No name signboards: the untitled vernacular of Singapore

Abstract

"No Name Signboards: The Untitled Vernacular of Singapore" is a research and archival project documenting the movements and graphics within Singapore’s vernacular graphic design history. Through researching and archiving signboards from both Singapore’s past and present vernacular, the project proposes another history of local graphic design through the signs across the island. The project aims to expand how designers approach ‘local’ design and presents the vernacular as a way to reclaim an ‘authentic’ local identity.

In this project, a review of the literature was explored, with a review of literature and projects done on vernacular graphic design. At the same time, preliminary interviews with shop-owners on their shop’s business history were conducted to obtain a preliminary understanding of graphic design. After this, the project then aggregates archival photographs of signboards in Singapore from various photographic sources. Through observation and analysis, these photos were organised to convey how the vernacular landscape in Singapore changed throughout the years, from the 19th century to the 1980s. The research was then formalised into a publication project.