Custom Cantonese Logotype for @cantoyayfest
Check out @cantoyayfest for dazzling creative direction and art, paired with masterfully crafted identity design by the one and only @thezhongshanbuilding resident @valenlim820 ✏️ & @hammamhidayat
#typography #typeface #classicism #cantonese #digitalarchive #作字
There’s a distinct position where the studio sits. Commercial work is tied to a budget, a fixed timeline, a room full of people who has earned their seat. You need them to say yes. The work has to sell no matter what, because that is the brief.
Meanwhile, designing for artist is an entirely different case. The environment you’re in — hours of conversation to see if it feels right emotionally. Feel is the right word here. You need to design something that get a full body yes reaction. Not just from yourself, but from the artist. And that’s the only way to protect their work and their identity.
Working on the next version with @mrmoneywang , and I’m confident it’ll finally contain the body of work alongside the artist himself. Follow to see us launch. Soon.
Jona
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Branding and Logomark by @valenlim820@hammamhidayat
I’ve been writing a lot lately. Not into the void, but rather on paper, notepads, my phone, especially when I commute.
Wearing a writer’s hat today — updated the studio’s site with 2 new fonts, new headlines. No ‘brand-identity’ no ‘positioning’ no ‘design system’.
Finally gave the projects the context they deserves. 🧢
Jona
⚠️ My website was hacked
At 5:58am, the sky is still dark. Something woke me up, an unsettling feeling. I checked my phone and saw a warning email: A user with username “GuaUserWa5” who has administrator access signed in to your WordPress site.
User location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Time stamp 4:15am
If I’m a hacker, I’d do the same. Scan sites with a decade old infrastructure, and just keep kicking, everyday. The door will break eventually you just gotta keep kicking, consistently.
I spent the morning removing everything. Versions? Delete. Backups? Trash. Server? Dump. What you see now is just 3 lines of code in html.
Dear GuaUserWa5, thanks for the hack; I have a reason to design and rewrite from scratch to reflect who I am now. You can never be too nostalgic to anything digital.
GuaUserWa5
#shortstories
@wilsonleeceo An extreme multitasker and high performer in his element. Our prompt for @ethanwongtzeng for this campaign KV
- Extreme close-up shot of the founder
- Wilson in a chamber-esque location
- Grit / Clenched / Gladiator
- An unflinching gaze, eyes locked
- The essence of relentless pursuit
- CEO | Dad of 3 | still training
***This is not ai***
Client @stayupbound
CD @jjonalim
AD @ethanwongtzeng
Light @adamwongmf
MUHA @fififi_fiona_____
Creative team @dwnldddd@ja.a.ke
🌐 web URL : upbound.day
CIRCA 2016 i made my first font using stolen red marker from uni, i graduated without robe bc i didnt want to bother my mom sending me cash, i landed an internship in the best independent design studio in the world (back then hh I think my ex boss has also left the company), i repurposed a tv box as a bag, learned how to skate n play ukulele, commuted from Bristol to Munster Germany via a £5 24 hour bus, sneaked into a magic show backstage during a 250 year anniversary of a corpo company in Germany. snowboarded in Czech by myself on hard pack snow and got a concussion, made a iOS gyro game w my legend coder partner, brought ukulele and a cheap Yamaha keyboard everywhere bc i wanst afraid of judgement ??? For some reason I loved writing on my hands w marker and tied GoPro hero4 on my hand. I have so many footages that’s never been edited, and i was walking around with a man bun and I shaved the side of my head by myself every month. One time i realised the shaver i used my housemate used it to shave his pubic hair ??????? Flew back to Malaysia n surprised my family, kick started my creative careeer in KL. I was so frugal back then, every cent every moment every interaction counts. It was the year I learned to be creative independently n the experience n people I met in 2016 has shaped me for who I’m today to have this resilience in life that I carry for a decade even to this day
I miss my uni mates and my friends dearly. Life is good back then, life is still good now
Onto the next decade
When @wilsonleeceo sent me that WhatsApp brief in May, I knew he was onto something. I’d never been so excited to receive a detailed website brief so casually. @dwnldddd , our head of creative, instantly grasped the intensity of this brand. The challenge? We had no imagery. The brand was new. Its identity skeleton was solid but not visible yet. Then the Ghibli AI wave hit and the world became obsessed with using AI for image-making. Our website identity hit a wall - a visual one.
July 2025. Our whole team was on sabbatical in beautiful Langkawi when Wilson dropped the text : ‘can u work with this budget for brand image’. Everything came together. While sipping gula melaka at 5pm, sunset, breeze - I asked if @ethanwongtzeng was down for this challenge. Days later we flew back to KL. Sabbatical over.
Now we had 2 teams: Tech & Image creation. Never imagined I’d be leading teams to build a site completely from scratch, including every single image. Fast forward to November - what you see now is undeniable teamwork across clients & creative, async on business and world-building.
Here’s the photography outcome. We will be posting more about behind the scenes, the installation we cooked and raw sketches later on. I’m eternally grateful.
Sincerely,
Jona
Visit 🌐 upbound.day @stayupbound
Rolling Credits
Man of Upbound @wilsonleeceo
Producer & Creative Direction @jjonalim
Head of Creative @dwnldddd
Photography & Art Direction @ethanwongtzeng
Tastemaker @ja.a.ke
Coordination @brandonsohh
Writer & Tonality : Michelle & @isofeabelle
Light & Gaffer @4hmdwaidaya
Stylist @fififi_fiona_____
MUHA @bwendacsy
Talent @gil__13.31@mr.louis.pierre
