“Seeding Future Changemakers”: Unveiling the new NUS Giving brand identity

The NUS Development Office introduced the new brand identity for its NUS Giving campaign at a launch event themed “Seeding Future Changemakers” on 16 Dec 2021.

Live streamed from the Seed Sculpture located in Town Plaza at NUS University Town (UTown), the online audience enjoyed violin performances by Ms Eileen Chai (Science ’01), and heard from changemakers including Professor Dean Ho, Director of the N.1 Institute for Health at NUS; Professor Koh Lian Pin, Director of the NUS Centre for Nature-Based Climate Solutions; Associate Professor Lakshminarayan Samavedham from NUS Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; and Professor Elmie Nekmat from NUS Communications and New Media.

Commencement Class Champions and future changemakers Mr Lenon Ong (Law ’21), Mr Dinesh Kumar Sukumar (Law ’21) and Ms Jasmine Goh (Arts ’19) related their personal experiences with NUS Giving while Mr Peter Tay (Business ’75), a long-time donor and volunteer shared his take on giving.

In appreciation of every act of giving, Mr Kevin Ong, Director of the NUS Development Office; his colleagues from the Office; and Professor Mengling ‘Mornin’ Feng from the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health presented the NUS Giving Groove dance item after weeks of practice. A special NUS Giving Groove tutorial will also be released on the NUS Giving Facebook page for all who are interested in taking up the upcoming NUS Giving Dance Challenge.

The event celebrates a heritage of giving since the University’s humble beginnings in 1905. It was community giving that supported the growth of a modest medical school into Singapore’s global flagship university. A century on, the generosity of the community is still the foundation of NUS’ tradition of excellence.

“Those who sow, grow the seeds of change”

Installed in Town Plaza at UTown, the seed sculpture represents the new award-winning brand icon for NUS Giving. It “comes alive” through an Augmented Reality feature activated when one scans a QR code on the sculpture using a mobile phone.

When viewed through the mobile phone, the Seed will unfold into an ‘icon garden’ showcasing the key areas that the University is focused on building for our future and the world. The interactive feature even allows the user to play a game or take a selfie and share it on social media.

The brand identity won the Silver Award for Best Visual Identity by a charity, non-governmental organisation or NFP (Not-for-Profit) at Transform Awards Asia 2021.