VIBRANT-COLOURED FUNPACKS FOR NDP 2014

Singaporeans will be spoilt for choice this year, with six bright and bold colour combinations to choose from for the National Day Parade 2014 funpacks.

Reflecting the nation's vibrancy, the colour combinations of green-orange, blue-red and yellow-pink were specially selected to enhance the celebratory mood and bring out the fun-loving and carnival-like atmosphere of the parade. And the suggestions for these colours came from a group of 15 students from the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College Central s School of Design and Media.

"Because we wanted it to be vibrant, we didn't want to use one colour for one backpack, but instead, chose two colours for one backpack," said Audrey Sim, one of the student team leaders involved in designing the funpack.

The 19-year-old ITE graduate said her team took about two and a half months, including their December school holidays, to research, plan and design both the funpack and its items. The funpack was also chosen to be in the form of a backpack as the team wanted something simple and practical for the young and old to use.

Other than being water resistant and able to hold items weighing up to six kilograms, what is unique about this year's funpack is a colourful "NDP 14" print made up of the handprints of the NDP 2014 Executive Committee (EXCO).

Chairman Logistics and Finance Military Expert 6 (ME6) Tan Boon Hong said that when they first started the NDP journey, the team wanted to create something they could remember. Hence, they decided to put their handprints together on the wall to create the NDP 2014 logo.

"It's a pledge of our teamwork and commitment. By putting this (logo) on the funpack, we want to recognise all the people who have played a part in making this year's funpack," said the 39-year-old.

Apart from the usual items such as the signature miniature Singapore flag, foldable fan and light sticks, the Singapore scarf and clap banner will be making a return to the goodie bag. An addition to interactive items is the light-emitting diode (LED) bracelet which will light up according to the tempo of the music.

Also new in this year's funpack is a set of five button badges, which Singaporeans can pin onto their funpacks to personalise them. Part of these badges' designs were chosen from the entries of the NDP 2014 Funpack Print Design Contest, organised last October, to create graphics which celebrated Singaporean's family and community spirit and Singaporeans' will to achieve success. Nine designs were eventually chosen for the button badges of this year's NDP 2014 funpack.

One of the nine designers, Lee Xin Li, said his inspiration came from the older generations of Singaporeans whose efforts have made Singapore what it is today.

"I felt that Singapore had come a long way and through the badges, I wanted to pay homage to (these) generations of Singaporeans. So I featured historical landmarks and their change, progression and transition in landscape from the past to the present," said the 26-year-old who is studying for his Masters at the National University of Singapore's School of Design and Environment.

Another badge design winner, Mohammed Shahrizam Bin Mohamed Shariff, told cyberpioneer that his design illustrated a strong community and family spirit, where the multi-racial communities come together to work hand-in-hand, in peace and harmony.

The 25-year-old, whose badge consisted of a tree with red leaves and the number "49" on it in white, explained that his design of a growing tree symbolised how Singaporeans have built a garden city in an urban jungle together, working and interacting with one another, and discovering one another's culture.

The freelance visual director took three days to come up with the design and is no stranger to NDP, having participated in the mass display items performed by the People's Association from 2005 to 2008.

"I've always been interested in NDP and design," said Mr Shahrizam.

"So I took part in this contest as I thought that it would be a great platform to combine my interest and passion. It has always been a dream of mine to share my talent... with the nation and NDP."

The badges will also be used as a form of interaction among spectators as they can exchange badges with one another during the pre-parade segment.

And it is the hope of the NDP 2014 team that Singaporeans will take to the funpack and use it after NDP.

Said ME6 Tan: "With all these thoughts put into the designing of the funpack, we hope that Singaporeans can continue to use it after 9 Aug... like (when they are) going out as a family for a picnic. That'll be nice!"