fable
INTERVIEWED IN: SINGAPORE /
JIAHUI TAN, Graphic Designer & Branding Director
I have conflicts with myself every day right from the moment I
wake upcan a certain project be done this way? Have I explored all
possibilities? Am I managing the studio chemistry right? Am I dealing
with this client in the right manner? Am I pushing it too far?
PHOTOS SHOT IN: SINGAPORE
The design culture in Singapore has seen many changes since
the 90s. In recent years, more youths have begun forming and
spearheading their own artistic projectsincluding Jiahui Tan,
who started his design studio and consultancy that has seen itself
taking up publication projects (Brain Magazine Japan), designing
Pangdemoniums 2016 Season of Love campaign to giving smaller
companiessuch as educators and food manufacturersa facelift for
their branding.
Fable broke into Singapore Art Book Fair 2016, selling out their first
issue of VIRUS a publication aimed at uncovering social situations
and the people that are affected by it. It exposed the horrific sights
of the largely romanticised Rochor Centre, an iconic building known
for its bold facade that was announced for demolitioninevitably
affecting residents and shop owners, many of whom had resided in
the building and area since the late 70s.
In 2017, the second issue of VIRUS was announced. Nice To Meet
You is a much needed move to destigmatise mental illness, a topic
that remains a taboo in first world Singaporein the eyes of people
who were brought up with conventional schools of mindset. It is a
collection of experiences by individuals and explorations of medical
and client behaviour. The issue was once again sold out at the annual
Singapore Art Book Fair in April.
 SAND FABLE

Lets talk about Nice To Meet You. Was this issue named after the first
thing that wed usually begin a conversation with, particularly between
a psychologist and a client?
Thats not the reason but its refreshing to hear that. A lot of people thought like
you and its interesting to hear how different people interpret the issue.

I feel that lot of people who suffer from mental illnesses put on a front and as
a result, others cant usually tell that they are fighting some sort of battle. If you
have a broken leg, cut or scar, people can easily notice on the surface. The situation
differs when youre dealing with internal pain. We go by our days telling people,
Nice to meet you. How are you? to which we usually get Im fine as a typical
response, something were used to hearing. Its a first layer kind of introduction but
once you get to know the person from deep within, their stories form more layers to
themselves.

Can you walk me through the design of the issue?

For the cover, the typography play reflects the basic process of fighting a mental
illness. The creases and use of lighter weight to bolder fonts represent the layers of the
self. The exposed stitch of the publication allows the book to be opened completely
and creates an ambidextrous reading experience.

People have commented that there are moments when they cant make out
the deliberate intersperse of illustrations and graphics and text in the issue. That was
crucial to me in translating how as human beings, we are always trying to understand
everything. Theres beauty in non-clarity, sometimes. Our design explorations for
this issue is out of the grid with content spilling near the edgesin fact, so near that
it reflects how these experiences tend to push people to the edge. Some of the more
whimsical-looking illustrations depicted the deeper layers of a person.

The intersperses of images were inspired by my conversations with a

psychologist, who pointed out that the discrepancies between the ideal and real self
are apparent causes of mental health issues. Some who struggle with their minds
cannot reconcile gaps in their families or relationships with other people.
 SAND
Were the photos in the issue
collected? page you should look out for. In fact,
We couldnt get photos from the
interviewees due to confidentiality so the
photos you see here were taken from free
libraries and pretty much everywhere
else that was available and legal to us.
Everyone on the team got materials
from various sources. Some contributors
provided some images which I couldnt
really make sense of so we edited them
even further to help the reader make
sense of the chaos that exist from within.
As a designer whos usually
working for clients, I dont really get to
execute such textures and edges often
so this was a good chance to jump on it.
It was also crucial to remove the page
numbersin our time, weve become
very logical human beings. With books,
we always want to know where to start
or end but when youre struggling and
gasping for air in real life, you dont really unfortunately a taboo topic in Singapore
have a page number. Instead, you tend
to come in and out of phases. Sometimes
you go through certain pages multiple
times.
FABLE
There are many differences between It began when I went to Bandung with
With this issue, there isnt a particular
terms that people dont understand a few friends. We knew there was a
because we are rarely exposed to it. In our movement formed by a bunch of students
its entirely open for people to pick the
society, when we see a person acting off, and young adults who went around
stories and pages that resonate with them
the first thing that comes to our minds is helping homeless people and giving them
best.
siao*, right? Its a convenient term used rice. The sights were quite horrific. The
to encapsulate the broad topic of mental living conditions and medical healthcare
Is there a reason why the entire
health. What constitutes a mental illness? were bad. That was also how I came up
publication is monochrome?
Such questions opened up a can of worms with the nameVIRUS.
In the overpopulated world we
for me.
live in, we divide things down to bare
What happened after that?
minimum. Take memories for example
It was very enriching and That particular project didnt take
there are certain incidents in our lives we
frightening to go through that journey of off but I knew from that experience that I
may forget but there are others that leave
discovering the stories, editing them and wanted to base the publication on stories
a mark on us. When we strip things down
processing the images. These arent your of people followed by spaces. The flames
to categories and raw stages, we remove
everyday storiesthey can be difficult reignited last year when my friend told
their colours.
to digest. To condense everything in a me about Rochor Centre and the ugly,
publication with only over a hundred grotesque side of itwhich eventually
Why was it important to publish
pages isnt really doing the topic justice became the first issue of VIRUS.
this issue?
but its our attempt in giving the
It wasnt particularly important
contributors a voice and a platform to Essentially, VIRUS documents
at first. What sparked the idea was a
create a conversation. Id say, take your people and their situations outside
conversation with a friend who happened
time to read. Read it slowlyits heavy. of Singapore.
to be a psychologist. Mental health is
The short answer is, it doesnt
What was the basis of VIRUS? have to be based in Singapore. I think
and some other societies around the
Theres actually some history to Singaporeans can be very self-wanking
world. People generally dont talk about
it. In 2012, I wanted to start an NGO. peoplewe like to keep emphasising our
things that they dont like to hear about.
Back then, Id just registered Fable (for own values.
But I wanted to understand more, seeing
six months) but I didnt want VIRUS to
as there were a lot of misconceptions.
overlap with my studio work that I was
Whats the difference between
working on, alone.
schizophrenia and bipolar, one may ask.
* Siao (dialect: Hokkien) means crazy or mad,
colloquially used to describe or question a persons state of mind
 FABLE

Take the mainstream media* for
example. Im not slamming themIm
just saying that whatever we do, were
always trying to define what it means to
be a Singaporean. I dont mean that we
have to remove our culture or identity
something that has possibly become
over hyped the past few years. Its just
that there are situations and issues
surrounding our society that is inherent
to other societies around the world as
well.
What is your connection with
design? to create the next best product.
I was brought up in quite a
traditional family and my dad is a
businessman who always wanted me to
take over the family business that I have
zero interest in. Not to mention Im lousy
at math and public relations to a certain
extent.
I discovered computer arts
magazines at Kinokuniya when I
was 15 and fell in love with them. I
remember reading an interview of
Stefan Sagmeister, who was already
pretty popular then, followed by the
rise of Jessica Walsh (before they formed
Sagmeister & Walsh).
At that time, Adobe was in its early stages
too. Those magazines I read provided a
lot of insights regarding various concepts
and perceptions about design. From
there, I developed an interest and saw
how interesting design can be.
What about now?
I enjoy the beginners spirit. I like
to be involved from the beginning to end.
Inevitably there are parts that arent as
enjoyable. The relationship I have with
design is an ongoing one. I still feel like I
can do better and theres still fight in me
You once mentioned that you
started your own company
because of an unreasonable client.
Were there any plans to start Fable
prior to that encounter?
Yes. I started doing internships
at various places. They were nice but
growing up I was always stubborn,
headstrong, opinionated and I think at
times arrogant. The only person whos
tolerant of me is myself and at present,
my team.

* The mainstream media in Singapore (specifically Mandarin dramas)

tend to focus heavily on the narrative of families living in public housing
also known as the living room or void deck narrative.

As I dabbled into more forms of
design, I developed my own approach
towards itone that has a good story and
concept, which explains the name Fable.
I feel that it is important that I stick to
this principle especially when design
is becoming very trendy. It seems like
anything thats visual-related is seen as
design these days.
What are the greatest displeasures
designers face? design process? Half won?
Self-entitlement. Generally in
this day and age, nobody is forced to
become a designer. So its both unique
and unnecessary that we think that
the client owes us their approval and
acknowledgement. Its a very common
attitude among creatives. We sometimes
forget that the client is a paying
customerjust like when someone goes
for a haircut or shops for clothes. Every
client has the right to either like or dislike
your product. As long as youre selling
a design, you have to take the effort to
convince the client to buy the idea.
Ive encountered clients who did
not like all ten to twenty variations that
their previous designers have given them.
Thats where the problem comes inif
I dont know you, how can I like you?
Its the same with design. Id usually
SAND
share the construction phase of a logo
or concept. Walk your client through
the process until they understand most
of it to receive an objective approval or
refusal. Never think that a client has to
appreciate a particular designI can
know you inside out and still decide not
to like you. Again, design works the same
way.
What is most important part of the
The attitude. Its important to be
critical of your own works. Its the most
dangerous when youre too comfortable
with yourself.
Because were part of such a
crowded generation, a lot of things have
been done before. These days, its easy
to jump on Pinterest and drag out a
design you like. How do you differentiate
between inspiration and copying? Be
more critical of what youre pushing out.
Happiness in the process of doing so is
only a bonus. Also, I think a lot of people
are very focused on the outcomewhich
is normalbut end up disregarding
the importance of the process. I dont
determine the success of a project by its
outcome all the time. a certain style is applied. Some people
With certain projects, we find that
presenting our process to the clients well
plays a part in how much they enjoy what
comes out of it. Especially when youre
working on branding projectsthese
clients want to know how the whole
journey is crafted and the possibilities of
various implications. When they see that
the designer is challenging him or herself, opening a canvas and trying different
the battle is
I guess, half won. I cant say the
same for a diva who goes, this is my
design and its the best in the world.
Do you think that design is
subjective?
Completely subjective. There are
only two things that are objective
timeline and budget. Very often, these
are elements that are constant. The only
subjective elements are the font type,
colours, shapes, textures and so on.
Is there a certain standard to
design and does it change with
time?
Probably. Then again, it depends on
the preference of each person and how
might find a 90s looking poster retro,
some people might find it cool; some
FABLE
people might think that its still relevant
to modern times. Ultimately, what do
you like it for? The design or the fact that
the poster was crafted by hand instead of
digital printing?
In the digital era, designers might
get too comfortable with the ease of
types of fonts, backgrounds and stock
images. But are there other ways to
approach this project to make it more
unique? I think its quite heartening that
more designers have begun for some time
to not hop on the computer instantly.
Theres this quote by Robert A.
Heinlein on the home page of your
website. Do you not believe in
specialisations?
I believe in specialisations but I
also believe in coming out of that and
understanding and learning other things.
The greatest people (especially creatives)
in the world will never subject themselves
to a single thing. Its also important to
have conversations with different people
to spark ideas. Work with different
creatives to understand what they need.
Understand things from all aspects. Its
okay to specialise but not at the expense
of being myopic.

Which comes firstbuilding an
identity for your works or as a
designer?
Neither. Im very wary of that
word. When you create an identity,
youre inherently tapping onto styles,
which are often associated with a certain
era or fad. I dont believe in building an
identity for my works although we get
people coming to us saying that we have a
certain style.
In executing a design, I wouldnt
try to define my identity by going for a
certain kind of font, rotation, colour or
texture. I feel that ultimately, clients and
brief should take precedence. If I begin a
project with such imposition, Im as good
as ruling out other possibilities.
What we as a creative studio and
consultation agency subscribe to is the
belief in making design more honest,
human and timeless. At the end of
the day, design is a bridge that helps
designers connect with the other end
which is often the customer, client or
viewer.
If we can understand the traits
that these people exude, we will be able
to connect with them on a deeper level
that goes beyond just the aesthetics that
SAND
a brief requires. Imposing certain beliefs
or ideals on projects that are not ours
to begin with can make us irrelevantly
narcissistic.
Have you had any major conflicts
with yourself since starting Fable?
I have conflicts with myself every
day right from the moment I wake up
can a certain project be done this way?
Have I explored all possibilities? Am I
managing the studio chemistry right?
Am I dealing with this client in the right
manner? Am I pushing it too far?
It can be quite tiring at times but I
enjoy it in a very perverse way because if
youre not in conflict with yourself, you
run the risk of becoming too comfortable.
There were overwhelming moments
that Ive managed to pull through. Most
people feel that creative decisions are the
toughest but what truly challenges you
are the business decisions.
Weve had two separate offers to be
bought up and they would undoubtedly
bring in good money. Sometimes I do
look back and question and if I should
have agreed then but Im quite contented
with the decisions Ive made so far.
Whats your approach to life
and work?
I cannot think of a moment when
Im not thinking about work. I dont
actually have a social life, which my wife
and work partner, Eugenia will know. On
the rare occasion, Ill have dinner with
my friends but thats it.
Work wise, something thats
more important than pushing creative
boundaries is discipline and getting rid
of self-entitlement. Humbleness is a
rare trait. There are designers who think
that the world cannot survive without
designbut take a good look at the
places, shops and businesses around the
world that continue to do well despite
having a shitty logo or menu.
The world will not cease to
function without designers but it will
definitely fall apart without bankers and
construction workers. Design is a luxury
goodits just that people are starting to
appreciate it more. Also, one cannot run
passion on passion itself. As designers,
its important to question ourselves, can
you consistently push your boundaries?
Whats your next big project?
FABLE
What are you fuelled by?
Myself. There are people in the
design industry that I look up to
they are people who Ive read about,
spoke to and people who have offered
encouragement, which Im thankful for.
That includes inspiration from graphic
design pioneers, dead or alive. But at the
end of the day, internal fuel works better
as a rechargeable sourceits a more
self-sustainable approach as compared to
depending on an external fuel.
Do you believe that theres a
deadline to everything?
Yes and that deadline will be
dependent on how much something or
someone can evolve or want to evolve.
There are artists or brands that come to a
point where they decide that they want
their works to stay as pure as possible.
Theres always a bad connotation that
comes with the word deadline but
it just boils down to whether you can
respect someones decision to not evolve.
I believe people largely do things for
themselves, and so nobody should be
accountable to you.