Creative Weekly: Animal Crossing Rallies, Red Dot United's Logo, SingFirst's Dissolution, Ivan Lim's Consolation Prize

Former UK Prime Minister Harold Wilson famously said “a week is a long time in politics”. The stories in this creative weekly are barely 2 weeks old but seem like they happened ages ago.

Media outlets have been diligently pumping out design-related election news that I already have enough stories for the following creative weekly post. Till then, enjoy this recap of what happened these past 2 weeks.

Animal Crossing Rallies?

Animal Crossing, the unofficial coronavirus quarantine game, has a feature which allows you to import images as prints on in-game clothing, tiles and more. Since physical rallies are not allowed this GE, Facebook user Ng Yi Shu created an island full of political party-branded items to hold Animal Crossing rallies. When the Workers’ Party (WP) shared his post, some speculated if it was going to be a reality.

The truth is WP is simply embracing fan-made content by sharing them, including reposting fancams typically made for K-pop idols. For now, WP is sticking to online rallies on social media.

Let’s get in formation. https://t.co/K5L55uSuzS

— The Workers' Party (@wpsg) June 24, 2020

Red Dot United’s Logo

After Red Dot United (RDU) officially became Singapore’s 13th political party (12th after the dissolution of SingFirst), it swiftly unveiled its new logo - a red compass.

While visually memorable, the logo lacks a distinguishing detail which separates it from any random compass graphic on a free icon site. It is simple to a fault.

RDU’s logo may be bland, but its Facebook posts are anything but that. They are edgy, which might be their interpretation of the best way to engage youths, as stated in their key goals.

RDU’s hashtag for its Jurong GRC campaign, #JurongOrNothing, sounds a bit too aggressive for locals to chew on. I wonder if this hashtag is a subtle nod to its sports club-sounding name.

SingFirst Bites the Dust

In a bid to present a more united opposition front, Singaporeans First’s founder Tan Jee Say announced on 25th June that he has dissolved the party.

SingFirst, which only contested in the 2015 election without winning any seats, was perhaps best known for its Walls lookalike logo and ‘iconic’ cheer.

In an unfortunate case of boomers using the technology, they also struggled to get their messages across on social media.

This election, Tan Jee Say is contesting in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC under the Singapore Democratic Party banner. SingFirst’s former members have also joined other parties to run, including Ang Yong Guan (Progress Singapore Party) and Melvyn Chiu (Singapore People’s Party).

Bonus: Ivan Lim’s Consolation Prize by Takagi Ramen

The fall of PAP’s Ivan Lim was spectacular, but brands dared not use this as a marketing opportunity, since political satire is considered risky territory here. Only Takagi Ramen could pull off something like this, and they seized this opportunity perfectly.

This was not just a publicity stunt. Takagi Ramen issued this e-voucher to anyone named ‘Ivan Lim’ in generous fashion.

Takagi Ramen Shop is no stranger to unconventional marketing. They have collaborated with (or recruited?) local Internet enigmas Kurt Tay and Steven Lim to conduct deliveries, and make advertisements which would make you raise an eyebrow.

Weirdness and harmless political satire is their game now, and fans cannot seem to get enough of it.

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Creative Weekly is a roundup of local news stories from a design angle. Explore Singapore’s design scene with us on Facebook and Instagram.