Project / Kampung Warisan
Task / Logo & Identity Design, Brochure, Brand Communication
Client / E&O Berhad
Year / 2010
Lead Designer / Allie Hill
The concept behind Kampung Warisan, a property development in Kuala Lumpur, is an intimately Malaysian idea: that of the idyllic, traditional kampung (village) life. The architecture and environment were designed to impart the values and charm associated with village life in an urban context, evoking nostalgic memories of a recent past that include carefree days, communal feasts and caring neighbours.
Consisting of five blocks and a clubhouse, Kampung Warisan has a total of 275 units spread within a 15-acre compound, making it a low-density residence.
Set amidst lush green surroundings, residents are also treated to thoughtful landscape details, such as a hill slope planted with pandan (screwpine leaves popular in Southeast Asian cuisine) to resemble paddy terraces, and at the same time, to emit a light, airy fragrance in the mornings and evenings. The swimming pool was also designed to look like a kampung pond or stream—complete with a tree trunk—where children living in rural areas would often play at.
To better capture the kampung spirit in the brand identity, we worked with Datuk Lat, Malaysia’s celebrated cartoonist who is notable for his illustrations of rural life. Together with him, we produced a variety of collaterals, including an illustrated property brochure, a set of postcards, a kite kit, etc.
The material of the collaterals were also selected to invoke—as closely as possible—an authentic 1970s village sentiment.
“When Kampung Warisan was first launched in 2010, it was not favoured by local buyers as they felt that it was a waste to pay a premium price to live in a village setting. In contrast, it was very well received by foreign expats in Kuala Lumpur.
It’s a shame that we are often blinded by our biases and are unable to appreciate the local treasures that we have, even to this day. Instead, we take them for granted and only discover its worth when acknowledged by foreign forces.”
Brochure, postcards, a kite kit and a ‘drawing block’ which contains the floor plans.
The illustration for the ‘drawing block’ cover was created in our studio based on the drawing pads used by local students.
property brochure
Datuk Lat illustrated the amenities, architectural and landscape features of Kampung Warisan.
The brochure also included a set of postcards that shows an artist impression of the property.
Cover printed in two colours, black and white, on brown kraft card
The illustrations show Kampung Warisan’s bamboo bridge and a children’s playground built with local materials and traditional methods
While designing the clubhouse in the style of a traditional Malay house was easy, it was challenging to interpret traditional village architecture for high-rise buildings ranging from three to eight storeys.
Datuk Lat was not only the illustrator but overall consultant for the development, bringing to life all the details of the kampung environment.
Photographs from the landscape architect’s collection. One must remember that in 2010, stock photo images with local content were still rare.
The list of amenities and services were printed on yellowing newsprint and glued to the brochure along the top edge.
The computer rendering of the buildings was kept rudimentary and ‘blockish’ as though done on an early era computer. The sides of the postcards were die-cut with a deckled (jagged) edge reminiscent of old studio photographs, and placed in a glassine envelope glued to the brochure.
Kite kit
The kite kit was handed out at the official launch of Kampung Warisan, containing all the necessary materials required to make a traditional laying-layang (kite)—the way kids used to make them back in the 50s–70s. It also included an instruction sheet.
It was quite the challenge to source for some of the materials as we wanted to keep things as authentic as possible, and our designers could only find them at a few old sundry shops in rural districts.
Aside from rekindling memories of a carefree childhood, the kite kit brings the past and present generations together for a bonding moment. Children these days no longer have the patience or know how to assemble the traditional kite, (which can be quite a complicated affair for the novice), and parents can take this opportunity to teach them.
