We chat with Sarah Tan, Co-Founder of Oddds Studio and Lecturer at Temasek Polytechnic, about the mix of international clients she has, and the mantra she lives by; plus we discuss how the design community can be advocates for sustainability and other issues.
Did you have a plan for graduation and what actually happened?
The initial plan was to start working or getting out there into the design industry which can be quite daunting as a newbie. This journey has been a fun (and painful process)! I started out in a small boutique multi-disciplinary studio — which exposed me to Logo Design and Branding. After numerous stumbles and soul-searching, Logos and Typography sparked my interest. Eventually, that became my body of work as an independent visual/graphic/brand designer. Having met numerous people during the course of time, pushed me out of my comfort zones of being an introverted person. It allowed me to be more open-minded to ideologies and people. In between, I freelanced and worked for a few branding consultancies and studios. Oddds has formed soon after.
How does the local culture of where you live affect your design work and getting clients?
The local culture has somehow not affected the design and creative work produced. Surprisingly and geographically-speaking, even though I am based in Singapore I’ve had clients from Australia, the U.K, USA, Indonesia and on a global scale. Graphic Design has become a visual language that is seen everywhere which is pretty amazing. So at the end of the day, location doesn’t really narrow, tie-down or restrict you to being concentrated in a particular country or continent. We got very lucky to have our work seen and recognised online (Behance and Instagram).
What’s your take on internships? (do you take interns now?)
It is almost the first exposure and taste of what the design industry brings. Students are able to recognise how their education is put into practice. Hopefully, it will help shape their creative thinking and flow. Even opening their eyes to see how and where they will fit within the design industry and surroundings.
Whats the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Don’t sell your soul. Stay true to yourself. This mantra is something that I hold onto strongly with great value. Having to hear it coming from another person recently, made me remember and question my purpose and outlooks to life and design.
Don’t sell your soul. Stay true to yourself. This mantra is something that I hold onto strongly with great value.
Are you involved in any teaching and if so how it shapes your practice?
At present, I am a lecturer at Temasek Polytechnic, School of Design, Communication Design. I’ve been an adjunct lecturer for the last two years which gave me valuable insights into how the education system has evolved from where I last left it about 11 years ago. How do we stay relevant, proactive and getting across to the students that trends come and go?
It’s been a refreshing perspective especially in engaging with the students and throwing them questions. I’ll always try to make it a point to ask them about their thinking processes, what can be pushed or build upon, their attention to detail, what can be made better (conceptual thinking or problem-solving) or even to what’s missing/lacking. I love seeing how each student comes up with various executions, applications, tackling problems and crafting their own styles from assignments and projects. These engagements and exchanges allow them to recognising topics and how functionality plays a great deal of importance in their thinking processes.
What do you think the design community could do more to give back?
Sustainability has become an increasing concern now. I feel that everyone should play a greater part in minimalizing waste, reduce consumption, recycling and living a greener life. It all boils down to recognising how we make changes in our daily livelihoods, encouraging others to take notice and inculcate good habits.
As part of the design community, we do have the ability to be advocates to comprehend, express, educate, communicate and make known of this. Especially in this digital age, where people have easy access to technology and social media platforms — where we can use them as a starting point to garner as much awareness as possible. Every small bit counts and matters :)
Where to find Oddds Studio online.
Website: oddds.com
Instagram: @oddds_studio
