up with a total of 9 designs - not all of them are the plain ol' circle though!

Of course, we also had to think of a simple, easy packaging which will help us bring TSA more awareness while we're overseas. Kai came up with a tonne of fantastic copies, but here's just one of the many among consideration -

We also had the help of other members when it came to "manufacturing" these souvenirs, so thank you very much!

We're almost done with them and I am really pleased with the final product - it's simple but still carries our brand without being overly in-your-face so much that it's uncomfortable to wear out as a simple accessory. Many thanks to Anson and Justin as well, who provided a lot of guidance while we worked on them!

We might also happen to have a few extras left after we return so if you like what you see here, check back for more information in the future! In the mean time, I hope fellow students are making full use of the holidays to rest up and everyone else is having a good time - the weekends are almost upon us!

Cheers~

Sui Kee,

Junior Designer

2011-09-11T23:09:00.006+08:00

So ... What's brewing on a Sunday Morning at The Student Agency?

We met up at the heartlands and discussed on the various strategies for our upcoming SPOH campaign!

Our stomachs also had our fills to Sausage Mcmuffins, Pancakes, Hashbrowns and Magnum minis !!!

Poor Syarini had the runs and had to forgo the mini.

Apart from that,it's 10 more days to London ! And I can't wait to lay my hands on those pretty Feiyue sneakers that we've been sponsored for! Whooooo!!

Till then,

Dana ;)

Account Executive

Update On SPOH!

2011-09-06T14:12:00.019+08:00

We had an internal at Starbucks at SP's Foodcourt 5 earlier today. (and Azhar treated all of us:D. Thank you for the coffee!)

It's my first Singapore Poly Open House (SPOH) campaign ever since I joined the Agency. During the internal, we shared our thoughts on our first strategic proposal for SPOH. Different people have different views, and by sharing and contributing, we filled up the gaps we felt existed in the first round of strategies we put together. Just by listening, I gained much knowledge on how a campaign can be improved. The best thing is we all learnt from each other. I've learnt a lot from the guidance under my seniors (Justin and Anson). And Jiarong, who is my fellow Visualiser is really helpful too!!

If I have any ideas I can just share and talk to them! The thought processes behind the strategy can be very time consuming and challenging. There are many things to take into considerations, but the experience is enriching. Getting feedbacks from my peers and seniors gave me a chance to improve on my work.

At this point, it is the best time to experiment, expose myself to more things and try out things I used to be afraid to do. I can learn from my mistakes now, as the environment would be a lot more forgiving as compared to when I'm in the industry later. Learning is fun now at the Agency. I want to continue to create and contribute to something I can be proud of because I want to experience that satisfaction of realizing something really awesome.

Ok! That's for now! I'll be back to doing the creatives now!

Chloe :>

Visualiser

LONDON'S CALLING

2011-09-02T13:47:00.035+08:00

THERE'S A TIME AND PLACE FOR EVERYTHING, OR SO WE'RE TOLD. Think arts, entertainment & fashion. It's London alright: A metropolitan developed from its once medieval core.

We TSA folks get really pumped up over our overseas trips. We're pulling the whole shebang; posters, printed T-shirts and an oh-so fully packed itinerary. Trust me, every Mac in the agency has 'Mother London' in our Google history bar. I can almost hear the pent up excitement slowly oozing out and into TSA's air.

Junior designer, Sui Kee and I did some brainstorming and we came up with some funky ideas for our TSA London trip posters. The concept was to take London's hot-spots and give it a TSA punch.

A ROUND OF APPLAUSE, FOR THE 'LONDON'S CALLING' POSTER

I'm super stoked about the London Design Festival. It's about time we charged up and soak in some English creative juices. Now that's a perfectly spiffing idea!

See you soon!
Kai,
Junior Copywriter

I AM BACK!

2011-09-02T12:43:00.013+08:00

Hi!

I am back in TSA after completing my national service in the Republic of Singapore Navy as an art director. Now back in TSA as a senior art director, seeing through projects such as SPOH, Singapore Polytechnic Open House campaign and many other brand design and communication projects. It feels good to be back working with a new batch aspiring young creatives.

I recently did a double page spread layout showcasing TSA in SPIRIT, Singapore Polytechnic magazine. While preparing the artwork,The Last Super, I was really encouraged to see the number of agency members increase from 3 to 24 in just 3.5 years. The agency space and facilities also improved, started from a small corner of a design studio to an individual unit in InnoVillage. In addition to that, the number of work stations also increased from 4 to 22 in order to cope with the increasing number of projects.

Below was a photo of the student agency back in June 2008:

Had been at the The Student Agency for about a month now, other than working on the usual research and design projects, I was once again placed in a situation similar to the what happened in 2008: rushing SPOH visuals overnight to be presented the next morning. Déjà vu.

In 2008, this was the most memorable moment, rushing visuals for SPOH 2009 in Hive (T2051) :

Once again, the same moment was relived while rushing visuals for SPOH 2012:

I hope to impart my knowledge to my juniors during the time here, as well as creating kick ass campaigns. Let's Rock and Roll!

Justin Tan,

Senior Art Director

National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre Updates!

2011-09-01T16:32:00.010+08:00

So, the past few weeks the agency have been busy with the NVPC's annual report! After many drafts and amendments, we are finally done with designing the infographics for NVPC's annual report which will soon be released online.

Here's a sneak of the infographics that our art director, Anson designed!

Disclaimer: These icons do not represent any official figures of NVPC.

Also, we will be doing our part in the International Volunteering Day (IVD) this coming November. NVPC has further entrusts us with the planning of their Video segment for their upcoming campaign! After throwing a couple of ideas and direction for the video, together with Comwerks Interactive, we're really excited to get going and start with the production!

Stay tune for more updates!

Till then!

Sam,
Your friendly Account Executive!

BIH Project Update

2011-08-20T11:25:00.012+08:00

Business, Info-Comm and Humanities Cluster project's latest update!
It has been close to 2 weeks now since the last meeting with the clients.
My group designers and I have finally produced a total of 9 satisfying exteriors which have been passed over to the client. All that was left was to wait for the client's confirmation, to have a last round of approval before we can close this project and call it a success. However, after meeting the client, we were told that they were not able to sign off just yet as they needed to undergo another round of confirmation from the other clusters in Singapore Polytechnic and eventually, the necessary final editing.

We will be sharing the visuals some time soon.

The designs have a combination of illustrations and sketches. The rationale behind these designs is to allow viewers to complete the images on their own. Inspiring them by incompletion and creating a dimension that allows them to see a different picture, every time they come across it. This enables creative and in depth thinking, as different viewers would each get a different perspective. Thus, the designs would continue to evolve through word of mouth.

The objective of this is to not restrict the way people think; instead to have people express themselves freely! We hope to encourage students through these designs to dare to dream and most importantly, to explore their imagination. I really hope this message is strong enough to impress the clients. All that is left is to wait for their good news! Till then the hearts of my group feels unfinished and incomplete. I'm keeping my fingers cross! :]

Michelle Rachel :]
Designer

Crowbar 48hr Challenge!

2011-08-19T16:21:00.025+08:00

Hey, Chloe here! This is my very first post as a visualiser, and my first time joining the Crowbar Awards' both 48-Hour Challenge and entries! I was excited and nervous for the 48-Hour Challenge even though it is 5 members per team! Being new to TSA, I am glad there is much to learn from both seniors and lecturers. They are really nice :3 These new experiences changed and widened my perspectives. There is so much to learn out there and things are always changing with time. In order to complete a certain task, you have to expose yourself to almost everything and anything, at least in my opinion. Hahah stress!

For the 48-Hour Challenge, we need to come up with a concept for an integrated campaign which I know nothing of! I have to prepare and expose myself to campaigns that were done and observe how everything is put together, how it worked and why. One can truly learn a lot if they observe, analyse and think. Our mentor was Xander Lee and Daniel Kee and I find them really amazing! The way they think and how instantly something just ‘pops’ out of their mind is really cool. The BIG IDEA that make things work is really fascinating. There is a problem, purpose, how, why and etc questions we need to ask ourselves and remind ourselves in order to achieve or solve a certain problem really requires a lot of thought and questioning. At least, I realise it now and it is never too late for anything. I hope I can, in the future, to be able to be so smart! I am going to work for it! Nothing comes free!

Below are some pictures of the campaign!

till next time!:>

Chloe
Visualiser

SPOH 2012 - The Beginnings

2011-08-19T14:40:00.006+08:00

Hello everyone!!

As of every year since the start of TSA, we have been tasked to work on the open house campaign. And it is the very first time I've been tasked to do it. To be completely honest, I had these thoughts running through my mind like "What if I'm not good enough" or "Can I handle this pressure" but things turned out pretty well. As of right now that is. Haha!

As a visualiser, I was told to think of some visuals to be executed for the campaign of the initial phases of the open house according to the moodboard provided to me.

So inspiring right? :D

I did as I was told. It wasn't very easy trying to manage between an impending submission and having to sketch out ideas within the same day. Lots of thinking was involved. But I managed and I'm very fortunate to have a very patient and helpful AD. I think if I were put into that position, I would be very pressurised and be reeeeaaaaally impatient.

It was really interesting to see how our ideas were thought out, sculpted, then pitched in to the SP committee. I think it's really rewarding to see that one of my ideas was executed and presented and they were happy about it.

The whole process was pretty intriguing, and exciting too. I didn't know what to expect from my AD and then, the client. But I was really glad that they actually liked it. Though there wasn't a doubt that I ranted on and on about how tiring the process was, but now that the first stage is over, I'm pretty curious and excited to see how things will turn out. I believe it won't be a smooth one, but the final product would probably be something that I would really be proud of.

Really looking forward to it!! :)

Jia Rong
Visualiser