👋🏼 Hi! Here’s a look 👀 at a small selection of my work, specially prepared for Grilli Type.
MELISSA CHAN
1. TYPE STORIES
▾ A Film Life
Filmhuis Den Haag sought a short animation for their screening intervals. The agency which designed their identity, worked with the second- and third-year graphic design department at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague on a design pitch. I proposed a ‘typographic screenplay’—which plays on the letter ‘F’ from the name Filmhuis Den Haag. The inspiration derives from the idea of life being cinematic, like a reel of film.
client Filmhuis Den Haag, mentors Gijsbert Dijker, Pawel Pokutycki + Jeroen Disch, year 2014
▾ Beyoncé meets Jandl + Bauhaus
What happens when you combine Beyoncé’s Put A Ring On It in the style of Jandl and Bauhaus? Unreleased.
client Grilli Type, icw Tobias Rechsteiner, Lind Haugaard + Kelly Rogers, year 2021
▾ C i n e m a t ( y p ) o g r a p h y
The posts for Cinetype were inspired by theatre marquees and opening title sequences, and cult films In The Mood For Love and Trainspotting.
client Grilli Type, icw Tobias Rechsteiner, Lind Haugaard + Kelly Rogers, year 2021
2. ILLUSTRATIONS
▾ GT Sectra
For GT Sectra, I made fun packaging mockups of the artist tools that inspired the type’s style.
client Grilli Type, icw Tobias Rechsteiner, Lind Haugaard + Kelly Rogers, year 2021
▾ GT Pressura
Lettering stickers and Letrasets were the inspiration behind the visuals for GT Pressura.
client Grilli Type, icw Tobias Rechsteiner + Lind Haugaard, year 2021
▾ GT Walsheim (currently WIP)
This is currently a work in progress and unreleased. The illustrations are inspired by all things Swiss.
client Grilli Type, icw Tobias Rechsteiner, Lind Haugaard + Kelly Rogers, year 2021
3. WEB
▾ Personal websites
A look at some of my personal portfolio sites made with LayTheme and some additional custom CSS. Visit melissachan.nl
self-initiated, years 2019—2021
▾ Lucky Tora online menu
Website for Lucky Tora, a modern Asian restaurant that included their menu. Made with Laytheme with additional custom CSS.
View website: luckytora.com
client Tora Eats, year 2018
▾ SW1.solutions
Website design for an interior design firm as part of their rebranding, which I also worked on.
client SW1 Solutions, icw William Atyeo, year 2018
▾ Occasional Typo
I hand-coded the HTML/CSS for a website I made for my ’graphic design workouts.’
View website: occasionaltypo.com
self-initiated, year 2019/20
4. CONCEPTUAL
▾ AutOmmatiK (After On Kawara)
I broke the taboo of copying the work of an artist I feel jealous about not having made, and re-appropriated into digital form. I “copied” On Kawara and his series of Date Paintings—into a website which automatically displays the devices’ screen sizes, emulating his process of “inscribing the exact date he created the painting.”
You can view the website here: autommatik.com
mentor Dirk Vis, year 2014
▾ read between these lines
Can the Language arising from Text-only graphics Form Visual Interpretations and influence our Existential state of Consciousness? My Bachelor’s thesis is an exploration on shaping Dialogues to spur the ‘Form–agination’ in the mind of the Reader, by making meaningful letterforms (Typography) using Words and Language.
We were also required to accompany the print version of our theses with a digital version. I exported my print version as SVG format—and uploaded it online—so that it can be printed as a hard copy. Adding to the existential theme, I added a date and timestamp along with a print button. When the digital version is printed from the browser, the timestamp gets immortalised onto the hard copy.
You can view/read/print the digital version here: http://kabk.github.io/govt-theses-15-melissa-chan-read-between-these-lines/
mentor Marjan Brandsma (thesis) + Erik Schrijver (digital thesis), year 2014/15
5. EDITORIAL
▾ New Economic Reality
The third-year Graphic Design department at KABK was given special access to the financial data for proposed governmental spendings and income for 2014 (the annual Miljoenennota) by the Dutch Ministry of Finance. The task was to carry out extensive research and re-contextualise the information, statistics, and figures from the Miljoenennota. I attempted to create a new perspective on how data can be more transparent and visually engaging to the reader.
client Dutch Ministry of Finance, mentors Niels Schrader + Lauren Alexander, year 2014
▾ The Never-ending Book
What is the Book of Tomorrow? It all started with this question, which is not dissimilar to the question of Is Print Dead? What is the future for print? I emailed the question out to a handful of graphic designers, studios, and writers. No replies filled my inbox (of course, hardly surprising as I totally understand their hectic schedules.) Thus, I was left with a never-ending topic (which after some accidental research, I found was often asked of most graphic designers and writers) and with no answers.
And so the never-ending book came to be the central idea for my (experimental) research of the “book.” This never-ending book is updatable: as I gradually receive answers in the future, they will be added in. Aside from the topic of the question, the book is also interspersed with various sources of relevant information pertaining to books and the topic of print. They could be articles from another book or other types of sources.
This act of scrapbooking is similar to the current state of dissemination of digital information online. By taking and breaking apart the usual form of a book (in this case the situation disrupts the traditional book structure), it prompts the following questions:
1. What is a book?
2. What shapes a book?
3. Is the current structure of a book still relevant?
mentor Adriaan Mellegers, year 2014
6. BRANDING
▾ Selected logomarks
An overview of selected logomarks I designed (and some specially drawn) over the years for various clients.
years 2009—2020
▾ Pizza Mansion
An identity for a pizzeria serving delicious wood-fired pizzas in Malaysia. The intentional mix of two typeface styles in the logotype gives rise (pun intended!) to the idea of dough being kneaded by hand.
client Pizza Mansion, project management Jean Cheah, year 2019
7. TYPE DESIGN
▾ Kastrug + plantica
plantica was born out of the Marrying The Impossible experimental lettering workshop with Yevgeniy Anfalov. It was an attempt to fuse the curves of a leaf with the shadows of a plastic bag. As for Kastrug, I attempted to design a display typeface for one of my assignments for Letterstudio class during my time at KABK. It was a failed attempt!
plantica: mentor Yevgeniy Anfalov, year 2019 / Kastrug: mentor Peter Verheul, year 2014
▾ Type workshops
In 2012, I attended a 7-day type design and calligraphy workshop by Type & Media alumni Sueh Li Tan. During my time at KABK, I took an elective class with Peter Verheul and Frank Blokland. I attempted to design a display typeface for one of my assignments (see Kastrug project above.) In 2019, I attended a 5-day experimental lettering workshop by Yevgeniy Anfalov (see plantica project above.)
years 2012, 2014 + 2019
CV
EDUCATION
2013—2015
Bachelor of Design in Graphic Design
Royal Academy of Art, The Hague
2003
1 Semester of Visual and Digital Arts (Fine Arts)
LUCCT, Malaysia
2002—2003
Foundation Certificate in Graphic Design & Multimedia
LUCCT, Malaysia (moderated by Curtin University of Technology, Australia)
LANGUAGES
English (Fluent), Malay (Advanced), Cantonese (Spoken, Basic)
Studied:
German (A1), Dutch (A1.1), Russian (Beginner)
Coding:
HTML & CSS (Intermediate)
WORK EXPERIENCE
2017—present
Freelance art director/designer
2010—2017
Freelance senior graphic designer
Collaborated on projects with:
Grab Malaysia/Singapore (Tech)
Edelman Malaysia (PR)
FITCH Malaysia + Singapore (Retail environments)
Leo Burnett Malaysia (Advertising)
Momentum Design Malaysia
Some Early Birds (formerly Figtree Design)
FDCV Malaysia (Design)
2008—2010
Co-founder, managing partner + designer
Kraftgrafik
Malaysia
2006—2008
Graphic designer
FITCH Malaysia + Singapore
2003—2006
Designer
Voonwong&bensonsaw (Product/Industrial design)
KLue Magazine (Publishing)
Integricity (Digital agency)
Malaysia
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021
The Student Hostel, Delft
2020
Golden Bee Global Biennale of Graphic Design, The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
2015
While You Were Sleeping, Royal Academy of Art, The Hague
2014
The Tribunal For Uncertain Objects, Bewaakt en Bewoond, The Hague
Chaumont Design Graphique, Chaumont
Sadness—City—Happiness, Royal Academy of Art, The Hague
What’s In The Koffer?, Dutch Ministry of Finance, The Hague
2013
Makanlah Buah-Buahan Tempatan, Publika, Malaysia
2012
This Is How I Steal It 2.0, Space Studios, Malaysia
2008/09
Heineken Impulse, Blanc Le Club/Werner’s, Malaysia
2006
KLue/Digi/Starbucks Music Series Starbucks, Malaysia
The Poster Show: Works in Monosylabik Experiment, Malaysia
2004
KLue Urbanscapes, KL Sentral, Malaysia
2002
Student showcase, LUCCT, Malaysia
NOMINATIONS / FEATURES / PRESS
2020
Golden Bee Global Biennale of Graphic Design (Shortlist), RU
2014
Chaumont Design Graphique (Student prize shortlist), FR
2013
102030 Young Guns Under 30, Antalis, MY
Asian Creatives, Ubies, JP
2012
Where You Going? Design Adventures in Southeast Asia, SG
2008
Top 40 Cool List, JUICE Magazine × Hennessy, MY
2001
Web Design Index 1, Pepin Press, NL
🤙🏼 CONTACT
Have any questions? Let’s connect on Slack, or email: m@melissachan.nl
View more work: www.melissachan.nl
Instagram / LinkedIn
↑
👋🏼 Hi! Here’s a look 👀 at a small selection of my work, specially prepared for Grilli Type.
MELISSA CHAN
1. TYPE STORIES
▾ A Film Life
Filmhuis Den Haag sought a short animation for their screening intervals. The agency which designed their identity, worked with the second- and third-year graphic design department at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague on a design pitch. I proposed a ‘typographic screenplay’—which plays on the letter ‘F’ from the name Filmhuis Den Haag. The inspiration derives from the idea of life being cinematic, like a reel of film.
client Filmhuis Den Haag, mentors Gijsbert Dijker, Pawel Pokutycki + Jeroen Disch, year 2014
▾ Beyoncé meets Jandl + Bauhaus
What happens when you combine Beyoncé’s Put A Ring On It in the style of Jandl and Bauhaus? Unreleased.
client Grilli Type, icw Tobias Rechsteiner, Lind Haugaard + Kelly Rogers, year 2021
▾ C i n e m a t ( y p ) o g r a p h y
The posts for Cinetype were inspired by theatre marquees and opening title sequences, and cult films In The Mood For Love and Trainspotting.
client Grilli Type, icw Tobias Rechsteiner, Lind Haugaard + Kelly Rogers, year 2021
2. ILLUSTRATIONS
▾ GT Sectra
For GT Sectra, I made fun packaging mockups of the artist tools that inspired the type’s style.
client Grilli Type, icw Tobias Rechsteiner, Lind Haugaard + Kelly Rogers, year 2021
▾ GT Pressura
Lettering stickers and Letrasets were the inspiration behind the visuals for GT Pressura.
client Grilli Type, icw Tobias Rechsteiner + Lind Haugaard, year 2021
▾ GT Walsheim (currently WIP)
This is currently a work in progress and unreleased. The illustrations are inspired by all things Swiss.
client Grilli Type, icw Tobias Rechsteiner, Lind Haugaard + Kelly Rogers, year 2021
3. WEB
▾ Personal websites
A look at some of my personal portfolio sites made with LayTheme and some additional custom CSS. Visit melissachan.nl
self-initiated, years 2019—2021
▾ Lucky Tora online menu
Website for Lucky Tora, a modern Asian restaurant that included their menu. Made with Laytheme with additional custom CSS.
View website: luckytora.com
client Tora Eats, year 2018
▾ SW1.solutions
Website design for an interior design firm as part of their rebranding, which I also worked on.
client SW1 Solutions, icw William Atyeo, year 2018
▾ Occasional Typo
I hand-coded the HTML/CSS for a website I made for my ’graphic design workouts.’
View website: occasionaltypo.com
self-initiated, year 2019/20
4. CONCEPTUAL
▾ AutOmmatiK (After On Kawara)
I broke the taboo of copying the work of an artist I feel jealous about not having made, and re-appropriated into digital form. I “copied” On Kawara and his series of Date Paintings—into a website which automatically displays the devices’ screen sizes, emulating his process of “inscribing the exact date he created the painting.”
You can view the website here: autommatik.com
mentor Dirk Vis, year 2014
▾ read between these lines
Can the Language arising from Text-only graphics Form Visual Interpretations and influence our Existential state of Consciousness? My Bachelor’s thesis is an exploration on shaping Dialogues to spur the ‘Form–agination’ in the mind of the Reader, by making meaningful letterforms (Typography) using Words and Language.
We were also required to accompany the print version of our theses with a digital version. I exported my print version as SVG format—and uploaded it online—so that it can be printed as a hard copy. Adding to the existential theme, I added a date and timestamp along with a print button. When the digital version is printed from the browser, the timestamp gets immortalised onto the hard copy.
You can view/read/print the digital version here: http://kabk.github.io/govt-theses-15-melissa-chan-read-between-these-lines/
mentor Marjan Brandsma (thesis) + Erik Schrijver (digital thesis), year 2014/15
5. EDITORIAL
▾ New Economic Reality
The third-year Graphic Design department at KABK was given special access to the financial data for proposed governmental spendings and income for 2014 (the annual Miljoenennota) by the Dutch Ministry of Finance. The task was to carry out extensive research and re-contextualise the information, statistics, and figures from the Miljoenennota. I attempted to create a new perspective on how data can be more transparent and visually engaging to the reader.
client Dutch Ministry of Finance, mentors Niels Schrader + Lauren Alexander, year 2014
▾ The Never-ending Book
What is the Book of Tomorrow? It all started with this question, which is not dissimilar to the question of Is Print Dead? What is the future for print? I emailed the question out to a handful of graphic designers, studios, and writers. No replies filled my inbox (of course, hardly surprising as I totally understand their hectic schedules.) Thus, I was left with a never-ending topic (which after some accidental research, I found was often asked of most graphic designers and writers) and with no answers.
And so the never-ending book came to be the central idea for my (experimental) research of the “book.” This never-ending book is updatable: as I gradually receive answers in the future, they will be added in. Aside from the topic of the question, the book is also interspersed with various sources of relevant information pertaining to books and the topic of print. They could be articles from another book or other types of sources.
This act of scrapbooking is similar to the current state of dissemination of digital information online. By taking and breaking apart the usual form of a book (in this case the situation disrupts the traditional book structure), it prompts the following questions:
1. What is a book?
2. What shapes a book?
3. Is the current structure of a book still relevant?
mentor Adriaan Mellegers, year 2014
6. BRANDING
▾ Selected logomarks
An overview of selected logomarks I designed (and some specially drawn) over the years for various clients.
years 2009—2020
▾ Pizza Mansion
An identity for a pizzeria serving delicious wood-fired pizzas in Malaysia. The intentional mix of two typeface styles in the logotype gives rise (pun intended!) to the idea of dough being kneaded by hand.
client Pizza Mansion, project management Jean Cheah, year 2019
7. TYPE DESIGN
▾ Kastrug + plantica
plantica was born out of the Marrying The Impossible experimental lettering workshop with Yevgeniy Anfalov. It was an attempt to fuse the curves of a leaf with the shadows of a plastic bag. As for Kastrug, I attempted to design a display typeface for one of my assignments for Letterstudio class during my time at KABK. It was a failed attempt!
plantica: mentor Yevgeniy Anfalov, year 2019 / Kastrug: mentor Peter Verheul, year 2014
▾ Type workshops
In 2012, I attended a 7-day type design and calligraphy workshop by Type & Media alumni Sueh Li Tan. During my time at KABK, I took an elective class with Peter Verheul and Frank Blokland. I attempted to design a display typeface for one of my assignments (see Kastrug project above.) In 2019, I attended a 5-day experimental lettering workshop by Yevgeniy Anfalov (see plantica project above.)
years 2012, 2014 + 2019
CV
EDUCATION
2013—2015
Bachelor of Design in Graphic Design
Royal Academy of Art, The Hague
2003
1 Semester of Visual and Digital Arts (Fine Arts)
LUCCT, Malaysia
2002—2003
Foundation Certificate in Graphic Design & Multimedia
LUCCT, Malaysia (moderated by Curtin University of Technology, Australia)
LANGUAGES
English (Fluent), Malay (Advanced), Cantonese (Spoken, Basic)
Studied:
German (A1), Dutch (A1.1), Russian (Beginner)
Coding:
HTML & CSS (Intermediate)
WORK EXPERIENCE
2017—present
Freelance art director/designer
2010—2017
Freelance senior graphic designer
Collaborated on projects with:
Grab Malaysia/Singapore (Tech)
Edelman Malaysia (PR)
FITCH Malaysia + Singapore (Retail environments)
Leo Burnett Malaysia (Advertising)
Momentum Design Malaysia
Some Early Birds (formerly Figtree Design)
FDCV Malaysia (Design)
2008—2010
Co-founder, managing partner + designer
Kraftgrafik
Malaysia
2006—2008
Graphic designer
FITCH Malaysia + Singapore
2003—2006
Designer
Voonwong&bensonsaw (Product/Industrial design)
KLue Magazine (Publishing)
Integricity (Digital agency)
Malaysia
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021
The Student Hostel, Delft
2020
Golden Bee Global Biennale of Graphic Design, The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
2015
While You Were Sleeping, Royal Academy of Art, The Hague
2014
The Tribunal For Uncertain Objects, Bewaakt en Bewoond, The Hague
Chaumont Design Graphique, Chaumont
Sadness—City—Happiness, Royal Academy of Art, The Hague
What’s In The Koffer?, Dutch Ministry of Finance, The Hague
2013
Makanlah Buah-Buahan Tempatan, Publika, Malaysia
2012
This Is How I Steal It 2.0, Space Studios, Malaysia
2008/09
Heineken Impulse, Blanc Le Club/Werner’s, Malaysia
2006
KLue/Digi/Starbucks Music Series Starbucks, Malaysia
The Poster Show: Works in Monosylabik Experiment, Malaysia
2004
KLue Urbanscapes, KL Sentral, Malaysia
2002
Student showcase, LUCCT, Malaysia
NOMINATIONS / FEATURES / PRESS
2020
Golden Bee Global Biennale of Graphic Design (Shortlist), RU
2014
Chaumont Design Graphique (Student prize shortlist), FR
2013
102030 Young Guns Under 30, Antalis, MY
Asian Creatives, Ubies, JP
2012
Where You Going? Design Adventures in Southeast Asia, SG
2008
Top 40 Cool List, JUICE Magazine × Hennessy, MY
2001
Web Design Index 1, Pepin Press, NL
🤙🏼 CONTACT
Have any questions? Let’s connect on Slack, or email: m@melissachan.nl
View more work: www.melissachan.nl
Instagram / LinkedIn
↑