Project / Georgetown UNESCO World Heritage Site
Task / Identity Guidelines for Georgetown
Client / Penang State Government
Year / 2003
In collaboration with Communicate Sdn Bhd (copywriting)
We were commissioned to design the logo and visual identity for Georgetown, Penang, in anticipation of the historic city centre being awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status. Particular focus was given to the colour palette, which was derived from traditional architecture within the city.
The typography takes its cue from English lettering traditions evident in old signboards in the city. Additionally, it included the use of vernacular languages and scripts to reflect a multicultural community.
We created guidelines to enhance the city’s branding and to minimise the clutter of advertising banners that contribute to visual pollution.
A series of lectures and workshops on branding and heritage conservation was conducted for the staff of City Hall (MPPP) and architects in Penang. Among the speakers were William Harald-Wong, who spoke on signage in heritage districts; and Elizabeth Vines of McDougall & Vines Architects (Adelaide), who talked about heritage town rejuvenation.
(see below for a cautionary tale)
These images, among others, were shortlisted for the campaign after vetting through many photographers’ portfolio, chosen for their evocative quality depicting Penang as a ‘home’ one always returns to.
Identity Guidelines
THE LOOK BOOK
A collection of specially designed supporting materials that capture the look and feel of Penang from the late 1800s to today.
UPDATE (November 2018):
Ten years after the UNESCO award in 2008, Georgetown seems to have deviated far from its original elegant vision. The historic centre has become a free-for-all commercial venture, overflowing with tourist junk, and controlled by parties with vested interests. This is the unfortunate outcome of many UNESCO sites.
Decades-old traditional coffee shops (‘kopitiam’) serving local fare have closed, and one of the few remaining kopitiams has a signboard promoting ‘English breakfast set’. There is a congestion of tourists pedalling quad-cycles, overcrowding narrow streets as they ignore traffic direction and causing local taxi drivers to scream at them. And the only park in the area now has less grass and more cement, losing its neighbourhood-friendly touch with new rules and regulations.
“As responsible designers, it is our duty to drive positive change within society via our projects; we understand that neither culture or society stays stagnant—rather, it is always evolving. But when we are relegated to becoming bystanders of the changes brought on by our very own project, it is a circumstance of great regret indeed.”
UPDATE (August 2020):
The Covid-19 pandemic has practically wiped out international tourism for the foreseeable future. It’s an opportunity to rethink and reset the original vision (but one can only hope).
The Visual Environment
Some observations.
Photo taken in 2002.
Photo taken in 2014. After weeks of painstaking work to restore the beautiful 3-dimensional traditional signboard on the Eu Yang Sang building in Georgetown (by Khoo Salma and team), the entire sign was covered by a plastic tarpaulin advertisement. Although Eu Yang Sang, a pharmaceutical conglomerate, had every right to do this as both building and signboard belonged to the company, it was a foretaste of things to come for Georgetown.
Photo taken in Nov 2017. The advertisement has been removed. I wonder what happened to the original 3-dimensional signboard?
The caption under the photo reads “Visual pollution will be a thing of the past once the new guidelines on advertising on buildings, boards, banners and streamers are in place.” Unfortunately, the clutter has only increased as there is hardly any enforcement. Nonetheless, it is never too late to clean up the environment.