Singapore’s ‘Asylum Creative’ is the brainchild of Chris Lee, Winner of the President’s Design Award at the Singapore Design Festival this year.

With over 50 international awards under his belt at such a tender age, his studio acts as a workshop, a gallery, a retail space and even a record label.  

When he is not creating small-scale non-commercial products such as his happy tinned soups with uplifting messages printed on the side, he is designing colourful concept stores with bold branding.

“I have a very simple thought process. Knowing your target audience and the audience and the ability to distill what you want to communicate with a simple message are the keys to great communication.”

One of his quirkiest projects is the Chocolate Research Facility, a retail outlet for a specialised chocolate supplier.

A stark clinical-looking tiled interior draws attention to the vividly coloured packaging.

“The chocolate comes in 100 flavours so we really wanted to play up the research and how the brand is obsessive with getting the best flavours possible.”

“We design the packaging to be half serious (scientific) and half playful.”

If the interior’s laboratory-look was in danger of appearing too stark, Lee injected humour into the look, with overflowing chocolate seemingly erupting down the odd wall.

Because for Lee, “design is about ideas, wit, humour, surprise, delight.”

Chris Lee, Asylum Creative
theasylum.com.sg