Designing the masthead and concept for Shih Yun’s DEFY INK exhibition was a collaborative process between &Larry and Shih Yun, the artist. As this exhibition is a collectors’ showcase, we seeked inspiration from her early works where the ink medium took on a strong emphasis in her art. Our concept is a homage to her art origins and the journey here.

Hence we designed the primary vertical masthead stack to be reminiscent of vertical Chinese calligraphy. The strong use of black is also a nod to Shih Yun’s main medium of ink. Other colours frequently seen in her art such as the blues, browns and yellows are used as accents in her publication.

Looking closely at the masthead, you will notice that a stippled treatment has been given to resemble black powder, in doing so we pay tribute to the traditional Chinese ink’s original form of being soot. We also customised the letterforms to give it that effect of ink flowing down a canvas.

As this project was a collaboration, we wanted for the viewers to be able to take home something more than just the art they see at the gallery, hence we designed limited edition numbered posters that features Shih Yun’s hand painted ‘intervention’. Each of these posters are unique, no two are alike. We see this ‘intervention’ as how Shih Yun approaches her art – never conforming and always giving her fresh bold perspectives.

With respect to the vertical format of that poster and masthead, we also have included a timeline to showcase her progress and growth from her formative years. Although in a chronological order, we have flipped the order to show the earlier works at the bottom and this current exhibition on top, this way also ‘defying’ the norms of what one would expect of a timeline.

Lastly, years with works that are featured in DEFY INK are emphasised via a stroke connected to the masthead.

Included in this project are also a series of IG posts, a publication, posters, exhibition vinyl stickers and to amplify the fun interactive factor – AR Filter.